The Lonely City : Adventures in the Art of Being Alone

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE

Chosen as 'BOOK OF THE YEAR' by Observer, Guardian, Telegraph, Irish Times, New Statesman, Times Literary Supplement, Herald

When Olivia Laing moved to New York City in her mid-thirties, she found herself inhabiting loneliness on a daily basis. Increasingly fascinated by this most shameful of experiences, she began to explore the lonely city by way of art. Moving fluidly between the works and lives of some of the city's most compelling artists, Laing conducts an electric, dazzling investigation into what it means to be alone, illuminating not only the causes of loneliness but also how it might be resisted and redeemed.

We Say

Olivia is our tour guide through the innermost lives of several renowned artists including Warhol & Hopper. Their lives are invariably difficult, blighted by loneliness but buoyed and sustained by the wonder of art. This is a beautiful book, tender and raw & hopeful. I find myself returning to it again and again.

Sophia