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The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone

Questions About The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone

by Olivia Laing (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (3)

This book sounds really cool but is it one of those books that tell you to "just have good friends and you don't need a man", or is it about being actually alone, without friends?
Aditi Neither. It's a series of essays where the author is trying understand how loneliness gets reflected in art by studying/analysing/admiring life of art…moreNeither. It's a series of essays where the author is trying understand how loneliness gets reflected in art by studying/analysing/admiring life of artists who lived in Newyork. The complete title makes more sense "The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone" as it's reflective of author's own lonely time while she was in the city and her adventure studying these artists. Or the artist's adventure in creating art out of their loneliness.(less)
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What do you think Olivia Laing meant with her final quote “because if we know anything from what has gone before us, it is that the time for feeling will not last”?
Dani Gardner When a feeling is not longer felt, it can be surmised that that feeling has, in a sense, died. I think that if there is any take away at all from Lain…moreWhen a feeling is not longer felt, it can be surmised that that feeling has, in a sense, died. I think that if there is any take away at all from Laing's book, it is that loneliness is not entirely a bad feeling. It is the basis by which profound art has come to be. To be enveloped in loneliness is to deeply reflect on the society that has given you a language to describe the feeling and an assessment that allows you to determine that you are in fact feeling lonely.
Much of Laing's book is about artists whose work, in some way or another, has portrayed loneliness. A majority of the artists have then died, and Laing analyzes their art posthumously. Thus, if we know about the work that has been produced during periods of profound loneliness, and we recognize our mortality, it can be concluded that the feeling of loneliness is one that has the capability to produce worthwhile art. Loneliness, and all other emotional states of the human experience die when we do. I think Laing is trying to tell her readers not to push loneliness away, or substitute it with any person or object. If one dwells in loneliness, then they might figure out or produce something much greater than themselves. Something that others can resonate with, or better, learn from. (less)
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What time period is this book set in?
7jane Depends on if you're talking about the author's time, or the time period in which the artists she talks about were in. Author-wise, I'd guess from her…moreDepends on if you're talking about the author's time, or the time period in which the artists she talks about were in. Author-wise, I'd guess from her point late in the book when she gets comfort to her loneliness online, the time is circa 2000s. Artist-wise: from Edward Hopper (1920s on) to Josh Harris (ending c.2000).(less)
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