Review: The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone
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Art is what makes loneliness bearable
I find this book fascinating in many ways. I came across it while searching for novels with an urbancore mood and setting.
When I first picked it up, I had no idea it was part memoir and part art criticism, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. For some reason, I truly felt in love with it.
I find myself constantly researching all of the artists mentioned throughout the book. The way the author tells their stories is almost addicting. This book makes you want to pick up other memoirs and biographies about the people she writes about. This is the kind of book that inspires you to keep learning and reading long after you put it down.
The author takes you on a journey through New York City after a breakup, where she suddenly finds herself alone in an urban environment, struggling with doubt, insecurity, and a deep sense of loneliness. There’s this feeling throughout the book of not knowing how to adapt or belong in a city that never sleeps.
At the same time, she explores the lives of different artists from the 50s and 60s, showing how they expressed loneliness, alienation, and isolation through their art. Many of them were dealing with their own insecurities, fears, and personal struggles while trying to create something meaningful and make a place for themselves in the world.
This is the kind of book you take your time reading, because you constantly find yourself stopping to look more into the artists mentioned and dive deeper into their lives, their stories, and the impact they had on art and pop culture. The author writes about them in such an engaging and intimate way that it makes you want to learn more and more about them.
This book also explores serious topics such as drug addiction, homelessness, rejection, mental illness, and the isolation and discrimination faced by queer artists in the 50s and 60s. Through the lives of these artists, the author shows how loneliness can shape a person’s identity, relationships, and art, while also exploring the emotional cost of feeling misunderstood by society.
I have not finished this book, and I’m taking my time reading it. It feels like a little treasure I can come back to whenever I want to relax and get lost in it for a while. I truly recommend this book to anyone, even if you’re not looking to read about art. I believe anyone who reads it can find something to relate to.
Drop a comment if you're feeling lonely today 🖤