A wonderful, wise and relevant book.

In this book, Olivia Laing explores the experience of loneliness through the lives and work of four artists: Hopper, Warhol, Wajnarowicz, and Darger, weaving their biographies with her own experience. It is both scholarly and deeply humane, and so very relevant to our times, all the more so in the light of the isolation imposed by the Covid pandemic.

The reader was very good, apart from the odd mispronunciation (e.g. tempura for tempera). Surely it's part of the job of a reader to look up unfamiliar terms, or those that don't seem to make sense. But apart from that, she did capture the poetry and whole-heartedness of Laing's writing, no easy task.

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A tender and intimate look at loneliness and art.

I loved it, it changed my perspective on artists such as Warhol. I never put much weight in his work and found it so commercial and cold and yet now I understand why these qualities make perfect sense in his work and why there is actually a lot of pain and emotion in his work. I was impressed by the way the author gave her own feelings and yet told the stories of others with care and understanding but with a raw and truthful lense.

Definitely recommend.

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Wonderful

A brilliant blend of memoir, psychology, philosophy, centred around the fascinating lives and works of several artists. Really interesting. I think the only thing the audiobook may lack compared to the book is pictures of the art discussed, but I will definitely listen again and look these up.

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Human loneliness, art and now.

One of the best books I have encountered in a while, its strings together personal experience, art & the artist biographies, with a commentary on the bazar (lonely) uncertainty in which we live today. Thought provoking and reflective - difficult to put down.

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Really, truly excellent

Such a unique, powerful and thoughtful book. Accessible even for an Art ignoramus like myself and beautifully, touchingly personal at the same time. Superb

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Loved it!

Many references to artists, books and movies which, when read and seen, would make this book an even more intense and gripping read. So I'm sure I pick it up some time again. That adds to the value of from a good book, isn't it?

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Exceptional audiobook

Great, plain narration with emotional resonance conveyed where necessary. Plus extremely interesting meditations on art.

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So so beautifully written & narrated

Listening to this whilst painting, I felt as though my innermost fears for/ on loneliness were cradled and cared for. Excellent writing & narration

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Fine - but a bit Warhol-heavy

This narrator cannot pronounce “Giuliani”, and it’s really quite embarrassing. Also there’s way too much on Warhol

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Not what I expected.

There was alot of sexuality and the author obviously read alot into the subject but it wasn't clear how graphic the book would be before reading it. The book is full of many stories which have been well written and researched but I'd liked to have heard more about how loneliness affects the process of making art and not so much on sex. I would not have listened to this or have spent my money on this if I'd know. I am disappointed this wasn't made more clear from the blurb. I feel I have wasted my money as after the first couple of chapters it talks about sex and relationships of artists for almost all of the length of the book and less about the art its self, by then it was to late to get a refund.

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11 people found this helpful