I love Laing’s nonfiction, so was very excited to read this new experimental novel which took the book world by storm. Written in a flurry over the summer of 2017, it’s told in real time, and conflates Laing’s real life persona with that of the cult literary figure Kathy Acker. I spoke to Laing about the book – and the genre of ‘autofiction’ more generally – for Five Books in October, and found her a thoughtful, erudite and inspiring interview subject. I also particularly enjoyed one of her recommendations, Michelle Tea’s Black Wave . I read this 1980 play as research for an essay I wrote on the Gaelic language earlier this year , and it has stuck in my head ever since. British soldiers arrive in 19th-century Ireland charged with ‘standardising’ (anglicising) Gaelic place names – and, in fact, bastardise them. Illustrates well the complexities of human relationships under colonialism and the insidious impact of cultural imperialism.
"I love Laing’s nonfiction, so was very excited to read this new experimental novel which took the book world by storm. Written in a flurry over the summer of 2017, it’s told in real time, and conflates Laing’s real life persona with that of the cult literary figure Kathy Acker. I spoke to Laing about the book – and the genre of ‘autofiction’ more generally – for Five Books in October, and found her a thoughtful, erudite and inspiring interview subject. I also particularly enjoyed one of her recommendations, Michelle Tea’s Black Wave . I read this 1980 play as research for an essay I wrote on the Gaelic language earlier this year , and it has stuck in my head ever since. British soldiers arrive in 19th-century Ireland charged with ‘standardising’ (anglicising) Gaelic place names – and, in fact, bastardise them. Illustrates well the complexities of human relationships under colonialism and the insidious impact of cultural imperialism."
Editors' Picks: Highlights From a Year in Reading ·
fivebooks.com
"Olivia Laing’s The Lonely City was one of my favorite books of the past few years – a sweeping, melancholy, perceptive study of loneliness. This is her first novel, which is smaller in scope but has the same emotional acuity. In it, a woman very much like Laing prepares to get married against a backdrop of Trump, Brexit and a generalized malaise that makes everything feel out of control and bad. I can’t think of anything that has captured the feeling of the past few years so well: the ways that world historical crises coexist with daily life, making it hard for either to feel quite real."
