{"title":"Olivia Laing","description":"\u003cp\u003eOlivia Laing's work deftly weaves personal narrative with cultural and natural history, inviting readers into profound explorations of identity, creativity, and solitude. Her books traverse genres, blending elements of \u003cem\u003ebiography and memoir\u003c\/em\u003e with reflections on art, landscape, and the human experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom intimate urban meditations to vivid portrayals of nature and creativity, Laing's writing is marked by thoughtful observation and emotional depth. Readers can expect richly textured stories that illuminate both external worlds and inner landscapes.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-lonely-city","title":"The Lonely City","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Lonely City\u003c\/em\u003e, Olivia Laing charts her journey through New York City in her mid-thirties, when she found herself grappling with an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Rather than succumb to this isolating experience, Laing delves deep into the fabric of the city's artistic landscape, exploring the intersections of solitude and creativity. Moving seamlessly through the works and lives of some of New York’s most intriguing artists, Laing provides a profound and electrifying analysis of what it means to be alone in the modern urban environment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLaing's narrative is a masterful blend of immersive biography, personal memoir, and cultural critique. She examines the lives of artists such as Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, Henry Darger, and David Wojnarowicz, using their experiences and artworks as a lens through which to explore her own feelings of isolation. Through this exploration, Laing unveils the intricate relationship between loneliness and artistic expression, demonstrating how solitude can sometimes lead to profound creativity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHer writing is vivid and engrossing, drawing readers into the rich histories and emotional landscapes of the artists she profiles. \u003cem\u003eThe Lonely City\u003c\/em\u003e is not only a study of the complexities of loneliness but also a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of art. Laing’s narrative invites readers to consider how loneliness might be resisted and ultimately, how it can be a redemptive force.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor anyone who has ever felt the sting of isolation, \u003cem\u003eThe Lonely City\u003c\/em\u003e offers solace and a new perspective on the universal human condition. It is an essential read for lovers of art, those who have experienced loneliness, and anyone interested in the intersection of personal experience and creative expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45707181490412,"sku":"9781782111252","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781782111252.jpg?v=1725896851"},{"product_id":"the-trip-to-echo-spring","title":"The Trip to Echo Spring","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy did numerous celebrated authors become entwined with the grip of alcoholism? In \u003ci\u003eThe Trip to Echo Spring\u003c\/i\u003e, Olivia Laing weaves an evocative journey across America, probing the intricate interplay between creativity and alcohol through the intertwined lives and works of six literary giants: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, John Berryman, John Cheever, and Raymond Carver.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLaing embarks on a captivating exploration, tracing her steps from Hemingway’s sun-drenched Key West to Williams’s sultry New Orleans. Along the way, she constructs an evocative topographical map of alcoholism's impact on their brilliance and personal struggles. Olivia Laing delves deeply into their biographies, stripping away the tangled mythology to reveal the harrowing toll taken by their creative pursuits.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Trip to Echo Spring\u003c\/i\u003e is not simply a biography of addiction but a profound meditation on the thirst for artistic expression and the shadows that accompanied their literary genius. Laing's narrative vividly portrays how these six extraordinary men navigated the turbulent waters of fame, existential despair, and relentless self-doubt with a bottle often clutched in their grasp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe book casts a tender yet incisive light on these literary figures, examining how their battles with alcoholism influenced their art, relationships, and ultimately, their lives. Through her eloquent prose and penetrating insight, Laing charts a path through a landscape of brilliance marred by suffering, offering readers a glimpse into the human cost of genius.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis compelling read is a meticulous blend of biography, literary criticism, and travelogue, revealing the complex and often painful realities behind the myth of the drinks-soaked writer. It’s an essential exploration for anyone fascinated by the interplay between creativity and addiction, and for those who wish to understand the deeper currents that have shaped some of the greatest works of 20th-century literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Trip to Echo Spring\u003c\/i\u003e is a testament to Olivia Laing's profound empathy and skilful narrative ability, providing a moving and thought-provoking look at the lives of these remarkable yet troubled men.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45707345887468,"sku":"9781786891600","price":25.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781786891600.jpg?v=1725898988"},{"product_id":"to-the-river","title":"To the River","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver sixty years after Virginia Woolf's tragic drowning in the River Ouse, Olivia Laing embarks on a journey that intertwines the natural world with poignant reflections on life and literature. In \u003ci\u003eTo the River\u003c\/i\u003e, Laing sets out to walk along the banks of this historic river, tracing its path from its source to the sea. This journey is not just a physical one but also an exploration of the river's place in mythology, science, social history, and the literary imagination.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs she meanders along the riverbanks, Laing delves into the haunting beauty and the often overlooked violence that rivers can embody. She weaves a rich tapestry of stories, drawing parallels between the river's flow and the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Through her lyrical prose, Laing sheds light on the relentless and mysterious nature of the River Ouse, invoking the spirits of those who have walked its paths before her, including Virginia Woolf herself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eTo the River\u003c\/i\u003e offers a captivating meditation on the landscape and our place within it. Laing's narrative is both a personal pilgrimage and an ode to the natural world, revealing how places retain the echoes of those who have passed through them. As she reflects on the intertwined fates of rivers and human lives, Laing's words resonate with a timeless truth: that ghosts, both literal and metaphorical, never truly leave the places they love. This evocative journey through the English countryside invites readers to consider their own relationship with nature and history, making \u003ci\u003eTo the River\u003c\/i\u003e an unforgettable literary exploration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45707420074220,"sku":"9781786891587","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781786891587.jpg?v=1725899835"},{"product_id":"the-garden-against-time-by-olivia-laing-9781529066708","title":"The Garden Against Time","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat a wonderful book this is. I loved the enchanting and beautifully written story but also the fascinating and thoughtful excursions along the way. – Nigel Slater\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA garden contains secrets, we all know that: buried elements that might put on strange growth or germinate in unexpected places. The garden that I chose had walls, but like every garden it was interconnected, wide open to the world . . .\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2020, Olivia Laing began to restore a walled garden in Suffolk, an overgrown Eden of unusual plants. The work drew them into an exhilarating investigation of paradise and its long association with gardens.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMoving between real and imagined gardens, from Milton’s \u003cem\u003eParadise Lost\u003c\/em\u003e to John Clare’s enclosure elegies, from a wartime sanctuary in Italy to a grotesque aristocratic pleasure ground funded by slavery, Laing interrogates the sometimes shocking cost of making paradise on earth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut the story of the garden doesn’t always enact larger patterns of privilege and exclusion. It’s also a place of rebel outposts and communal dreams. From the improbable queer utopia conjured by Derek Jarman on the beach at Dungeness to the fertile vision of a common Eden propagated by William Morris. New modes of living can and have been attempted amidst the flower beds, experiments that could prove vital in the coming era of climate change.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Garden Against Time\u003c\/em\u003e is a beautiful and exacting account of the abundant pleasures and possibilities of gardens: not as a place to hide from the world but as a site of encounter and discovery, bee-loud and pollen-laden.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"The Distribution and Logistics Company (TDLC)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46193609408748,"sku":"9781529066708","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781529066708.jpg?v=1739839696"},{"product_id":"the-silver-book-by-olivia-laing-9780241783979","title":"The Silver Book","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt once a queer love story and a noirish thriller, set in the dream factory of cinema, \u003ci\u003eThe Silver Book\u003c\/i\u003e is a fictional account of real things, and an investigation into the difficult relationship between artifice and truth, illusion and reality, love and power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'It is dangerous to want someone this much. He has always known it, from the very first night.'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt is September 1974. Two men meet by chance in Venice. One is a young English artist, in panicked flight from London. The other is Danilo Donati, the magician of Italian cinema, the designer responsible for realising the spectacular visions of Fellini and Pasolini. Donati is in Venice to produce sketches for Fellini's \u003ci\u003eCasanova\u003c\/i\u003e. A young - and beautiful - apprentice is just what he needs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe sweeps Nicholas to Rome, into the looking-glass world of Cinecittà, the studio where Casanova's Venice will be ingeniously assembled. Then in the spring, the lovers move together to the set of \u003ci\u003eSalò\u003c\/i\u003e, Pasolini's horrifying fable of fascism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut Nicholas has a secret and in this world of constant illusion, his real nature passes unseen. Amidst the rising tensions of Italy's 'Years of Lead', he acts as an accelerant, setting in motion a tragedy he didn't intend.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Silver Book\u003c\/i\u003e is at once a queer love story and a noirish thriller, set in the dream factory of cinema. It's a fictional account of real things, and an investigation into the difficult relationship between artifice and truth, illusion and reality, love and power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46800983032044,"sku":"9780241783979","price":31.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/5d989e81fa3c790b092c68dd50be3def.jpg?v=1757321205"},{"product_id":"funny-weather-by-olivia-laing-9781529027655","title":"Funny Weather","description":"In this remarkable, inspiring collection of essays, acclaimed writer and critic Olivia Laing makes a brilliant case for why art matters, especially in the turbulent political weather of the twenty first century.\n\nFunny Weather brings together a career's worth of Laing's writing about art and culture, examining its role in our political and emotional lives. She profiles Jean-Michel Basquiat and Georgia O'Keefe, interviews Hilary Mantel and Ali Smith, writes love letters to David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, and explores loneliness and technology, women and alcohol, sex and the body. With characteristic originality and compassion, she celebrates art as a force of resistance and repair, an antidote to a frightening political time.\n\nWe're often told art can't change anything. Laing argues that it can. It changes how we see the world. It makes plain inequalities and it offers fertile new ways of living.","brand":"Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47288464638188,"sku":"9781529027655","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/10698273482732.jpg?v=1770555406"},{"product_id":"the-silver-book-by-olivia-laing-9781405982290","title":"The Silver Book","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Silver Book\u003c\/em\u003e by Olivia Laing is a unique blend of queer love story and true crime thriller set against the backdrop of 1970s cinema, brought to life by the award-winning, bestselling author.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt is September 1974. Two men meet by chance in Venice. One is a young English artist, in panicked flight from London. The other is Danilo Donati, the magician of Italian cinema, the designer responsible for realising the spectacular visions of Fellini and Pasolini. Donati is in Venice to produce sketches for Fellini's \u003cem\u003eCasanova\u003c\/em\u003e. A young—and beautiful—apprentice is just what he needs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe sweeps Nicholas to Rome, into the looking-glass world of Cinecittà, the studio where Casanova's Venice will be ingeniously assembled. Then in the spring, the lovers move together to the set of \u003cem\u003eSalò\u003c\/em\u003e, Pasolini's horrifying fable of fascism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut Nicholas has a secret and in this world of constant illusion, his real nature passes unseen. Amidst the rising tensions of Italy's 'Years of Lead', he acts as an accelerant, setting in motion a tragedy he didn't intend...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47754214801644,"sku":"9781405982290","price":28.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781405982290-the-silver-book.jpg?v=1781659931"},{"product_id":"crudo-by-olivia-laing-9781037414961","title":"Crudo","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShortlisted for the Goldsmith's Prize, the Gordon Burn Prize and the James Tait Black Award.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDive into a tale of love and loathing with the beach read of the summer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKathy is a writer. Kathy is getting married. It's the summer of 2017 and the whole world is falling apart.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom a Tuscan hotel for the super-rich to a Brexit-paralysed UK, Kathy spends the first summer of her forties trying to adjust to making a lifelong commitment just as Trump is tweeting the world into nuclear war. But it's not only Kathy who's changing. Political, social and natural landscapes are all in peril. Fascism is on the rise, truth is dead, the planet is hotting up. Is it really worth learning to love when the end of the world is nigh? And how do you make art, let alone a life, when one rogue tweet could end it all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOlivia Laing radically rewires the novel in a brilliant, funny and emphatically raw account of love in the apocalypse. A \u003cem\u003eGoodbye to Berlin\u003c\/em\u003e for the 21st century, \u003cem\u003eCrudo\u003c\/em\u003e charts in real time what it was like to live and love in the horrifying summer of 2017, from the perspective of a commitment-phobic artist who may or may not be Kathy Acker...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47900875948268,"sku":"9781037414961","price":28.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781037414961-crudo.jpg?v=1783434324"},{"product_id":"the-lonely-city-by-olivia-laing-9781837266456","title":"The Lonely City","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Wonderful and necessary' ANNE ENRIGHT ~ 'Stunning' DEBORAH LEVY ~ 'Beautiful' HANYA YANAGIHARA ~ 'Daring and seductive \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e ~ 'Continually unexpected' PETER CAREY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen 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 some of its most compelling artists, illuminating loneliness in a whole new light.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Lonely City\u003c\/i\u003e is a celebration of that strange and lovely state, intrinsic to the very act of being alive. Hailed as 'a new kind of literature' when it was first published and selling over two hundred thousand copies, Olivia Laing's dazzling book has been beloved by readers all over the world. Now, in this tenth anniversary edition, Laing reflects in a new afterword on how our experience of loneliness has changed over the course of a difficult decade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"This book changed my life. It taught me how to fall in love with writing about art\" -- \u003cb\u003eKATY HESSEL\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Story of Art Without Men\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Triumphant . . . A brave writer whose books open up fundamental questions about life and art\" ― \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Luminously wise and deeply compassionate . . . A fierce and essential work\" -- \u003cb\u003eHELEN MACDONALD\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Wonderfully freewheeling . . . Constantly surprising . . . Inspired\" ― \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eGuardian\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Stunning . . . Laing has written a classic that will be cherished for years to come\" -- \u003cb\u003eDEBORAH LEVY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Endlessly, compulsively fascinating\" ― \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Unusually brave . . . Sublime\" ― \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Laing cuts close to the bone of a universal yet often unrelatable state\" ― \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"A gifted critic and biographer . . . a fascinating, eerie piece of writing\" ― \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"One of the finest writers of the new non-fiction . . . Compelling and original\" ― \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHarper's Bazaar\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48147890143468,"sku":"9781837266456","price":49.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781837266456-the-lonely-city.jpg?v=1786452972"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/olivia-laing.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}