Funny Weather
16 April 2020Synopsis
'A brave writer whose books open up fundamental questions about life and art' – Telegraph
In this inspiring collection of essays, acclaimed writer and critic Olivia Laing makes a vivid and politically-engaged case for the importance of art – especially in the turbulent weather of the twenty-first century.
We are often told art can’t change anything. In Funny Weather, Laing argues that it can. It changes how we see the world, it exposes inequality, and it offers fertile new ways of living.
Across a diverse selection of essays, Laing profiles Jean-Michel Basquiat and Georgia O’Keeffe, 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.
Written with originality and compassion, Funny Weather is a celebration of art as a force of resistance and repair – and as an antidote to a frightening political moment.
Details
16 April 2020
9781529027679Reviews
A brave writer whose books open up fundamental questions about life and artTelegraph
Olivia Laing is my new favourite non-fiction writerNick Hornby
Like all great critics, Olivia Laing combines formidable intelligence with boundless curiosity and fabulous taste, but she also has a rare quality of intimacy; an ability to connect the reader to a work of art or literature with a directness that lights it up like nothing else. It’s why I read herJames Lasdun
A warm, thinking, enticing sweep of a book, like spending the afternoon with your brainiest friendKate Mosse, author of The Burning Chambers
