Blame My Shelf

The Opposite of Loneliness We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that’s what I want in life The Opposite of Loneliness brings together Marina Keegan’s short stories and essays, both previously published and unpublished, to great effect. Personally, I have rarely found the draw of short stories alluring. I see Edgar Allen Poe as overtly sombre and more akin to something I would have read at school, and Ali Smith unsatisfactory – without the chapters of back story I can find her work clipped, and care little for the characters. However – Marina Keegan shows masterful skill over the short story and for the first time had me rapt. After each story I felt as though I needed a break, to digest and wrap myself in the characters for a moment. They did not appear to be the beginnings of a novel, each one, in a chapter sized length, is a whole and complete journey –rarely resolved by our writer, however never concluded predictably. I love...

I read a book recently that was discussing alcohol, and essentially discussing what excessive looks like. According to this novelist, if you drink beyond three glasses of wine or thereabouts a sitting, or lose a level of control over yourself, or do not have a full recollection the next day, more than occasionally – you should book a GP appointment. Whilst this is probably true according to NHS and health body guidelines, I do believe that this is not representative of many people’s University experience or the duration of a stereotypical British person’s twenties (or thirties…or forties). If your experience and opinion towards alcohol looks similar to those guidelines, I do not think you will enjoy, or perhaps understand, this book. Our eyes of the novel are Laura, on the very edge of her twenties and entering her thirties throughout the novel. An aspiring writer who has worked a string of different unfulfilling jobs, she is the antithesis of her classical musician fiancé, Jim...