Opposite of Loneliness - Rambling Readers

240 pages

English language

Published Jan. 15, 2014 by Simon & Schuster, Limited.

ISBN:: 978-1-4767-5362-1

(1 review)

The instant New York Times bestseller and publishing phenomenon: Marina Keegan’s posthumous collection of award-winning essays and stories “sparkles with talent, humanity, and youth” (O, The Oprah Magazine).

Marina Keegan’s star was on the rise when she graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012. She had a play that was to be produced at the New York Fringe Festival and a job waiting for her at The New Yorker. Tragically, five days after graduation, Marina died in a car crash.

Marina left behind a rich, deeply expansive trove of writing that, like her title essay, captures the hope, uncertainty, and possibility of her generation. Her short story “Cold Pastoral” was published on NewYorker.com. Her essay “Even Artichokes Have Doubts” was excerpted in the Financial Times, and her book was the focus of a Nicholas Kristof column in The New York Times. Millions of her contemporaries have responded to …

The instant New York Times bestseller and publishing phenomenon: Marina Keegan’s posthumous collection of award-winning essays and stories “sparkles with talent, humanity, and youth” (O, The Oprah Magazine).

Marina Keegan’s star was on the rise when she graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012. She had a play that was to be produced at the New York Fringe Festival and a job waiting for her at The New Yorker. Tragically, five days after graduation, Marina died in a car crash.

Marina left behind a rich, deeply expansive trove of writing that, like her title essay, captures the hope, uncertainty, and possibility of her generation. Her short story “Cold Pastoral” was published on NewYorker.com. Her essay “Even Artichokes Have Doubts” was excerpted in the Financial Times, and her book was the focus of a Nicholas Kristof column in The New York Times. Millions of her contemporaries have responded to her work on social media.

As Marina wrote: “We can still do anything. We can change our minds. We can start over…We’re so young. We can’t, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it’s all we have.” The Opposite of Loneliness is an unforgettable collection of Marina’s essays and stories that articulates the universal struggle all of us face as we figure out what we aspire to be and how we can harness our talents to impact the world. “How do you mourn the loss of a fiery talent that was barely a tendril before it was snuffed out? Answer: Read this book. A clear-eyed observer of human nature, Keegan could take a clever idea...and make it something beautiful” (People).

3 editions

crabbygirl reviewed The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan

Review of 'The Opposite of Loneliness' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

heartbreaking to read - because THIS was a voice that was going to move mountains.
the author, only 22, died 5 days after her graduation from Yale. and her opening piece, Cold Pastoral, is a masterful tale of modern life for the twenty-somethings of today. there's feeling nostalgia for that age, and there's living at that age: marina keegan writes it as fresh and yet absolutely tangible to this 40+ year old.
some of her essays were meh (but is that a fault of her writing or my lack of interest in that particular subject?) but some were enlightening enough to make me want to change my opinion about academics, job prospects, and designs for the future.
it is in the essays that her family, her mom especially, must find some comfort in their loss. marina was cognisant of her parents' lives in a way that most 22 year olds …

heartbreaking to read - because THIS was a voice that was going to move mountains.
the author, only 22, died 5 days after her graduation from Yale. and her opening piece, Cold Pastoral, is a masterful tale of modern life for the twenty-somethings of today. there's feeling nostalgia for that age, and there's living at that age: marina keegan writes it as fresh and yet absolutely tangible to this 40+ year old.
some of her essays were meh (but is that a fault of her writing or my lack of interest in that particular subject?) but some were enlightening enough to make me want to change my opinion about academics, job prospects, and designs for the future.
it is in the essays that her family, her mom especially, must find some comfort in their loss. marina was cognisant of her parents' lives in a way that most 22 year olds wouldn't yet be: "i'd laugh at her love and scoff at her efforts. it didn't matter to me. i was still too young to try on her shoes." while it's true her life was cut short, in many ways - with her empathy, reflection and experience - she was an old soul.

Subjects

Essays (single author)
Fiction, short stories (single author)