`A generation-defining collection published posthumously… Her voice is relevant, sharp, fresh, unfiltered and poetic, with a dry wit. You can dive in and out of her questioning and her musings and meanderings. So much promise’ Jenna Coleman, star of Doctor Who and Victoria
Marina Keegan's star was on the rise when she graduated from Yale in May 2012. She had a play that was to be produced at the New York International Fringe Festival and a job waiting for her at the New Yorker. Tragically, five days after graduation, Marina died in a car crash.
As her family, friends and classmates, deep in grief, joined to create a memorial service for Marina, her unforgettable last essay for the Yale Daily News, 'The Opposite of Loneliness', went viral, receiving more than 1.4 million hits. She had struck a chord.
Even though she was just 22 when she died, Marina left behind a rich, expansive trove of prose that, like her title essay, captures the hope, uncertainty and possibility of her generation. The Opposite of Loneliness is an assemblage of Marina's essays and stories that articulates the universal struggle we all face as we work out what we aspire to be and how we can harness our talents to make an impact on the world.
I received an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/04/02/review-the-opposite-of-loneliness/
Reading this collection of fiction and non-fiction pieces, it’s clear that Marina Keegan was a very talented individual who had a lot to say and a lot of stories to tell. The book blurb captures much of the essence of what she writes about: of people just trying to figure out their relationships, their lives, the course of life itself, how we value things, what’s important. One thing that really struck me as I was reading her fiction was how open and earnest her writing style was, whether it was a non-fiction essay or a short story, inviting the reader into these themes, ideas and story plots.
There’s a lot of hope and optimism that radiates through these pages: of the future, of hopes and dreams, of our youth. In a world where scepticism and wariness reigns supreme, it’s refreshing to read such hope for the possibilities that lie before us. If there’s anything at all that I take out of reading this collection, it’s this.
The Opposite of Loneliness is an impressive collection of Marina Keegan's storytelling, ideas, observations and impressions of the world. It is very sad that she was taken so soon, she had so much ahead of her. I highly recommend this book, whether you read short stories or non-fiction essays or not.
