Title: An Important Countercultural Message
Review: Rilke wrote, "I implore those who love me to love my solitude," and Storr explains why a creative (or ordinary) person might utter or wish to utter such a request. This book is restrained in its tone, but Storr's agenda is not neutral -- he clearly objects to what he sees as a social convention that undervalues solitude and overvalues relationship. Another reviewer's insistence here that solitude and "loneliness" are the same thing only confirms Storr's point. I believe that much of what people call loneliness in this culture is actually alienation, and that alienation is the result of people's deprivation of the alone time that helps nourish the self. I give it 4 stars rather than 5 only because I believe some people will find the analytical jargon off-putting.
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