on DON'T LET ME BE LONELY

DON'T LET ME BE LONELY is a record of Claudia Rankine's experiences in a specific geographical location (the United States of America) during a specific point in time (the beginning of the twenty-first century). The book begins with the author reminiscing about a time "when no one I knew well had died." Rankine goes on to examine death, its representation in popular media, and various anecdotes relating to death. In the next section of the book (distinguished by a photograph of a static-covered television), the author begins by remarking, "I leave the television on all the time." She reports a dialogue she has heard on the television concerning death - how a young man (a juvenile offender) responds to an interviewer, when asked if someone (it is never specified whom) is dead, that the person "is dead to me." This exchange results in some confusion for the interviewer as the young man repeatedly states that the person is dead to him (in an emotional context - whether or not the person is physically dead is of little consideration to the young man).

Themes regarding life and death are evident throughout this book: we can find them in the author's examination of the life and death of hope, medicine and hospitals, film and television, the work of various writers, and (then-)current events. This is very much a book about figuring out one's place in the world (and trying to make sense of this position). As determining one's position has much to do with determining the position of other entities, the importance of these interactions with said entities is also prevalent in this book. It is interesting that the author often references the medium of television (often seen as a cold, impersonal means of interpersonal communication) throughout the text. The author also discusses loneliness in the context of interacting with others. At one point, she states "loneliness stems from a feeling of uselessness."

Near the end of the book, Ranice discusses the act of shaking someone's hand - how it is an act of asserting one's presence as much as it is a submission of one's self to another. According to the author, the transient nature of the balance between the two has "everything to do with being alive."