A very thoughtful and timely essay, thanks for that. I too have been noticing Didion and the attention she’s been getting, all for very good reasons in a time when I find myself citing Mencken and other critics of American mythology.
Nice post! I've only ever read her memoirs and essays, but maybe now I'll read some of her other work. Her 1968 essay on migraine ("In Bed"; though be forewarned its medical details are understandably out of date) was honestly paradigm shifting for me when I first read it 4-5 years ago, as someone who also struggles with migraine and a few other chronic health things. In telling her own story about migraines, she offers a way for me to see them not as an enemy but as my body trying to tell me something, or help my mind rest. I reread it at least 3-4 times a year, and when I meet a fellow migrainous kinsman, I send them a copy of that (rather than the latest medical finding, which I'm also always reading up on). Because medicine can help us manage symptoms, but stories help us do the harder work of living with them meaningfully.
Good one, Joel. I too had long heard of Didion and never read any of her work. I read her because I knew, and wanted to change, the fact that I read very few female authors. And what I'd heard about her seemed normative and thoughtful. So I got a copy of Year of Magical Thinking. It was, of course, well written, masterful, but also with gigantic tragedies underplayed. I guess I'd gotten used to more pathos in my reads, mostly novels. But as a writer I know that much can be said above, between and below the words on the page.
You always surprise with your takes on books and you are a wealth of info on what to pull down off the shelves. Recommend for me, if you will, the next Didion book I should read.
Asking for a friend who is so committed to cause and effect that he expects everything that ever happened to be an etiological myth (within the cause/effect cone of time), but whose commitment to truth won't allow him to fudge on any details. What kind of stories can he tell?
Great review Joel. I am a big fan and particularly love The White Album and The Year of Magical Thinking. I have seen this book being promoted online and getting good reviews. More and more is being written about Didion now, in recognition of her quality work. I do wonder about the publishing of Notes to John recently. It seems to be an excavation of very intimate material and I wonder if she would have approved. I don't think I am drawn to it.
A very thoughtful and timely essay, thanks for that. I too have been noticing Didion and the attention she’s been getting, all for very good reasons in a time when I find myself citing Mencken and other critics of American mythology.
I do love Mencken.
A college girlfriend gave me a copy of In Defense of Women and I was hooked
Nice post! I've only ever read her memoirs and essays, but maybe now I'll read some of her other work. Her 1968 essay on migraine ("In Bed"; though be forewarned its medical details are understandably out of date) was honestly paradigm shifting for me when I first read it 4-5 years ago, as someone who also struggles with migraine and a few other chronic health things. In telling her own story about migraines, she offers a way for me to see them not as an enemy but as my body trying to tell me something, or help my mind rest. I reread it at least 3-4 times a year, and when I meet a fellow migrainous kinsman, I send them a copy of that (rather than the latest medical finding, which I'm also always reading up on). Because medicine can help us manage symptoms, but stories help us do the harder work of living with them meaningfully.
It’s amazing how certain authors speak to us in exactly the ways we need—never knowing anything about us.
Good one, Joel. I too had long heard of Didion and never read any of her work. I read her because I knew, and wanted to change, the fact that I read very few female authors. And what I'd heard about her seemed normative and thoughtful. So I got a copy of Year of Magical Thinking. It was, of course, well written, masterful, but also with gigantic tragedies underplayed. I guess I'd gotten used to more pathos in my reads, mostly novels. But as a writer I know that much can be said above, between and below the words on the page.
You always surprise with your takes on books and you are a wealth of info on what to pull down off the shelves. Recommend for me, if you will, the next Didion book I should read.
Thank you!
Asking for a friend who is so committed to cause and effect that he expects everything that ever happened to be an etiological myth (within the cause/effect cone of time), but whose commitment to truth won't allow him to fudge on any details. What kind of stories can he tell?
Excellent essay on one of my favorite people. 🩷
Great review Joel. I am a big fan and particularly love The White Album and The Year of Magical Thinking. I have seen this book being promoted online and getting good reviews. More and more is being written about Didion now, in recognition of her quality work. I do wonder about the publishing of Notes to John recently. It seems to be an excavation of very intimate material and I wonder if she would have approved. I don't think I am drawn to it.
Didion understood how reality, like Hollywood, creates narratives about itself that are hard to challenge, and she seemed to suggest how they could.