I'm a fourth-generation Californian, and have stayed. All of my grandchildren are sixth-generation Californians by birth, but few of them live here now. None of my ancestors came to California from the South, though my paternal grandfather did drive the family of six across the country, camping all the way from upstate New York, in 1925.
Somehow I grew up unselfconsciously Californian, proud of my farmer family and not connected to the big cities at all. And I've never read a Didion book, though when my husband died I almost read Magical Thinking -- until I saw that she was not a woman of faith, so I didn't think that it would be a good fit for me. Just this week I was given her A Book of Common Prayer. I didn't even know about all these California-musing books by her, but you've easily persuaded me to read one of those soon. I'm glad I subscribed to your newsletter just in time for this post!
A few years back I read The Year of Magical Thinking. It deals with the death of her husband. It is beautifully written, but like James Baldwin (who I also read the same year), is persistently haunting. Her writing stays with you. I like to say that Didion's writing "stays with you because it slays and fillets you."
In my decades long writing project on trusting God with sudden and overwhelming grief, I mention this Didion book and briefly comment on her hopeless view of life.
Joan Didion's favorite Psalm would definitely be Ps. 88.
When I was working on a MFA in creative nonfiction ( btw, I never finished my thesis, hence no degree) my adviser had me read a lot of Didion. I couldn’t read The Year of Magical Thinking at first, because there was a lot of tragedy going on in my life. Several years later, I did read it. I have all of Didion’s writings. She and James Baldwin are the non-fiction writers I turn to again and again. I like Baldwin’s nonfiction ( not sure like is the right word, maybe sucker punch is) works best.
You did not say much about style, but much of what she writes is so great less because of the subject matter (lots of people have written about California) than because of how she says it, and the crafted persona which seems to be saying it. Maybe a few more words along those lines at some point? Maybe if you read the novels? I like the novels and I especially love Democracy.
Slouching Toward Bethlehem (both the book and the essay itself) are superb. Leave aside the obvious skill with which she paints those portraits. The mark of really great writing of that type is that the reader comes away feeling like he or she is talking directly to his or her conscience. California’s conscience.
Just this past weekend, I read "Where I Was From." I learned a lot and enjoyed the prose. It inspired me to think about my own identity as a lifelong New Yorker and what that meant and means to me. It's the subject of the post I'm currently writing.
My takeaway from the book was that Didion was down on her state and angry about the false myths she learned as a girl. The hypocrisy of relying on the government while preaching individualism really bothered her. And the Willy Loman-like characters of Lakewood really bothered her too.
And I've seldom seen an author be so scathing about her own work as she was about her first novel, River Run.
This was really absorbing. I now want to read that book Where I'm From. I'd never heard of Joan Didion or the term "magical thinking" so when I went to see a play at Bath Theatre Royal (Bath in Somerset UK),called The Year of Magical Thinking about a writer called Joan Didion I learned new things,one being that my whole brain,inner,consciousness life is total magical thinking. This play was quite a tour de force. It was just the actor Vanessa Redgrave,just her alone doing the whole play and speaking it with such conviction,it was real. The stage was bare with just one prop,a chair that Vanessa/Joan sat in sometimes and others not. I enjoyed reading this article and this lady's books sound really interesting,more than id thought. Time to start googling Amazon I guess.
After cny clear out i found a boxed set of john wyndham:) had to share my drops of joy here for this:) happy chinese new year of the dragon:) to all from Singapore.
I loved this so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed her writing. Her words sort of become part of who you are after reading her books. I've never been the same since I discovered her writing (and I mean that in the best way possible).
I'm a fourth-generation Californian, and have stayed. All of my grandchildren are sixth-generation Californians by birth, but few of them live here now. None of my ancestors came to California from the South, though my paternal grandfather did drive the family of six across the country, camping all the way from upstate New York, in 1925.
Somehow I grew up unselfconsciously Californian, proud of my farmer family and not connected to the big cities at all. And I've never read a Didion book, though when my husband died I almost read Magical Thinking -- until I saw that she was not a woman of faith, so I didn't think that it would be a good fit for me. Just this week I was given her A Book of Common Prayer. I didn't even know about all these California-musing books by her, but you've easily persuaded me to read one of those soon. I'm glad I subscribed to your newsletter just in time for this post!
A few years back I read The Year of Magical Thinking. It deals with the death of her husband. It is beautifully written, but like James Baldwin (who I also read the same year), is persistently haunting. Her writing stays with you. I like to say that Didion's writing "stays with you because it slays and fillets you."
In my decades long writing project on trusting God with sudden and overwhelming grief, I mention this Didion book and briefly comment on her hopeless view of life.
Joan Didion's favorite Psalm would definitely be Ps. 88.
I read Salvador last week. Tight book. I have a few more to dig into on my pile. I like her. She’s wiry.
When I was working on a MFA in creative nonfiction ( btw, I never finished my thesis, hence no degree) my adviser had me read a lot of Didion. I couldn’t read The Year of Magical Thinking at first, because there was a lot of tragedy going on in my life. Several years later, I did read it. I have all of Didion’s writings. She and James Baldwin are the non-fiction writers I turn to again and again. I like Baldwin’s nonfiction ( not sure like is the right word, maybe sucker punch is) works best.
Excellent essay.
You did not say much about style, but much of what she writes is so great less because of the subject matter (lots of people have written about California) than because of how she says it, and the crafted persona which seems to be saying it. Maybe a few more words along those lines at some point? Maybe if you read the novels? I like the novels and I especially love Democracy.
Slouching Toward Bethlehem (both the book and the essay itself) are superb. Leave aside the obvious skill with which she paints those portraits. The mark of really great writing of that type is that the reader comes away feeling like he or she is talking directly to his or her conscience. California’s conscience.
Just this past weekend, I read "Where I Was From." I learned a lot and enjoyed the prose. It inspired me to think about my own identity as a lifelong New Yorker and what that meant and means to me. It's the subject of the post I'm currently writing.
My takeaway from the book was that Didion was down on her state and angry about the false myths she learned as a girl. The hypocrisy of relying on the government while preaching individualism really bothered her. And the Willy Loman-like characters of Lakewood really bothered her too.
And I've seldom seen an author be so scathing about her own work as she was about her first novel, River Run.
This was really absorbing. I now want to read that book Where I'm From. I'd never heard of Joan Didion or the term "magical thinking" so when I went to see a play at Bath Theatre Royal (Bath in Somerset UK),called The Year of Magical Thinking about a writer called Joan Didion I learned new things,one being that my whole brain,inner,consciousness life is total magical thinking. This play was quite a tour de force. It was just the actor Vanessa Redgrave,just her alone doing the whole play and speaking it with such conviction,it was real. The stage was bare with just one prop,a chair that Vanessa/Joan sat in sometimes and others not. I enjoyed reading this article and this lady's books sound really interesting,more than id thought. Time to start googling Amazon I guess.
After cny clear out i found a boxed set of john wyndham:) had to share my drops of joy here for this:) happy chinese new year of the dragon:) to all from Singapore.
I read and reread Didion every year, the same reason people track their height growing up with pencil marks.
This year I have her sentence ringing in my head, “marriage is the ultimate betrayal.”
Didion is one of my favorite writers. Slouching towards Bethlehem and Play it as it Lays are top tier books.
I loved this so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed her writing. Her words sort of become part of who you are after reading her books. I've never been the same since I discovered her writing (and I mean that in the best way possible).