She was a good writer but had huge blind spots when it came to what was in front of her. Whether the child tripping in that book of hers or her daughter’s demons which she never acknowledged. She thought style was substance.
I love a lot of Didion's writing, especially A Year of Magical Thinking, but a lot of it is nearly unreadable to me now. I honestly thought The White Album was trash when I read it this year. It oozes privilege that, at this point in our cultural reckoning, is really hard to stomach.
I read The Year of Magical Thinking because I was dealing with grief and it was the book everyone recommended. I see why it’s highly regarded but I it left me wondering how people could relate to it considering the rarefied access to health service and helicopters etc. But mostly I smelled a rat and there were glaring omissions when it came to her daughter’s issues and considering she’s famous for treating her life with journalistic precision….. 🤔🤔🤔
for me it's pauline kael going tf off in her play it as it lays review: "The ultimate princess fantasy is to be so glamorously sensitive and beautiful that you have to be taken care of... you see the truth, and so you suffer more than ordinary people and can’t function." also wow drag me pauline
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I need to reread The Year of Magical Thinking. I know it will hit different since losing my mom.
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I remember learning about her when I was taking a journalism class. I can't remember which book I read of her but I really like her writing style.
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I agree with a lot in this article:
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-most-revealing-moment-in-the-new-joan-didion-documentary/amp
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