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charadreemurrs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
4.25
emmastens's review against another edition
5.0
It is a dream to be able to write a sentence as sharp and incisive as anything Joan Didion has ever written. Goddamnit.
lilyrxbinson's review against another edition
5.0
“Who could think that the building of a railroad could guarantee salvation, when there in the lawns of the men who built the railroad nothing is left but the shadows of migrainous women, and the pony carts waiting for the long-dead children?”
I loved this book and I love this style of writing. Didion has a very unique way of teleporting you right into the feeling of an era. A skill she explores in On Keeping a Notebook. My favorite story was Where the Kissing Never Stops, but I think it will change every time I reread.
I loved this book and I love this style of writing. Didion has a very unique way of teleporting you right into the feeling of an era. A skill she explores in On Keeping a Notebook. My favorite story was Where the Kissing Never Stops, but I think it will change every time I reread.
owlyenthusiast's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
First Joan Didion book I’ve read and I understand why people love her. The prose in here was so detailed and delightfully dry but vivid. I enjoyed her reflections on California and the more journalistic essays than the personal ones, but the writing was strong throughout.
jennpellecchia's review against another edition
5.0
Collection of essays written in the early to mid-60s. Don't pick this up if you aren't interested in that time period. Some pieces are dated, but pleasantly so: John Wayne is alive, Fellini is "banal," and Alcatraz is not open to the public. It's interesting to get these perspectives from a still-working writer.
amanda_pinero's review against another edition
4.0
Didion does an exceptional job capturing the essence of California with all of the highs and lows. I personally have fallen in love living in this beautiful state, and reading Slouching Towards Bethlehem made my love even more cemented in my heart.
emilykilbourne's review against another edition
5.0
Slouching Towards Bethlehem is easily my favorite Didion (although Play It As It Lays is a veeeeery close second). Joan Didion’s writing wraps me up, gives me a hug, shakes me, and then slowly unravels itself and slinks back off into the trees.
jillyfaz's review against another edition
3.0
Very good collection of essays by the Master from the 1960's and 1970's.