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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
good book, i liked the white album more
Gorgeous writing, I love Didion’s cadence and how she transports you to the sun bleached californian landscape. On Keeping a Notebook is one of my all time favourite essays - “what kind of magpie keeps this notebook” resonates with me deeply. Became a bit monotonous by the end - I preferred the White Album as a whole collection.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
medium-paced
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Didion has a voice like no other.
reflective
medium-paced
reflective
relaxing
I feel rather complicated about Joan Didion’s work and the cultural symbol that it’s taken on. There’s this persona of the 60’s that she represents which feels unfair when I’m just reading or listening to her writing. Her prose are lovely, if a little repetitive (she loves to use the universal “one” to refer to a person). But I sort of wonder if that persona is one of the reasons her work has remained so relevant. I didn’t find many of her opinions to be particularly groundbreaking, introspective, or inspiring. She just kind of wrote sensibly about slightly fringe topics with unrelenting neutrality. Honestly, I think that neutrality has actually aged worst of all. I don’t think we live in a time where you can be neutral about politics or family or police or court proceedings so some of these essays just felt sooo dated because of that. Too many thoughts to put here sorry
Very good first two sections with a slow/less compelling final section.