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ashlurtis's review against another edition
2.0
I decided to read this solely based on the cover and author. I’ve never read Joan Didion before and I have no idea where I got the idea that I would love her, but... I was way off base on this one.
At first, the writing intrigued me and the narration style seemed interesting enough to keep the story moving along. I did read through a lot of this book in a few days, so it wasn’t AWFUL to read? I just... have no idea what I read?
The beginning sets up quite a few “mysteries” which makes the book easy to want to read more of, but the actual style is so elusive that after reading the entire thing, I know no more about it than when I first started. I’m not sure what exactly my problem with this book is, but I just couldn’t crack it.
There are a lot of political themes that go way over my head, for one. I don’t know anything about revolutions or Boca Grande or guns or royal families. Most of the actual dialogue and situations passed me by completely without my understanding any of what happened. The style reminds me almost of like Fitzgerald or something, but more difficult to grasp.
I think I’d try more Didion, but I’ll be way more cautious next time lol.
At first, the writing intrigued me and the narration style seemed interesting enough to keep the story moving along. I did read through a lot of this book in a few days, so it wasn’t AWFUL to read? I just... have no idea what I read?
The beginning sets up quite a few “mysteries” which makes the book easy to want to read more of, but the actual style is so elusive that after reading the entire thing, I know no more about it than when I first started. I’m not sure what exactly my problem with this book is, but I just couldn’t crack it.
There are a lot of political themes that go way over my head, for one. I don’t know anything about revolutions or Boca Grande or guns or royal families. Most of the actual dialogue and situations passed me by completely without my understanding any of what happened. The style reminds me almost of like Fitzgerald or something, but more difficult to grasp.
I think I’d try more Didion, but I’ll be way more cautious next time lol.
caitlinest's review
5.0
Her style exhausts me when working within creative nonfiction, but man, this novel always makes me cry.
jlmb's review
3.0
This is the first Didion I have ever read and I'm thinking this wasn't the best introduction to her work. Her writing style is great, with a strong author's voice and a unique structure to her sentences. However, in my middle-brow heart, I prefer my fiction to have a fairly conventional plot with a beginning, a middle and an end. This novel is more like a series of vague vignettes. Beautiful & evocative, but vignettes.
Charlotte is a maddening protagonist. I think that is Didion's point? To portray a certain type of American woman in the 1970s? One that is unable to understand who she is, unable to feel her own emotions, because she has spent her life disassociating from herself and is now bereft of the parts that make us human. Charlotte is like a Stepford wife. A beautiful woman going through the motions.
I was more drawn to the narrator, Grace. From the opening throwaway lines where Grace mentions her mother died when she was 8, her father died when she was 10 and then she lived alone in a South American hotel from 10-16, I was intrigued. Wait a minute....what??? That's it?! That's all the information the reader gets? I wanted to be reading about Grace's life, not Charlotte's life. Grace's life seemed a million times more interesting. Instead I was stuck with the ditherings and ramblings of Charlotte. Sigh.
I enjoyed the 1970's San Francisco setting of part of the book. Didion knows that world well. When the book was set in the fictional Boca Grande, I didn't care for it as much. This leads me to believe my next book of hers should be a non fiction set in California, either The White Album or Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Her writing pulled this novel up to a weak 3 star rating, but it's not a book I recommend reading unless you are a huge fan of the author and want to read all her works.
# Popsugar challenge 2020 A book that passes the Bechdel test
Charlotte is a maddening protagonist. I think that is Didion's point? To portray a certain type of American woman in the 1970s? One that is unable to understand who she is, unable to feel her own emotions, because she has spent her life disassociating from herself and is now bereft of the parts that make us human. Charlotte is like a Stepford wife. A beautiful woman going through the motions.
I was more drawn to the narrator, Grace. From the opening throwaway lines where Grace mentions her mother died when she was 8, her father died when she was 10 and then she lived alone in a South American hotel from 10-16, I was intrigued. Wait a minute....what??? That's it?! That's all the information the reader gets? I wanted to be reading about Grace's life, not Charlotte's life. Grace's life seemed a million times more interesting. Instead I was stuck with the ditherings and ramblings of Charlotte. Sigh.
I enjoyed the 1970's San Francisco setting of part of the book. Didion knows that world well. When the book was set in the fictional Boca Grande, I didn't care for it as much. This leads me to believe my next book of hers should be a non fiction set in California, either The White Album or Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Her writing pulled this novel up to a weak 3 star rating, but it's not a book I recommend reading unless you are a huge fan of the author and want to read all her works.
# Popsugar challenge 2020 A book that passes the Bechdel test
megandougherty's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
nihilisk's review
2.0
I was liking this book, until I realized that I was reading the same chapter, over and over. The characters here are all despicable, truly loathsome. Warren’s toxicity is beyond the realm of belief. Charlotte has no agency whatsoever and seems complicit in all the ‘tragedies’ befalling her. In fact, they don’t feel like tragedies, because everyone in this novel feels absolutely numb and hollow. Maybe that’s the point. The most fascinating thing about this book is its title. How does it fit? Prayers are very repetitive, and perhaps this is evidence of intent, behind the relentless lack of imagination of each chapter and the characters therein. I shudder to think that people like Charlotte and Warren exist, but I’m sure they must, somewhere. Actually, I don’t shudder; I don’t even care.
jennicakes's review
4.0
Didion's writing here lends itself easily to parody, but I still found it fierce as eff. And I didn't even pick this up for a good reason - I read somebody was making a movie of it, starring Christina Hendricks.
I really feel like the fictionalized setting provides a good metaphor for how woefully out of touch most Americans (I include myself) are when it comes to world history and politics, without annoying overstatement.
Quick read, too.
I really feel like the fictionalized setting provides a good metaphor for how woefully out of touch most Americans (I include myself) are when it comes to world history and politics, without annoying overstatement.
Quick read, too.
christina_with_ch's review
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
grahamiam's review
3.0
I liked the parts about Boca Grande and Grace. I hated the parts about Warren and Charlotte. Unfortunately the latter made up more of the book.
ssr's review
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0