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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
livingpalm1's review against another edition
2.0
Full disclosure: I did not really enjoy this book at all. The murky existential crisis of the wealthy, agnostic and hedonistic characters drove me a bit mad. It's the same reason I quit watching Mad Men.
I only read the book because it included this sort of writing:
"Three or four things I do know about Charlotte.
As a child of comfortable family in the temperate zone she had been as a matter of course provided with clean sheets, orthodontia, lamb chops, living grandparents, attentive godparents, one brother named Dickie, ballet lessons, and casual timely information about menstruation and the care of flat silver, as well as with a small wooden angel, carved in Austria, to sit on her bed table and listen to her prayers. ... "
I only read the book because it included this sort of writing:
"Three or four things I do know about Charlotte.
As a child of comfortable family in the temperate zone she had been as a matter of course provided with clean sheets, orthodontia, lamb chops, living grandparents, attentive godparents, one brother named Dickie, ballet lessons, and casual timely information about menstruation and the care of flat silver, as well as with a small wooden angel, carved in Austria, to sit on her bed table and listen to her prayers. ... "
jennicakes's review against another edition
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.
meghanem's review against another edition
5.0
READ THIS BOOK! The LA Times Book Review called it Didion’s most ambitious project in fiction, and her most successful. I couldn’t agree more. Charlotte is a fascinating character - I was immediately drawn to her story and her eccentricities. The juxtaposition between Charlotte’s naïveté and the political upheaval/“dirty politics” was jarring. Marin’s story is compelling, and reads a bit like a mystery, though you know the ending long before the other characters do. READ THIS BOOK!
abigailcrawford's review against another edition
3.0
I read A Book of Common Prayer because I wanted to explore Didion's fiction after reading one of her non-fiction books. I really preferred her non-fiction. A Book of Common Prayer just wasn't that interesting. I didn't care about the characters or the events. It just felt lacking.
francesmthompson's review
4.0
I really don't know what to make of this novel, but that in itself can be a good thing. It's not really a 4. more a 3.5. Make of all this what you will... which is pretty much what I did with this book.
shieymn's review
5.0
Sfolgoranti i primi capitoli, nei quali la scrittura saettante di Joan Didion sbozza personaggi e contesto con straordinaria abilità. Ne esce un esilarante ritratto familiare dei governatori di Boca Grande, piccolo paese dell’America Latina dove il potere viene trasmesso a colpi di finte rivoluzioni e complotti demenziali (in puro stile Bananas). Il romanzo prende una piega melodrammatica quando si concentra sulla protagonista Charlotte Douglas e sulle sue dolorose vicissitudini, spostandosi avanti e indietro nel tempo tra Stati Uniti e America del Sud.
Didion esplicita una stretta connessione tra Charlotte e la voce narrante Grace. Grace vede se stessa razionale e attenta alla realtà, e si descrive in contrapposizione alla distratta Charlotte, per la quale pare esistere soltanto il proprio mondo interiore. Ma Charlotte è solo apparentemente alienata dalla realtà, mentre Grace, come Charlotte, è capace di ignorare deliberatamente l’evidenza dei fatti. Didion sembra dire che il nostro rapporto con la realtà e con la Storia è sempre soggettivo, e che ciascun individuo sceglie cosa ricordare e come ricordarlo: la vita è qualcosa che continuiamo a raccontarci, passato, presente e futuro; sappiamo solo quello che vogliamo sapere. Tutto il resto è oblio.
Didion esplicita una stretta connessione tra Charlotte e la voce narrante Grace. Grace vede se stessa razionale e attenta alla realtà, e si descrive in contrapposizione alla distratta Charlotte, per la quale pare esistere soltanto il proprio mondo interiore. Ma Charlotte è solo apparentemente alienata dalla realtà, mentre Grace, come Charlotte, è capace di ignorare deliberatamente l’evidenza dei fatti. Didion sembra dire che il nostro rapporto con la realtà e con la Storia è sempre soggettivo, e che ciascun individuo sceglie cosa ricordare e come ricordarlo: la vita è qualcosa che continuiamo a raccontarci, passato, presente e futuro; sappiamo solo quello che vogliamo sapere. Tutto il resto è oblio.