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beatrice_k's review against another edition
4.0
A quick and strange and interesting book, made more interesting by the fact that it’s the 21st century and no reasonable person would empathize with the out of touch rich white men and women profiting off war, indirectly or directly. While reading this novel it is very easy to find yourself siding not with the guirreleros exactly but not so far away from the revolutionaries in America. “Is, was, will be.” Deep and dark and heavy for something so slight.
kirjasta's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jlmreader's review
3.0
I loved this book when I was in my 20s, but now find what I took for wit and fine-tuned sarcasm was more arrogance and condescension. However, the writing style has stood the test of time, short, crisp sentences that carry the story well.
akopp's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
lewismillholland's review
2.0
What turned me onto this book is Holton Als' piece in the Dec. 2 issue of the New Yorker called "Out in the Blue: American womanhood in Joan Didion's early novels." Since I'd started making a conscious effort to read more women (my 2019 list was filled with penises) the article struck me extra hard -- especially the line about Didion's "...incisive view of uneasy friendships between women."
Well I read the book and didn't quite understand it. There were a lot of complicated characters all bleak in their own way (what did Leonard think of Warren? I can't noodle it out), and some of the sentences I'd kill to be able to write. There were times when the socialite narrative took over and after a few pages of that my eyes would glaze over and I'd have to go back and re-read what my irises had been trying to feed me, although sometimes I just kept going. The action ramped up well in the third bit and I found myself eager to keep reading until that socialite stuff overtook.
I'm re-reading Als' piece now and I'm appreciating some of the bits I didn't catch on my own. I think the real beauty of *A Book of Common Prayer* requires some literary and contemporary knowledge that I'm lacking, although hopefully not forever.
Well I read the book and didn't quite understand it. There were a lot of complicated characters all bleak in their own way (what did Leonard think of Warren? I can't noodle it out), and some of the sentences I'd kill to be able to write. There were times when the socialite narrative took over and after a few pages of that my eyes would glaze over and I'd have to go back and re-read what my irises had been trying to feed me, although sometimes I just kept going. The action ramped up well in the third bit and I found myself eager to keep reading until that socialite stuff overtook.
I'm re-reading Als' piece now and I'm appreciating some of the bits I didn't catch on my own. I think the real beauty of *A Book of Common Prayer* requires some literary and contemporary knowledge that I'm lacking, although hopefully not forever.
esther1987's review
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
rachelh1's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cherylcheng00's review
4.0
That I had been living in these same latitudes unmarried for some years made no difference to my aunt: she appeared to locate the marriage bed as the true tropic of fever and disquiet.
So in many ways did Charlotte.
As it happens I understand this position, having observed it for years in societies quite distant from San Francisco and Denver, but some women do not. Some women lie easily in whatever beds they make. They marry or do not marry with equanimity. They divorce or do not. They can leave a bed and forget it. They sleep dreamlessly, get up and scramble eggs.
So in many ways did Charlotte.
As it happens I understand this position, having observed it for years in societies quite distant from San Francisco and Denver, but some women do not. Some women lie easily in whatever beds they make. They marry or do not marry with equanimity. They divorce or do not. They can leave a bed and forget it. They sleep dreamlessly, get up and scramble eggs.
andrewpollard's review
2.0
Wry to sardonic to smug to cruel to cold. Most of that transition seems intentional but I'm unsure how much of it was enjoyable. Very mixed on this in all. Didion's writing is compelling enough but at times needlessly difficult to parse, and towards the end of the book involves repeated and increasingly vapid callbacks to previous lines, as if reminding the reader of the book they've been reading is an adequate substitute for any real climax. This is one of those stories where everyone is horrible, basically without exception, though none are as frustrating as Grace. Well, maybe Warren. I couldn't get on with it.
zenoutta10's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Oof. Ouch. Ow. Owie! Another incredible Joan Didion piece that left me teary-eyed and heartbroken.
It never ceases to amaze me how well written both her fiction and non-fiction is. Her words flow with a special rhythm that has the ability to hypnotize you then BAM she hits you with a perfectly-crafted sentence that causes you to set down the book and take a giant, deep breath.
While I didn’t find this to be as tight as Play It As It Lays, it was still an outstanding and engaging novel I feel I could recommend to anyone! A bit slow to start, but once you get through about the first 30ish pages — strap in! (In particular, Parts Two & Three were absolutely *chefs kiss*… and I cried quite a bit.)
And the characters! While the story is told to us through Grace, the true centerpiece of this story is Charlotte Douglas and boy did I want to just rip her out of the pages to give her a big hug. And on the opposite side of the spectrum, the absolute scum that is Warren Bogart — completely hatable and a perfect villain in the story.
Joan, you absolute, freaking genius!
It never ceases to amaze me how well written both her fiction and non-fiction is. Her words flow with a special rhythm that has the ability to hypnotize you then BAM she hits you with a perfectly-crafted sentence that causes you to set down the book and take a giant, deep breath.
While I didn’t find this to be as tight as Play It As It Lays, it was still an outstanding and engaging novel I feel I could recommend to anyone! A bit slow to start, but once you get through about the first 30ish pages — strap in! (In particular, Parts Two & Three were absolutely *chefs kiss*… and I cried quite a bit.)
And the characters! While the story is told to us through Grace, the true centerpiece of this story is Charlotte Douglas and boy did I want to just rip her out of the pages to give her a big hug. And on the opposite side of the spectrum, the absolute scum that is Warren Bogart — completely hatable and a perfect villain in the story.
Joan, you absolute, freaking genius!
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death