Reviews

A Book of Common Prayer by Joan Didion

sallyscriv's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.0

playingmyace's review against another edition

👋 I had a rewarding time.

elfs29's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Didion writes with incredible precision — the formation of Grace’s character through her observation of Charlotte is cleverly constructed, and the intersections between their personal conflicts and the political backdrop are never arbitrary. Didion’s women have a tendency to stick in my mind, unfortunately so do her men, but I don’t think I’ll forget this story and how deftly Didion asks about character, about truth, about what we remember and what we see and whether one can ever be a true witness to someone else. 

The question of Charlotte Douglas has never been ‘settled’ for me. Never ‘decided’. I know how to make models of life itself, DNA, TNA, helices double and single and squared, but I try to make a model of Charlotte Douglas’s character and I see only a shimmer. Like the shimmer of the oil slick on the boulevards after rain in Progresso. 

erintowner's review against another edition

4.0

So sad. Didion is a great writer.

sksrenninger's review against another edition

4.0

In a book of so many wonderful lines, one of the most representative of my reading experience is this one: "Like so many works of man in Boca Grande the Jockey Club is less than it seems." An engrossing time capsule of unique characters and dynamics (a certain kind of woman and a man's world) in a weird world (the 1970s, Central America) I've never explored before.

nathansnook's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

4.0

"𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴," 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. "𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘳."

Perhaps my favorite character in all of Didion's work. Charlotte Douglas, in fashion, in ferocity, is trapped in a made up Banana Republic, all out of sorts. This is Didion at her best. So dramatic. Borders on camp, but the sentences are concrete, too cold, and the sex is weird and the women are detached. It's Didionland in its prime in a very late-seventies-kind-of-way.

*I'm a proud Blackwells Affiliate! If you enjoyed this review, please consider purchasing the book <a href="https://www.blackwells.co.uk?a_aid=nathansnook">here</a>.

soraiacosta's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.75

winterrainreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

hmak's review

3.0

I really wanted to like this. Joan Didion is a boss and her essays have a special place in my heart but I could not bring myself to have any strong feelings about these characters or this story. Still, her writing is enjoyable enough that there are moments where you go "ahhh mhm."

allybagley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0