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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
One of the best-written books I’ve ever read. I held off starting it because I thought it would read like an essay collection. It doesn’t really—California is present as a through-line in nearly ever story and the writing is unique and uniform enough to allow narrative qualities.
Everything Didion describes feel mundane. Or, Didion’s writing is so believable that the read feels already familiar with each of her topics. Her prose is moving and throughly captures its subject.
I have never read something that more encourages me to write. This is an all-timer.
Everything Didion describes feel mundane. Or, Didion’s writing is so believable that the read feels already familiar with each of her topics. Her prose is moving and throughly captures its subject.
I have never read something that more encourages me to write. This is an all-timer.
A few of these essays, particularly Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream, I really really enjoyed, but the majority weren’t a good fit for me. Didion’s style is polarizing - I think if you find her as a person interesting, you’ll find her personal reflections interesting, but to me they’re too self indulgent.
That being said, this essay collection does have one of my favorite lines I’ve read this year, from the titular essay that profiles a number of teenagers in the hippie movement.
“One day Norris asks how old I am. I tell him I am thirty two. It takes a few minutes, but Norris rises to it. ‘Don’t worry,’ he says at last. ‘There’s old hippies too.’ “
Also from this essay is a child calling his mother an all-American bitch, and I remember reading in an interview that was Olivia Rodrigo’s inspiration for her song. Didion is the original cool girl, and Olivia is absolutely today’s cool girl, and while I am not a cool girl, the pop girl lover in me does love to trace cool girl history ❤️
That being said, this essay collection does have one of my favorite lines I’ve read this year, from the titular essay that profiles a number of teenagers in the hippie movement.
“One day Norris asks how old I am. I tell him I am thirty two. It takes a few minutes, but Norris rises to it. ‘Don’t worry,’ he says at last. ‘There’s old hippies too.’ “
Also from this essay is a child calling his mother an all-American bitch, and I remember reading in an interview that was Olivia Rodrigo’s inspiration for her song. Didion is the original cool girl, and Olivia is absolutely today’s cool girl, and while I am not a cool girl, the pop girl lover in me does love to trace cool girl history ❤️
challenging
reflective
I always feel like I’ve been dropped into wherever she’s writing about
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Obviously this is an iconic collection. I think I resonated most with the longer essays and the more journalistic ones--those pieces really sucked me in. However, "Goodbye to All That" gave me the same feeling... I think that the closer we are as readers to Didion's thought process, the more her writing shines; the more distant pieces didn't have the same hold on me.
Part one: wonderfully conversational journalism. Something I find is missing from the past 20 years.
Part two: somewhat navel gazing broken thoughts.
Part three: realistic self-examination with a tendency toward the cynical. I identified with this part the most; is it typical to feel this way in your mid-thirties?
Part two: somewhat navel gazing broken thoughts.
Part three: realistic self-examination with a tendency toward the cynical. I identified with this part the most; is it typical to feel this way in your mid-thirties?
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced