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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Didion narrates her own process of revision – considering whether to insert or omit a single word, constantly rephrasing and reframing. This act of self-editing reveals much about the process of grief itself: how meaning is never fixed and memory alters with each retelling. She is not simply recording the events of what happened, but actively negotiating them on the page, shifting between what can be said and what must remain unsaid. In this way, Didion reveals that grief is not just lived but constructed, rewritten, and reconsidered in words.
What makes Didion’s work so visceral and haunting is the way it mimics the texture of memory: its waves of joy and pain, its sudden intrusions, its refusal to remain orderly. Memory seldom unfolds in a straight line, but instead it circles back, shifts, and contradicts itself. Didion captures that instability with precision, turning the messiness of recollection into both subject and form.
Full review on my Substack newsletter [banchan] !! : link here
What makes Didion’s work so visceral and haunting is the way it mimics the texture of memory: its waves of joy and pain, its sudden intrusions, its refusal to remain orderly. Memory seldom unfolds in a straight line, but instead it circles back, shifts, and contradicts itself. Didion captures that instability with precision, turning the messiness of recollection into both subject and form.
Full review on my Substack newsletter [banchan] !! : link here
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
it wasn't bad i just really didn't care. i think unless you time reading this to a point in your life where you are experiencing grief, it will just read as a 'meh' book. maybe recommend? idk
Bilmezdim kitapların; rafta, masa üstünde, çantanızda ya da cebinizde; durdukları yerde sızladıklarını.. Meğer okumadığınız kitaplar kendi kendilerine sızlarlarmış. Meğer dokunmadığınız kitaplar o ana dek sızım sızım sızlarmış... Burada Joan Didion'un çok kısa sürelerde yaşadığı büyük acılarını; önce eşinin ani vefatı, ardından kızının yoğun bakıma düşüşü ve sonrasında yaşanan tüm o sancılı günlerin bir özetini görüyoruz. Kızının yaşadıkları -2005'te geçiyor olaylar- ile kendi Anne'min yaşadıkları çok benzer şeylerdi. Bu bakımdan kitap beni çok rahatsız etti. O satırları okurken Joan Didion'un benimle hemen aynı şeyleri yaşadığını gördüm. Kitabın tüm dünyada bu kadar sevilmesinin bir nedeni de sanırım budur. Herkesin benzer acısına dokunmak!
Ayrıca Türkçe çevirisinin neden şimdiye kadar yapılmadığını bilmiyorum. Piyasada, her nedense, Joan Didion'un belki bir on yıl sonra, bu sefer kızını anlattığı kitabın çevirisi var. Bence o bir tür devam sayılır ve eşini ve kısmen kızını anlattığı bu kitap daha önce basılmalıydı.
Sonuç olarak, feminist yazarları okumaya çalışırken, bir non-fiction olarak çok fazla güzel olan bu kitap nasibimize düştü. Vesile olan tüm fenimist yazarlara bur'dan selam eder, küçüklerin gözlerinden öperim...
Ayrıca Türkçe çevirisinin neden şimdiye kadar yapılmadığını bilmiyorum. Piyasada, her nedense, Joan Didion'un belki bir on yıl sonra, bu sefer kızını anlattığı kitabın çevirisi var. Bence o bir tür devam sayılır ve eşini ve kısmen kızını anlattığı bu kitap daha önce basılmalıydı.
Sonuç olarak, feminist yazarları okumaya çalışırken, bir non-fiction olarak çok fazla güzel olan bu kitap nasibimize düştü. Vesile olan tüm fenimist yazarlara bur'dan selam eder, küçüklerin gözlerinden öperim...
What a twist: I don’t like Joan Didion as much as I remember.
There is an actual twist, though, to the extent that the memoir of a famous and public person’s life can be twisty.
There is an actual twist, though, to the extent that the memoir of a famous and public person’s life can be twisty.
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
In The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion explores grief, feelings of identity, and the concept of magical thinking in the year following her husband's death. At the same time, her daughter, Quintana, is also going through a serious illness. To have to navigate through one of these things as a human being is hard enough; to do both is a feat. Her memoir explores the ways in which the mind copes with the loss of a loved one, with a tremendous shift in one's own world. It's easy to wonder if we missed the signs, or to ask questions about what we could have differently to prevent the tragedy from happening. Sometimes we even go through periods of strongly believing a deceased loved one could come back just by believing it, no matter the reality. Didion, in the end, chose to write.
There's a lot of irrationality in the world, and Didon's book helps to provide a perspective on why people might act the way they do. The celebrity name-dropping I could have done without, but it's still a profound read.
There's a lot of irrationality in the world, and Didon's book helps to provide a perspective on why people might act the way they do. The celebrity name-dropping I could have done without, but it's still a profound read.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
zo zo mooi en zo persoonlijk maar tegelijk toch ook zo’n herkenbaar beeld van verlies en rouw
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
it took me a long time to read this book which had more to do with life and my own procrastination rather than the contents of the book.
i think theres a lot of thoughtful passages about life and grief and i also think shes described her life to a point of jealousy for me. need to swim in a cave….
i definitely want to reread in a more cohesive way in the future. genuinely enjoyable and heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.
i think theres a lot of thoughtful passages about life and grief and i also think shes described her life to a point of jealousy for me. need to swim in a cave….
i definitely want to reread in a more cohesive way in the future. genuinely enjoyable and heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.