Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
fast-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
i fear i do not get the hype
unnecessary use of slurs by a wealthy white woman writing about pain and abortion and death and despair. it feels like a neurotypical affluent person trying to depict falling into despair. I will never understand the hype on this book.
I am re-rating this bc it took me a year after finishing to realize that this is actually an exceptional book
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
what the heck did i just read…
EDIT:
“What makes Iago evil? some people ask. I never ask.”
And so begins this life-altering book. Now, I admit, I attempted reading this last November and let me just say, I didn’t like it. I was put off by Didion’s cool, detached writing style. Not only that, I didn’t particularly care for the short, simplistic sentences. I wasn’t in the right headspace to appreciate this book. When I DNF’d this back in November, it was more like a DNFFN (DNF for now). So I put it back on the shelf and read some other things.
The reasons why I DNF’d this in November are the reasons why I love the book now. The book opens with the infamous quote, and it is there that we understand who Maria is as a person. Immediately, we note Maria’s melancholic tone and we understand that whoever she is, she is not happy. She’s not happy with herself, her husband, her friends, and her industry. There is a large force of depression at play, and we don’t know what that is. We have to continue reading to find out.
I think how the structure and the rest of the book is sheer genius. The prologue is written in 1st person POV and shows various character POVs that are close to Maria (Maria, Carter, Helene). The way Carter and Helene describe Maria is almost like how you would describe a black box you cannot peer into. They don’t know what she’s thinking. They don’t understand her motives, her feelings. She is mysterious. The rest of the book is told in 3rd person POV and that is where the real detachment is. If it hadn’t been for the prologue, we wouldn’t have been able to understand Maria. I mean, we still don’t understand her BUT we understand her more than her friends and acquaintances. It’s easy to empathize with her and root for her.
This book is so interesting because we’re confronted with our feelings toward “unlikeable” characters. Pretty much everyone in Maria’s life is unlikeable (especially Carter). They’re all stuck in this weird Hollywood lifestyle. They complain, and yet they don’t attempt to leave. Maria is aware of the dysfunction and monotony of her industry. And she makes several attempts to escape from it. Because of this, she is oftentimes ridiculed or referred to as crazy and a million other dismissive things.
Another interesting aspect is the role of women. Women in this book were either treated as sex objects, objects to be mistreated, or tossed to the side. At some point, Maria experienced all three of these. Another thing I liked was the dialogue. It actually reminded me of Cormac McCarthy’s short, sporadic writing style (minus the lack of quotation marks).
Everything about this is great. All the characters felt alive and real. The writing style reflected Maria’s character (a big plus). The chapters leading up to the end reflected the chaotic ending (ie, got faster). The overall pacing. I devoured this in days. I highly recommend this.
CW: abortion, domestic violence/abuse, depression, mention of suicide, 3 homophobic slurs.
SPOILER BELOW:
So going back to Maria attempting to escape from the industry. I think BZ killing himself will give her the strength to leave everything behind. Now whether she kills herself or moves away, I think that’s left up to the reader to decide. I think it’s more likely that Maria will take her daughter Kate and move across the country or to another country.
EDIT:
“What makes Iago evil? some people ask. I never ask.”
And so begins this life-altering book. Now, I admit, I attempted reading this last November and let me just say, I didn’t like it. I was put off by Didion’s cool, detached writing style. Not only that, I didn’t particularly care for the short, simplistic sentences. I wasn’t in the right headspace to appreciate this book. When I DNF’d this back in November, it was more like a DNFFN (DNF for now). So I put it back on the shelf and read some other things.
The reasons why I DNF’d this in November are the reasons why I love the book now. The book opens with the infamous quote, and it is there that we understand who Maria is as a person. Immediately, we note Maria’s melancholic tone and we understand that whoever she is, she is not happy. She’s not happy with herself, her husband, her friends, and her industry. There is a large force of depression at play, and we don’t know what that is. We have to continue reading to find out.
I think how the structure and the rest of the book is sheer genius. The prologue is written in 1st person POV and shows various character POVs that are close to Maria (Maria, Carter, Helene). The way Carter and Helene describe Maria is almost like how you would describe a black box you cannot peer into. They don’t know what she’s thinking. They don’t understand her motives, her feelings. She is mysterious. The rest of the book is told in 3rd person POV and that is where the real detachment is. If it hadn’t been for the prologue, we wouldn’t have been able to understand Maria. I mean, we still don’t understand her BUT we understand her more than her friends and acquaintances. It’s easy to empathize with her and root for her.
This book is so interesting because we’re confronted with our feelings toward “unlikeable” characters. Pretty much everyone in Maria’s life is unlikeable (especially Carter). They’re all stuck in this weird Hollywood lifestyle. They complain, and yet they don’t attempt to leave. Maria is aware of the dysfunction and monotony of her industry. And she makes several attempts to escape from it. Because of this, she is oftentimes ridiculed or referred to as crazy and a million other dismissive things.
Another interesting aspect is the role of women. Women in this book were either treated as sex objects, objects to be mistreated, or tossed to the side. At some point, Maria experienced all three of these. Another thing I liked was the dialogue. It actually reminded me of Cormac McCarthy’s short, sporadic writing style (minus the lack of quotation marks).
Everything about this is great. All the characters felt alive and real. The writing style reflected Maria’s character (a big plus). The chapters leading up to the end reflected the chaotic ending (ie, got faster). The overall pacing. I devoured this in days. I highly recommend this.
CW: abortion, domestic violence/abuse, depression, mention of suicide, 3 homophobic slurs.
SPOILER BELOW:
So going back to Maria attempting to escape from the industry. I think BZ killing himself will give her the strength to leave everything behind. Now whether she kills herself or moves away, I think that’s left up to the reader to decide. I think it’s more likely that Maria will take her daughter Kate and move across the country or to another country.
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"What else are you tired of."
"I don't know."
"You're getting there," BZ said.
"Getting where."
"Where I am."
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes