Scan barcode
A review by wellworn_soles
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
3.0
Didion is clearly an adept writer; however, she hails so obviously from High-Brow Literary Circles™️ that I cant help but feel some ambivalence towards her. While everyone can experience tragedy, her wealth and prestige made this work less immediate. I felt the gulf widening as she discussed being invited to this party or that for the Republican and Democrat Conventions, or taking flights just have dinner with her husband, and the years of socialite bliss they shared. Its another world of being; one I feel unable to fully tap into.
There are deeply poignant passages in here about loss and grief. Her incisive, analytical approach to her own mourning was simultaneously intriguing and insightful.
Overall, this work wrenched me side to side from feeling like I really could sit with Didion in her grief and then feeling like I barely could imagine the privilege she floated through. It was like listening to an elderly heiress tell you about their life: the undercurrent of human experience rang true, even if it also highlighted how vastly different your worlds are. That discordance brought this work from a 4 to a 3 star rating.
There are deeply poignant passages in here about loss and grief. Her incisive, analytical approach to her own mourning was simultaneously intriguing and insightful.
Overall, this work wrenched me side to side from feeling like I really could sit with Didion in her grief and then feeling like I barely could imagine the privilege she floated through. It was like listening to an elderly heiress tell you about their life: the undercurrent of human experience rang true, even if it also highlighted how vastly different your worlds are. That discordance brought this work from a 4 to a 3 star rating.