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A review by _mery98_
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
challenging
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
This is my first and certainly not the last book I will read by Joan Didion. As someone who has seen death up close, this book was so relatable to me. I almost had to stop reading because I began to feel too sad to focus on anything.
“Life changes in the instant, the ordinary everyday instant… Something else to remember: If they give you a social worker, you’re in trouble.”
Didion relives the 18-month span that began with the death of her husband in December 2003 and ended with the death of her adult daughter in mid-2005. It is a heartbreaking tale of her mourning process, interspersed with memories of her family at different points in their life journey together.
"Lynn says she will spend the night.
I say no, I’m fine.
And I am.
Until the morning. When I wake up and he still isn’t there."
It is powerfully written in overlapping scenes that mingle time periods and significant themes about memory, the illusion of control, and parent-child relationships.
“Life changes in the instant, the ordinary everyday instant… Something else to remember: If they give you a social worker, you’re in trouble.”
Didion relives the 18-month span that began with the death of her husband in December 2003 and ended with the death of her adult daughter in mid-2005. It is a heartbreaking tale of her mourning process, interspersed with memories of her family at different points in their life journey together.
"Lynn says she will spend the night.
I say no, I’m fine.
And I am.
Until the morning. When I wake up and he still isn’t there."
It is powerfully written in overlapping scenes that mingle time periods and significant themes about memory, the illusion of control, and parent-child relationships.