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A review by badspringbye
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
informative
slow-paced
3.0
not really expecting a lot from this because this is not the one I wanted to start off with Didion, but it's still a bit disappointing. the reason why it's not as impactful as it should have was probably because of how her grief centered entirely on her husband only. Didion failed to cover the general audience. their luxurious life is difficult to empathize with. throwbacks are not very momentous too.
what I'm pleased about the most are mostly the literary references such as other researches, poems, and other writings. also. the descriptions and elucidation of grief was so profound. like I said, the problem is the subject. if only the rest were written as well as the 17th chapter...
excerpts:
p. 27 <i>"Grief is different. Grief has no distance. Grief comes in waves, paroxysms, sudden apprehensions that weaken the knees and blind the eyes and obliterate the dailiness of life."</i>
p. 152 <i>"Survivors look back and see omens, messages they missed. They live by symbols."</i>
p. 193 <i>"Only the survivors of a death are truly left alone. The connections that made up their life—both the deep connections and the apparently insignificant connections—have all vanished."</i>
what I'm pleased about the most are mostly the literary references such as other researches, poems, and other writings. also. the descriptions and elucidation of grief was so profound. like I said, the problem is the subject. if only the rest were written as well as the 17th chapter...
excerpts:
p. 27 <i>"Grief is different. Grief has no distance. Grief comes in waves, paroxysms, sudden apprehensions that weaken the knees and blind the eyes and obliterate the dailiness of life."</i>
p. 152 <i>"Survivors look back and see omens, messages they missed. They live by symbols."</i>
p. 193 <i>"Only the survivors of a death are truly left alone. The connections that made up their life—both the deep connections and the apparently insignificant connections—have all vanished."</i>