Nonfiction

The Year of Magical Thinking

The Year of Magical Thinking

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-12-25 07:52:39
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Joan Didion
  • ISBN：1400078431
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Summary

'An act of consummate literary bravery， a writer known for her clarity allowing us to watch her mind as it becomes clouded with grief。'

From one of America's iconic writers， a stunning book of electric honesty and passion。 Joan Didion explores an intensely personal yet universal experience: a portrait of a marriage–and a life， in good times and bad–that will speak to anyone who has ever loved a husband or wife or child。

Several days before Christmas 2003， John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion saw their only daughter， Quintana， fall ill with what seemed at first flu， then pneumonia， then complete septic shock。 She was put into an induced coma and placed on life support。 Days later–the night before New Year's Eve–the Dunnes were just sitting down to dinner after visiting the hospital when John Gregory Dunne suffered a massive and fatal coronary。 In a second， this close， symbiotic partnership of forty years was over。 Four weeks later， their daughter pulled through。 Two months after that， arriving at LAX， she collapsed and underwent six hours of brain surgery at UCLA Medical Center to relieve a massive hematoma。

This powerful book is Didion's attempt to make sense of the "weeks and then months that cut loose any fixed idea I ever had about death， about illness 。 。 。 about marriage and children and memory 。 。 。 about the shallowness of sanity， about life itself。"

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Reviews

Ekmef ，

Het was echt enorm lastig om dit boek uit te lezen。 Literaire schrijfkwaliteit tot en met， maar de schrijfster komt uit zo'n geprivilegieerde omgeving dat het verhaal niet erg invoelbaar meer is zodra het over iets anders dan rouw gaat。 Op den duur is het zo navelstaarderig dat je als derde observator in dit verhaal weinig meer kan doen dan doorlezen en hopen dat er ergens nog een clou komt。 Dat die niet komt， hoort bij rouw， maar het is ergens ook wel goedkoop。 Ennem， 'interns' zijn geen co-ass Het was echt enorm lastig om dit boek uit te lezen。 Literaire schrijfkwaliteit tot en met， maar de schrijfster komt uit zo'n geprivilegieerde omgeving dat het verhaal niet erg invoelbaar meer is zodra het over iets anders dan rouw gaat。 Op den duur is het zo navelstaarderig dat je als derde observator in dit verhaal weinig meer kan doen dan doorlezen en hopen dat er ergens nog een clou komt。 Dat die niet komt， hoort bij rouw， maar het is ergens ook wel goedkoop。 Ennem， 'interns' zijn geen co-assistenten！ 。。。more

Jinjer ，

Wow。。。Joan Didion has died。 Around the same time her husband died back in 2003。 I listened to the audiobook while rearranging my home office today。 It's the second or third time I've read this amazing book。 First time for audio。 Wow。。。Joan Didion has died。 Around the same time her husband died back in 2003。 I listened to the audiobook while rearranging my home office today。 It's the second or third time I've read this amazing book。 First time for audio。 。。。more

Daniela Ramos ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Quando um familiar ou um amigo muito próximo morre， sentimos como se perdessemos a noção do tempo。 Durante muitos dias as coisas tornam-se indiferentes e nem temos noção do tempo。Durante as primeiras semanas， mesmo que inconscientemente， ela acreditava que o marido ainda ia voltar， e que tudo o que tinha acontecido era reversível。"Logo depois da morte， pode parecer que estão a lidar bem com a perda。 Porque a realidade da morte ainda não penetrou a consciência。""A tendência contemporânea é tratar Quando um familiar ou um amigo muito próximo morre， sentimos como se perdessemos a noção do tempo。 Durante muitos dias as coisas tornam-se indiferentes e nem temos noção do tempo。Durante as primeiras semanas， mesmo que inconscientemente， ela acreditava que o marido ainda ia voltar， e que tudo o que tinha acontecido era reversível。"Logo depois da morte， pode parecer que estão a lidar bem com a perda。 Porque a realidade da morte ainda não penetrou a consciência。""A tendência contemporânea é tratar o luto como uma autoindulgência mórbida， e atribuir admiração social ao sobrevivente que escondesse tão inteiramente o seu sofrimento， que ninguém saberia o que de facto acontecera。"O livro é bom no sentido que retrata bem como uma pessoa se sente num estado de luto e de completa alteração。 Os seus pensamentos， a sua maneira de agir etc。 Sempre achamos que as coisas vão voltar ao normal no início， temos essa esperança。Ela acha que tudo o que faz e tudo o que vive está interligado com a morte， e acho isso um bocado demais。As pessoas em sofrimento têm muito medo da autocomiseração porque sentem que não têm o direito de mostrar que estão mal ou fracas。 Sentem que a pessoa que morreu está muito pior que elas， então elas não deviam ter o direito de se queixar。Existem tantas variáveis e maneiras e riscos para a morte。 Podemos morrer de tantas formas。 Não temos porque nos culpar， não nos podemos culpar。 Simplesmente não temos como evitar a morte。 Existem demasiadas coisas que nos podem matar。 （Ex: ela exemplificou que se tomamos um medicamento， e tomamos outro em conjunto que não sabíamos que não se podia tomar em conjunto， pronto já fomos）。 。。。more

Filip De Maesschalck ，

Strange mixture of deepfelt emotions and clinical analysis。 Didion evokes feelings of loss and grief but can’t refrain from namedropping and showing off her privileged life。 It makes for a schizophrenic reading experience， continually shifting between compassionate solidarity and allergic disdain。

Irene ，

♥️ sad day， rest in peace

Amber ，

I started this book earlier this year in a phase when I started and stopped 4 out of 5 books。 When I heard of her passing， I picked this one back up to finish and was glad I did。 The last few chapters in particular were so moving。

Jeanne Stanton ，

Outstanding！ Highly recommend。 This woman is an exceptional writer facing and explaining her grief。

Elsof ，

A beautifully written account of the year following her husband's death and her daughter's hospitalization。 Neither maudlin nor self-pitying， it is instead deeply introspective and raw。 A beautifully written account of the year following her husband's death and her daughter's hospitalization。 Neither maudlin nor self-pitying， it is instead deeply introspective and raw。 。。。more

Susan Tunis ，

While this book's been on my shelf for ages， it's no oversight that I'd not read it til now。 Explorations of unthinkable grief really aren't my jam。 But today， we lost Joan Didion。 If not today， when？ And it's horrible。 The subject matter of this period of her life is the stuff of nightmares。 But Ms。 Didion is not wallowing in her grief， she getting in touch with some incredibly universal reactions and experiences。 This is a book I might revisit in times of extremis。 Thank you， Ms。 Didion。 Rest While this book's been on my shelf for ages， it's no oversight that I'd not read it til now。 Explorations of unthinkable grief really aren't my jam。 But today， we lost Joan Didion。 If not today， when？ And it's horrible。 The subject matter of this period of her life is the stuff of nightmares。 But Ms。 Didion is not wallowing in her grief， she getting in touch with some incredibly universal reactions and experiences。 This is a book I might revisit in times of extremis。 Thank you， Ms。 Didion。 Rest in peace。 。。。more

E ，

Reading this book felt like having a conversation with a friend。 Didion’s writing style is captivating。 While I really enjoyed this book， I don’t think I was able to fully appreciate it because I have never felt a sense of grief quite like what Didion was describing in this book

F ，

Pompous， pretentious and - what is worse - boring。 To use the parlance of our time - please gag me with a spoon rather than inflict this sort of writing on me。

Kathy ，

This is a short， beautifully written book which spoke to my soul。 I actually started it yesterday and googled Joan Didion to see if she was still alive。This morning I discovered she had died which seemed like such an odd coincidence。 The feelings she described match so many of my own， I felt like she was describing many of my own actions， reactions and emotions。 If you find yourself a widow， I suggest you get a copy of this poignant and pithy memoir。

Christopher Moltisanti's Windbreakers fan ，

Respect to Didion on Babitz for making socially conservativism cool as fuck！！ Thoughts and prayers to all the LA and NYC anemic white girls for losing their literary icons in between such a short amount of time。

Sarah ，

felt fitting to start and finish this book on the day of Didion’s death。 Some particularly potent lines （not limited to only these）: “It is the blight man was born for。We are not idealized wild things。We are imperfect mortal beings， aware of that mortality even as we push it away， failed by our very complication， so wired that when we mourn our losses we also mourn， for better or for worse， ourselves as we were。 As we are no longer。 As we will one day not be at all。” “…after the picture was show felt fitting to start and finish this book on the day of Didion’s death。 Some particularly potent lines （not limited to only these）: “It is the blight man was born for。We are not idealized wild things。We are imperfect mortal beings， aware of that mortality even as we push it away， failed by our very complication， so wired that when we mourn our losses we also mourn， for better or for worse， ourselves as we were。 As we are no longer。 As we will one day not be at all。” “…after the picture was shown and the response evaluated， this disheartening assessment of its commercial prospects: True Confessions could do very well， the market researcher said， among adults with 16+ years of education。”“Or was it even a dream？Who is the director of dreams， would he care？Was it only by dreaming or writing that I could find out what I thought？”“His eyes。 His blue eyes。 His blue imperfect eyes。 and what I want to know is How do you like your blueeyed boyMister Death” 。。。more

Hannah Gross ，

eerily enough， had just gotten into the heart of this book last night。 Had to finish it today in her honor， what a legend。

hammd。 ，

one of the greats

عليُّ بن يعقُوب ，

لا أقدر على تجاوز عاطفتي وكتابة مراجعة عن هذا الكتاب الذي أحببته بشدة؛ لأن جوان ديديون التي علمتني كيف أحزن، فارقت الحياة في هذا اليوم نفسه الذي فرغتُ فيه منه، بمجرّد أن انهيته؛ عرفتُ الخبر، وكأنني بإغلاق الصفحة الأخيرة، قتلتها。。

William ，

I am the 2nd biggest Didion fan I know， but this title， which I held off reading till I’d read nearly everything else， underwhelmed me。 Some great moments， but overall it seemed to drag and could’ve used tightening。

Clio ，

I love you， joan didion。

Martina （polveresucarta） ，

3。5⭐️

Jenny Wheelbarrow ，

Definitely written to speak to someone grieving。 I was moved by one scene where she was able to give clean out her husband’s closet but not able to give away his shoes because what if he came back and needed them。 For sure a love story grounded in the reflection of grief and what is missed。 Just a little too meandering for me which may be the reflection part of making it through an unimaginable loss。

Agata ，

Tak gdzieś w połowie skali， trochę nie rozumiejąc fenomenu， a trochę czytając dla formy zdań i niektórych trafionych opinii i uwag。

Su Yadanar ，

objectively， fantastic reflections on grief and loss。 subjectively， not-so-fantastic name-dropping。

Leena ，

A book on another's grief that helped me through my own。 A book on another's grief that helped me through my own。 。。。more

Milla Richardson ，

:'（ :'（ 。。。more

Joyce ，

Well written but soooo boring

Renee ，

4。5/5。 It goes without saying that Joan Didion is a fantastic writer。 Her grief felt so palpable and， sadly， so relatable。 This was an important read for me。

Gina ，

Helpful read for working through the loss of a loved one。

katherine boykin ，

4。25 stars。 I really liked this style of memoir chronicling a time in Didion's life rather than a person's whole life。 It was really beautifully done and I can feel it's going to stick with me for a while。 4。25 stars。 I really liked this style of memoir chronicling a time in Didion's life rather than a person's whole life。 It was really beautifully done and I can feel it's going to stick with me for a while。 。。。more

Rebecca ，

We lost our family cat a couple weeks ago。 I lost my mother a couple years ago。There is always change。 In airlines。 In orchards。 In relationships。 In years。Didion's nostalgic and perhaps frantic recollections emphasize that， though death happens to another， we are the ones who are experiencing it。 Her observations are acute， stoic， disruptive， and meaningful。 We lost our family cat a couple weeks ago。 I lost my mother a couple years ago。There is always change。 In airlines。 In orchards。 In relationships。 In years。Didion's nostalgic and perhaps frantic recollections emphasize that， though death happens to another， we are the ones who are experiencing it。 Her observations are acute， stoic， disruptive， and meaningful。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Year of Magical Thinking

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Year of Magical Thinking&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Year of Magical Thinking&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0