L'Année de la pensée magique
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- Create Date：2022-01-22 03:53:29
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Joan Didion
- ISBN：2253126330
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Summary
Une soirée ordinaire， fin décembre à New York。 Joan Didion s’apprête à dîner avec son mari， l’écrivain John Gregory Dunne – quand ce dernier s’écroule， victime d’une crise cardiaque foudroyante。 Pendant une année entière， elle essaie de se résigner à la mort de son compagnon et de s’occuper de leur fille， gravement malade。 dans un récit sobre et sans complaisance， l’auteur raconte la folie du deuil et dissèque， entre sécheresse clinique et monologue intérieur， une expérience indicible – et sa rédemption par la littérature。 Best-seller encensé par la critique aux États-unis， L’Année de la pensée magique， déjà considéré comme un classique， a été couronné par le national Book Award。
"Un livre bouleversant sur le deuil。 Son deuil。 Un style sans pareil， où même les larmes sont sèches。" Claude Arnaud， Le Point
"Un livre bouleversant sur le deuil。 Son deuil。 Un style sans pareil， où même les larmes sont sèches。" Claude Arnaud， Le Point
Reviews
Alli
，
Sadly， I had not heard of Joan Didion until her death。 But her words moved me right from the start of this book。 The way she spoke of the incident made me feel like I was there and not just as a bystander but someone involved in what was going on。
Amy
，
Joan Didion， who just recently passed away， was a well-known author and journalist married to John Gregory Dunne， another well-known author and journalist。 They had one daughter， Quintana Roo Dunne。 This short， poignant book is about Didion's experience beginning from the swift and unexpected moment of her husband's death， through her daughter's illnesses， Quintana's ultimate death， and the months Didion spent thinking if she just held on to her husband's shoes， he would come back。 I saw a coupl Joan Didion， who just recently passed away， was a well-known author and journalist married to John Gregory Dunne， another well-known author and journalist。 They had one daughter， Quintana Roo Dunne。 This short， poignant book is about Didion's experience beginning from the swift and unexpected moment of her husband's death， through her daughter's illnesses， Quintana's ultimate death， and the months Didion spent thinking if she just held on to her husband's shoes， he would come back。 I saw a couple reviews that read like a mean， pointing finger at Didion's privilege and， yes - while there are definitely unrelatable elements in this story that are tied to an accumulation of great wealth - there is no privilege that negates or truly alleviates grief。 You can't buy the healing process that only time brings when dealing with the loss of people you love and count on for love in return。 You can't escape regret by flying to Paris or or satisfy it's hungry edge with being seated at the best table in a restaurant。 The book was narrated very well by Vanessa Redgrave。 It was free or， I'll admit， I probably wouldn't have listened to it。 But it was and I'm glad I did。 It takes strength to listen to and sit with other people's grief。 It took strength to write about it。 Rest in peace with your husband and daughter， Joan Didion。 。。。more
Amal B
，
عن ألم الفقد 。。تتحدث جوان ديديون عن تجربتها في الفقد بعدما توفى زوجها أثر سكتة قلبية ،تبدأها: （ بسرعة تتغير الحياةفي لحظة تتبدل الحياة）（اعرف لماذا نحاول أن نبقي أمواتنا أحياءً ، نحاول أن نبقيهم على قيد الحياة ليستمر وجودهم في حياتنا 。。 لنبقى نحن أحياء）كتاب مليء بالتفاصيل والوجع لمعايشة الوضع واثبات انها لازالت على مايرام ، ولكن تدرك بعد النكران ثم المواجهة يجب للاستسلام والتسليم الزمن كفيل يترميمم الفقد💔
Emily Stimmel
，
Beautiful， heartbreaking， and raw。。。 essential reading on love and loss。 One thing that's nagging at me， though， is that the narrative began as an exploration of Didion's parallel experiences of her husband's death and her daughter's extended illness， but about 2/3 of the way through the book， she abandoned the daughter thread altogether， focusing entirely （and somewhat repetitively） on the grief of losing her husband。 What about Quintana？ What about the grief we feel when loved ones are still w Beautiful， heartbreaking， and raw。。。 essential reading on love and loss。 One thing that's nagging at me， though， is that the narrative began as an exploration of Didion's parallel experiences of her husband's death and her daughter's extended illness， but about 2/3 of the way through the book， she abandoned the daughter thread altogether， focusing entirely （and somewhat repetitively） on the grief of losing her husband。 What about Quintana？ What about the grief we feel when loved ones are still with us， but forever changed by illness？ 。。。more
Donald Quist
，
I was gutted and thoughtfully stitched back together。
angie
，
No me gustó。 Pensé que era una novela pero es no ficción， lo que no estoy acostumbrada a leer。
f
，
"Now I was only trying to reconstruct the collision， the collapse of the death star。" I really enjoyed understanding the concept of grief through Didion's perspective。 A lot of the little realisations she documents were just harrowing。 It felt a little like a stream of consciousness narrative because many thoughts were set up and then brought back later and some moments were repeated as they would in her mind over and over again。 Didion brings in so much more than just her own experiences - she "Now I was only trying to reconstruct the collision， the collapse of the death star。" I really enjoyed understanding the concept of grief through Didion's perspective。 A lot of the little realisations she documents were just harrowing。 It felt a little like a stream of consciousness narrative because many thoughts were set up and then brought back later and some moments were repeated as they would in her mind over and over again。 Didion brings in so much more than just her own experiences - she researches and pulls from literature to comprehend how she feels and that is what really stood out to me while reading this。 Somewhere during the middle it was a little hard to get through because it felt a little to repetitive and disconnected （she was describing a lot of the scientific terms of her husband's and daughter's illnesses and completely went over my head even though I understand why for her grieving process this was necessary） but it all came together so beautifully in end。 This work is too raw and honest to be reviewed if I'm being honest。 I don't really know how to feel or think about it but I know it will stick with me for a while。 。。。more
Arnetta Osborne
，
A memoir on how she coped with life’s struggles！
Samruddhi
，
I am not what you would say a 'non-fiction' person。 This is probably my earliest book in the genre and what has created interest in me to pursue others in it。 I had no idea 'non-fiction' could be this way。。。 A non-fiction account which is almost creative。 Joan Didion， as I have later discovered， is one of the most celebrated literary authors in America when I had known Lucille Clifton， Maya Angelou， Toni Morrison， Harper Lee， Alice Walker， Emily Dickinson or even Edgar Allen Poe。 I had no idea w I am not what you would say a 'non-fiction' person。 This is probably my earliest book in the genre and what has created interest in me to pursue others in it。 I had no idea 'non-fiction' could be this way。。。 A non-fiction account which is almost creative。 Joan Didion， as I have later discovered， is one of the most celebrated literary authors in America when I had known Lucille Clifton， Maya Angelou， Toni Morrison， Harper Lee， Alice Walker， Emily Dickinson or even Edgar Allen Poe。 I had no idea what to expect going into this， the synopsis hardly prepares you for the text for sure。。。 The Year of Magical Thinking is an autobiographical account of how she began to deal with her husband's death through what she does best- writing。 This piece， as I end the re-read， I find very hard to encapsulate in a review。 The first time I read it， I couldn't wrap my head around it and I took it one sentence at a time。 Only after the second time could I gain some sort of perspective to talk about it as a whole。 At first， I was blind to what actually works and the things that don't so in re-examination， they became quite easily discernible。 The opening definitely guts me anytime I read the words。 Didion talks about witnessing her husband's medical emergency- a heart attack and how she follows motions before and after。 Many reviewers have said that they find the account very dry and detached but I found the distance reassuring at many times。 Because how often is a widow hysterical like in the movies？ How often do women actually cry at a drop？ I have never been convinced by this unhinged portrayal of women losing someone in television so I found Didion's account fascinating。 This is not to say she never portrays emotion。 There are paragraphs， more times， phrases that hit me hard， they showed pieces of what must be going on in her mind at say， the moment she comes back from the hospital and finds her husband's clothes draped on a chair; or the sudden thought that she can never discuss something with her husband again; or the doctors 'pronouncing' her husband's time of death。 Didion discusses the ritual of mourning， the stages that she personally experiences and the way others perceive her after her husband's death。 The paragraphs are random in a deliberate act， I thought。 She meanders her way through her own mind， the process of a thought that occurs to her and she can express this elaborately- in this realisation， it particularly glares obvious that Didion can write， she has a certain way of plucking， using and constructing words that lucidly convey what needs expression。 Many times， you feel clearly the conclusion is a derivation she wants you to arrive at。 These clever little paragraphs are not what makes the entire piece though。 Didion， much to my confusion and slight disappointment， uses scientific research， articles on mourning/grieving or interviews she has personally conducted with her husband for articles throughout the years。 It's like she's taking you through what's happening to her in slivers and giving expansive amounts of proof to universalise this complete act of grieving or mourning。 I think it would have been better if she stuck more to the personal lens， evident in the occasional paragraphs rather than boxing the experience as a universal one。 She starts doing this more in the middle of the narrative with pages upon pages of medical facts about her daughter's condition， her frequent visits to Beth Israel or Columbia Presbyterian and this is when my problems with what she was doing， began。 Didion is an example of the classic white privilege but very few seem to have called her out for this。 The first instance that rubbed me wrong was her ignorant usage of the term/ abolished practice of Sati。 Sati has been a patriarchal tool used to end a woman's life and it diminished her agency; it was never a choice for women but in a sentence early on， Didion ignorant of the 'why's and 'how's of it， uses it to display grief for her husband's death， like a museum exhibit。 She also describes the frequent hospital visits due her daughter's medical condition though they never elaborate on her emotions。 About page 70 to 160 sag badly because of Didion's focus on justifications rather than her continuation of processing grief。 I find that the text also felt self-edited， censored on purpose from then on and I failed to understand the reason。 She was consistent in a direction then she suddenly felt embarrassed？ ashamed？ I don't know but she decided to retreat and that's when the text becomes actually clinical and detached。 I found it hard to empathise with the rare sentences she put later that tried to force me again to remember that this was an account of grief， she was writing this after her husband's death。 This is also the point when at the second read， my objectivity kicks in because of how she constructs the text。 Apparently， Didion is famous in literary circles and is wealthy and well connected。 I don't know this because of any special research but because Didion herself takes great pains to show this through fifty percent of the text。 Her brand of narcissism and overt self-importance felt grating。 I avoid people who think they belong to a 'higher standard' of society。 When she isn't writing a sentence about her exploration， she's name dropping or calmly inserting the privileged experiences she has built on wealth and 'whiteness' with her husband when they bear no relevance to her primary intention so much so that if they had been erased specifically， it wouldn't matter to the text or the reader。 These records by themselves are hard to digest when they are something only one percent of the people experience at any given moment。 They also， on account of being needlessly long and elaborate yet true， take away from her original intention in the piece- that of grieving。 Later it becomes something entirely different than it's onset- a narrative of a rich， well-connected， white woman who is trying too hard to feel grief on her spouses death that her attempts fall flat and false whereas， if Didion had stayed true to a commitment for being raw and vulnerable， she could have taken the piece to something deeper and greater。 She tries hard to write in random spurts， takes a path， stops midway for a reason only she knows， then goes back to the beginning， many times repeats what has been said in early chapters。 Her selection of articles becomes careful to the point one wonders if she simply wants to force the reader to accept the sentences as truth。 One more habit that really got on my nerves is that at many points in the text， she hammers explicitly that she is different than the average woman， the perfect wife/mother which creates a trope that still plagues social interactions- that of the 'different' girl， she's not your 'typical' female。 This stereotype is definitely harmful and divides more than unites but Didion uses this to describe herself often。 She thinks this elevates her from the average woman but the more she tries to convince， the less I accept it。 At the ending twenty pages， it cringed me to note Didion resorts to sermonising since she has exhausted all other avenues and has simply not chosen to show what she might be feeling in reality。 The woman that was willing to open up at the start， now chose to use clichés to end what should have been an impuissant account。 This was only apparent to me the second time。 To say this disappointed me， is an understatement。 I had invested personally into the account at first word so the expectations Didion had set up， she herself managed to take away and it frustrated me。 I was at a point， willing to accept the authenticity in her emotion but she chose to withdraw her intention。The Year of Magical Thinking is a unique book to get into。 It takes a certain kind of person， to make a specific decision to read this。 It took me the experience of a different kind of loss to pick up this book。 In the interest of complete candour， I don't regret reading it。 As someone who's into the craft of writing， I learnt a lot from another author who decided to mould words into a sculpture of mourning。 I learnt from the account of a widow struggling to understand what she was going through even if she didn't go all the way， for whatever reasons。 I learnt random doesn't always have to be without meaning， it might unify what you want to express。 I learnt the importance of being authentic even in the pits of despair， how it might help others， move them， start them to heal themselves。 Didion's book attempts to transcend， to mutate logic and emotions into something alchemical。 Whether it succeeds or not is upto each reader。 This is something that will feel differently to each person though I would advise to not be fooled by her 'detached' voice and descriptions， if you look beyond them， her emotion at least in the first half of the narrative， is waiting to be discovered。 Also， please disregard vain ramblings about beluga caviar and a jet-setting life which is almost half the book。 Otherwise， if you choose to dissect and take some emotive shards， you might find some version of authenticity and it won't be that bad a read。。。 。。。more
Fanny Vals
，
Un récit intime puissant universel。 Une écriture sobre touchante。 J’ai relevé de nombreux passages que j’ai trouvé percutants et tellement vrais sur le mariage sur le couple sur les souvenirs sur le temps qui passe et bien sûr la mort et le deuil。 Elle cite notamment Delmore Schwartz “Le temps est l’école où nous apprenons， / Le temps est le feu où nous nous consumons”。
Mason Ganz
，
4/5 - A beautifully written book！ Not as heart-tugging as I expected （or hoped for）， but overall a good one！ The Year of Magical Thinking recounts Didion’s experiences of grief after the loss of her husband and the simultaneous traumatic experience of her daughter’s severe illness。 These events both take place over the span of a year which leaves Didion in a ‘vortex’ of thoughts， emotions， and flashbacks。 I thought this book would be a little more emotional， but it was more factual and an analys 4/5 - A beautifully written book！ Not as heart-tugging as I expected （or hoped for）， but overall a good one！ The Year of Magical Thinking recounts Didion’s experiences of grief after the loss of her husband and the simultaneous traumatic experience of her daughter’s severe illness。 These events both take place over the span of a year which leaves Didion in a ‘vortex’ of thoughts， emotions， and flashbacks。 I thought this book would be a little more emotional， but it was more factual and an analysis of the ‘thinking’。 There were some interesting stories and some medical terminology that I was able to learn about， but something seemed to be missing for me。 My overall takeaways are:- It’s hard to know what true grief feels like until you’ve actually experienced it （loss of a parent， spouse， child， or someone very close to you）。 - Cherish every moment you have with the people you love。 Appreciate the small things。 - Although grief is incredibly painful， the reality of things is you must let those who have passed go。 Life will continue to press on。 。。。more
Signe
，
Deep grief deeply written。
Kathryn Lilly
，
There were parts that were very moving。 It seeems that she had a very charmed life with her husband and daugher。 It was just okay。
Amy
，
I didn't like this book at first。 The author was flat， detached and hollow as she described a year where her grown daughter was comatose and her husband suddenly died right in front of her。 When she wasn't pretentiously name-dropping （this woman never simply went back to the hotel， she went back to the Beverly Wilshire）， she was cool and clinical when talking about her daughter and husband。 It wasn't until I got almost to the end that I realized her aloofness stemmed from a deep-rooted desire to I didn't like this book at first。 The author was flat， detached and hollow as she described a year where her grown daughter was comatose and her husband suddenly died right in front of her。 When she wasn't pretentiously name-dropping （this woman never simply went back to the hotel， she went back to the Beverly Wilshire）， she was cool and clinical when talking about her daughter and husband。 It wasn't until I got almost to the end that I realized her aloofness stemmed from a deep-rooted desire to not drown in self-pity。 It still didn't make me love the book but I could at least appreciate her point-of-view， not to mention her absolutely poetic writing。 This book shows up on a lot "must read" lists and I'm not sure I'd go that far but there's definitely an importance of recognizing that people grieve in many different ways。 。。。more
Andrea Malone
，
My husband passed away almost four months ago。 I have been given countless books about grief from supportive friends。 This was one of them。 I tried reading it shortly after my husband passed， and could not get past the first chapter。 I decided to pick it back up last night， and I read twelve chapters without moving。 This evening I finished it。 I wish I had highlighted the phrases and paragraphs that struck a chord， because there were many。 This book is poignant， honest， and， without sounding cal My husband passed away almost four months ago。 I have been given countless books about grief from supportive friends。 This was one of them。 I tried reading it shortly after my husband passed， and could not get past the first chapter。 I decided to pick it back up last night， and I read twelve chapters without moving。 This evening I finished it。 I wish I had highlighted the phrases and paragraphs that struck a chord， because there were many。 This book is poignant， honest， and， without sounding callous - I feel like unless you too have lost your spouse， your soulmate， your partner， the person with whom you share everything， all day， every day…you just won’t feel this book the same way。 Her words resonated with me。 I too， still in my first year， think this is temporary - that there’s a way to undo my husband’s death。 My rational self knows it’s not possible， but when you have inexplicably and unfairly lost the person with whom you shared decades of intimacy along with the mundane of daily life， your rational self does not fully exist。 You come home， excited to share some piece of news， and then remember that there is no one to share it with。 You fall asleep， thinking that tomorrow may be the day he comes home， and wake， briefly forgetting as you roll over to give him a hug。 Magical thinking。 I loved this book。 。。。more
Dead Dilly
，
Having been forced inside over the last 72 hours from a particularly heavy snowstorm I decided to dive into Didion's accounts of grief/loss for some perspective。 This was deeply addicting to read， as most death memoirs are， and the moments when Didion shifts to a clinical analysis of the nature of grief/mourning are cutting and revelatory。 I wasn't surprised to see many on here taking issue with the name-dropping or inadvertent flexing that was going on in the more mundane parts of her account - Having been forced inside over the last 72 hours from a particularly heavy snowstorm I decided to dive into Didion's accounts of grief/loss for some perspective。 This was deeply addicting to read， as most death memoirs are， and the moments when Didion shifts to a clinical analysis of the nature of grief/mourning are cutting and revelatory。 I wasn't surprised to see many on here taking issue with the name-dropping or inadvertent flexing that was going on in the more mundane parts of her account - it can be a bit disengaging and alienating， but the facts are the facts。 There also is something to the equalizing force of loss transcending social order。 I will be reading "Blue Nights" sometime soon， and can plainly see why Didion was such a literary force。 。。。more
Vicky Chehade
，
I’ve had this book sitting on my kindle for a while， so I thought it was appropriate to finally read it after Didion’s passing。 It did not disappoint。 Such a beautiful work about death and grief。 If you’ve never read anything by Didion， take an opportunity to do so！
Diana Walker
，
As a woman who recently lost her husband， I found this book engrossing and encouraging。 Joan was able to put into words so many of the thoughts and feelings I have experienced which helped me validate my own experience。 I would rate it as a very helpful book for anyone experience grief from the loss of a loved one， especially a spouse。
millie
，
i love joan didion so much。 i was inspired to read her books after i watched the netflix documentary film on her。 im currently waiting for another book of hers to arrive。 i just know that i will read this book later in my life and it would be of much more use to me。 it’s nice knowing i have it， if i ever need it。 joan is so incredible at writing about the human experience on every wavelength。 her writing is so soothing and feels like a warm hug。 favourite quote — “don’t ever tell me again you ca i love joan didion so much。 i was inspired to read her books after i watched the netflix documentary film on her。 im currently waiting for another book of hers to arrive。 i just know that i will read this book later in my life and it would be of much more use to me。 it’s nice knowing i have it， if i ever need it。 joan is so incredible at writing about the human experience on every wavelength。 her writing is so soothing and feels like a warm hug。 favourite quote — “don’t ever tell me again you can’t write。 that’s my birthday present to you。” 。。。more
Geri Lim
，
This book was very engaging。 The similarities and contrasts with what I’m going through where many and moving。 I much appreciated the personal accounting of information about grief and mourning。 The sudden loss of a life partner would seem very different from the prolonged loss of a life partner to dementia。 And it is yet much is emotionally the same。
Andrew Shaffer
，
Her most read—but not her best—book。
Sara Lee
，
Excellent view on the ending of life in the beginning a new
Kathy Foley
，
This book said everything I have felt over the last 2 years without Ron。
Laura Witt
，
Not the first read for this one and it probably won’t be the last。 This is such a raw exploration of Didion’s brain in the funk of grief。 I read it this week as I watched one of my best friends navigate the loss of his father figure， and it hit just right。
Cece G
，
Beautiful book。 Lots to think about。 I listened to the audio version and I found it oddly comforting。
Alva
，
Page after glorious page， I could not put this down。 How can a book about grief be so gorgeously written， so beautifully presented that we want to read more about the moment， the hour， the day one's love dies suddenly？ Joan Didion tries to make sense of the senseless， even while aware of the events leading up to the dreaded day。 Two lives already full of the tragedy of a daughter's sudden illness are struck once again by the worst possible thing - death。 And Joan remains， thinking， exploring her Page after glorious page， I could not put this down。 How can a book about grief be so gorgeously written， so beautifully presented that we want to read more about the moment， the hour， the day one's love dies suddenly？ Joan Didion tries to make sense of the senseless， even while aware of the events leading up to the dreaded day。 Two lives already full of the tragedy of a daughter's sudden illness are struck once again by the worst possible thing - death。 And Joan remains， thinking， exploring her heart and mind to bring some sort of order to things。 The denial， the wishing， the shoes。。。This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary woman。 。。。more
Madelynn
，
A bit slow at the end， but incredible read that I think anyone who appreciates writing should read。
Guido
，
Un relato sobre la muerte muy personal que a la vez logra interpelar。 Emociona
Wahidah
，
Dari beberapa memoir tentang kematian orang tersayang， hanya buku Joan Didion yang bikin aku sedih dan merasa kehilangan。 Banyak makna yang bisa diambil dari buku ini。 Terutama menjalani hari-hari setelah ditinggal pergi untuk selamanya oleh orang yang kita sayang。
Claire Gillen
，