The Year of Magical Thinking
Cherie Burbach
June 01, 2006
I just finished Joan Didion's "The Year of Magical Thinking" last night and must tell you that I could not put it down.
THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING is Joan Didion's account of a year in her life. The year follows her husband's sudden death just days after their only child fell into a coma. The tale begins during Christmas-time, making this sad but compelling story all the more heartbreaking. Didion is a writer, an analyzer, and as writers know we sometimes feel the pain of our lives doubly so - first in the event itself, and then in the subsequent retelling of the event that we must do. As a result Didion's grief is told sometimes in the coolest most unbiased terms, as if a reporter from the field were issuing an account. At times her story dives deep into the pain of loss - giving an honest reflection of what it feels like to have everything you've known about your world suddenly change. Didion does this in an undramatic yet mesmerizing way. Perhaps the best parts of this tale are the smallest snipets she reveals as she thinks about her marriage. How her husband gave her the gift of admiring her writing as a birthday present, the last time he would be able to do so. This simple, elegant moment was deeply emotional, and brought me to tears with just a few words. From the minute you open this book, I guarantee you won't be able to put it down. It's a story you won't forget, not just because of the rare sequence of tragic events, but because of the brilliant writing used to tell the story.
I knew very little about the Dunne family or their mark on literature and film. After reading this work I was immediately compelled to find out more. What happened to Ms. Didion? To her daughter?
Joan Didion's daughter, Quintana Roo Dunne Michael, I was sad to find out, died last August, after the book was finished but before it was published.
In the latest news on this year-old story this elegant book is being adapted by the author into a Broadway play. Campbell Robertson from the New York Times had an article last week that talked about an upcoming one-woman play that would be based on her book and starring Vanessa Redgrave. The article is an interesting follow-up to this heartbreaking story, and chronicles not only the latest events that have come about from the book but also the unique connections that led to them.
THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING is Joan Didion's account of a year in her life. The year follows her husband's sudden death just days after their only child fell into a coma. The tale begins during Christmas-time, making this sad but compelling story all the more heartbreaking. Didion is a writer, an analyzer, and as writers know we sometimes feel the pain of our lives doubly so - first in the event itself, and then in the subsequent retelling of the event that we must do. As a result Didion's grief is told sometimes in the coolest most unbiased terms, as if a reporter from the field were issuing an account. At times her story dives deep into the pain of loss - giving an honest reflection of what it feels like to have everything you've known about your world suddenly change. Didion does this in an undramatic yet mesmerizing way. Perhaps the best parts of this tale are the smallest snipets she reveals as she thinks about her marriage. How her husband gave her the gift of admiring her writing as a birthday present, the last time he would be able to do so. This simple, elegant moment was deeply emotional, and brought me to tears with just a few words. From the minute you open this book, I guarantee you won't be able to put it down. It's a story you won't forget, not just because of the rare sequence of tragic events, but because of the brilliant writing used to tell the story.
I knew very little about the Dunne family or their mark on literature and film. After reading this work I was immediately compelled to find out more. What happened to Ms. Didion? To her daughter?
Joan Didion's daughter, Quintana Roo Dunne Michael, I was sad to find out, died last August, after the book was finished but before it was published.
In the latest news on this year-old story this elegant book is being adapted by the author into a Broadway play. Campbell Robertson from the New York Times had an article last week that talked about an upcoming one-woman play that would be based on her book and starring Vanessa Redgrave. The article is an interesting follow-up to this heartbreaking story, and chronicles not only the latest events that have come about from the book but also the unique connections that led to them.
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