The year of magical thinking by Joan Didion
THIS is an incredibly brave and unique book. In January, 2004, Didion s partner of 40 years, her husband John Dunne, died suddenly of a heart attack. At the same time, their only daughter Quintana was laying desperately ill in hospital. The Year of Magic
THIS is an incredibly brave and unique book.
In January, 2004, Didion's partner of 40 years, her husband John Dunne, died suddenly of a heart attack.
At the same time, their only daughter Quintana was laying desperately ill in hospital.
The Year of Magical Thinking is, as Didion herself says, her "attempt to make sense" of the period following John's death.
As such it is part memoir, part scientific analysis of John's death and Quintana's illness, part poetic working through of the most profound grief.
Sometimes it is almost painstakingly detailed and analytic, at others it is literary and passionate.
Most Read
- 1 BID releases official statement after cancelling Christmas lights switch-on
- 2 Yellow warning for snow and wind in Herts as Storm Arwen sweeps in
- 3 Villagers left waiting over an hour in cold for Arriva buses demand better service
- 4 15 adorable rescue pets in Hertfordshire looking for loving new homes this Christmas
- 5 Hitchin named as happiest place to live in the East of England
- 6 Here's what we know so far about the new Covid variant
- 7 Hertfordshire zoo Paradise Wildlife Park to temporarily close to the public in January
- 8 Tranmere Rovers against Stevenage off after Storm Arwen damage
- 9 Driver assaulted in racially aggravated attack following car crash
- 10 How Hertfordshire’s coronavirus figures compare to last year's lockdown
At all times it is frank and poignant, absorbing and worth reading. 4/5
