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Lädt ... The World According to Joan Didion (2023. Auflage)von Evelyn McDonnell (Autor)
Werk-InformationenThe World According to Joan Didion von Evelyn McDonnell
   Feminism (108) Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch.  SassyLassy | May 23, 2024 |   McDonnell tries to summarise her approach as: What I wanted to do instead [of an exhaustive biography] was trace Didion's legacy in the wake of her death and map the narrative of her life by visiting the places she lived and wrote about. I’ve read quite a few of Didion’s books and watched the documentary Joan Didion: The Centre will not Hold, but this book usefully illuminated and reminded me of Didion’s writings. (  ) CarltonC | Nov 5, 2023 | Like many people who have read (and reread) her work over the years, there were a lot of things I was aware of, though they are presented here with a different perspective, so it wasn't simply reading what I knew. Add in the stuff no one (except for all of these amazing readers who claim there was "nothing" new here because they apparently had psychic access to the unpublished writings and the hundreds of interviews McDonnell conducted) knew because it is newly presented here and this becomes a very insightful look at Didion as both writer and human being. As is often the case, the more we know about figures we admire for their work the less we place them on some kind of pedestal. What we have to keep in mind is that everyone has their flaws, so these people are just that, people. It seems like an area that gets mixed reactions for this book is how McDonnell puts her own anecdotes and stories in here as well. I tend to be one of those who liked that aspect. It makes it not simply a telling of the facts, or of some people's opinions, but how one person interacted with Didion's writing and how it gave perhaps some perspective on it. I found those to be opportunities for me to reflect on where in my own life some of her writing resonated, or didn't resonate. I would recommend this to both fans of Didion's as well as those just coming to her. That said, if you prefer a case file rather than a personal assessment, you might prefer to read an encyclopedia entry or something. Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. (  ) pomo58 | Oct 30, 2023 | Zeige 3 von 3 keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
**INDIE BESTSELLER** A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2023 by The Millions * B&N Best Books of 2023 * "Shaped by intellectual rigor and artistic grace ... McDonnell's portrait is vibrant, fluent, sensitive, and clarifying." -- Booklist, starred review An intimate exploration of the life, craft, and legacy of one of the most revered and influential writers, an artist who continues to inspire fans and creatives to cultivate practices of deep attention, rigorous interrogation and beautiful style. Joan Didion was a writer's writer; not only a groundbreaking journalist, essayist, novelist and screenwriter, but a keen observer who honed her sights on life's telling details. Her insights continue to influence creatives and admirers, encouraging them to become close observers of the world, unsentimental critics, and meticulous stylists. An antidote to a global view that narrows our vision to the smallest screens, The World According To Joan Didion is a meditation on the people, places, and objects that propelled Didion's prose and an invitation to journalists, storytellers, and life adventurers to "throw themselves into the convulsions of the world," as she once said. Evelyn McDonnell, the acclaimed journalist, essayist, critic, feminist, native Californian, and university professor who regularly teaches Didion's work, is attuned to interpret Didion's vision for readers today. Inspired by Didion's own words--from her works both published and unpublished--and informed by the people who knew Didion and those whose lives she shaped, The World According to Joan Didion is an illustrated journey through her life, tracing the path she carved from Sacramento, Portuguese Bend, Los Angeles, and Malibu to Manhattan, Miami, and Hawaii. McDonnell reveals the world as it was seen through Didion's eyes and explores her work in chapters keyed to the singular physical motifs of her writing: Snake. Typewriter. Hotel. Notebook. Girl. Etc. One of the first books to be published after the revered writer's death in 2021, The World According to Joan Didion is a literary companion for those embarking on new journeys and a guide to innovative ways of being. It will radically transform the way you explore the world, and will help you answer the question as you sit in a café, or on a plane or train, pondering the future: What would Joan Didion have seen? The World According to Joan Didion includes 19 black-and-white illustrations and photos throughout. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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 Google Books — Lädt ...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Klassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt: (3.5)
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This is why she has so many admirers. I am one, but it would never ever occur to me that I could write like that. Evelyn McDonnell is one too. However, she doesn’t stop there. She wants desperately to be Joan Didion. Recounting Didion’s life in The World According to Joan Didion, she is unable to resist comparing herself, putting herself in Didion’s footsteps psychologically and physically, travelling to many of the spots where Didion had written, and imagining herself doing the same thing. At times it’s almost creepy.
Where was the editor? This could describe a whole demographic subset.
McDonnell explains to the reader how, like Didion typing Hemingway’s sentences over and over to absorb structure, she has done that with Didion. She does, however, do a good job of relating Didion’s absolute discipline and dedication to her writing, going all the way back to her high school years. This single mindedness might appear ruthless at times, especially when it got in the way of relationships, but it is necessary if you are going to write like Didion. The old joke about “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” came to mind; in this scenario the answer would be “write, write, write”.
Didion didn’t stop there. There was a persona that went with the writing, and McDonnell discusses how that came to be as well. There is sometimes a flippancy, as yet again she imagines herself in a conversation or at a lunch, but there is no question she knows her subject and the writing. There are more in depth books on Didion out there, but McDonnell’s research and structure makes her book a strong introduction to Didion’s body of work. It’s also a good addition to any Didion themed collection if you can just ignore McDonnell.