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A great little collection of essays that shows us who Joan Didion really is and what makes her so special. I knocked off a star solely because I wanted more... I guess that's a little selfish of me, but hey, such is life.

"Why I Write" and "On Being Unchosen by the College of One's Choice" are clearly the stars of the show here; the latter of which is so poignant and relevant that it seems like it could've been written today. Honestly I think this collection would be a perfect place for those who are unsure of where to start with Didion - you get social commentary, introspectiveness, thoughts on the craft of writing, and that subtle, cheeky wit.

i luv u, joanie. ( )

The centerpiece of this collection are Didions perceptions as to why she writes and the writing process. Her elegant writing is always on display but for struggling authors this is a must read. ( )

I have long admired the prose style of Joan Didion and these twelve early pieces never before collected demonstrate that style. This selection of essays offers an illuminating glimpse into the mind and process of Joan Didion.

The varied essays in this collection, which are mainly taken from the early years of her astounding five-decade career, feature Didion writing about a Gamblers Anonymous meeting, a trip to San Simeon, and a reunion of WWII veterans in Las Vegas, as well as about subjects like Nancy Reagan, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Martha Stewart.

Didion has written extensively about the following topics: the press, politics, California robber barons, women, the writing process, and her own self-doubt. I think you will find that each essay is typical Didion: razor-sharp, astonishingly perceptive, and very readable. ( )

I found Ms Didion's writing style easy to engage with. Though I did not agree with her on most things discussed in this essay collection. Except the Martha Stewart chapter. ( )

I delayed buying this last year, although I have read many books by Didion and read a lot of the positive reviews, as I knew that I would wolf down such a slim volume, just twelve essays. And I had already read several of these essays which were reprinted around the time this book was published. So here I am one year later, and having got the book for Christmas, I managed to stretch the essays out over three days.
Needless to say they are all good, with some better than others depending upon what you have read by Didion (I have read a lot of her essay collections, but none of her fiction). Although the essays can be read without context, I think that they benefit from familiarity with her other work.

The first six essays were all originally published in 1968, and very much provide an insight, however second hand, into that period in West Coast America. And this is one memorable “image” of Joan Didion, which arises from her earlier essay collections of Slouching towards Bethlehem and The White Album.
These 1968 essays include Pretty Nancy, about the wife of the then governor of California, Ronald Reagan, where one can see the link to her subsequent political essays.

A highlight is “Why I Write” written in 1976, using Orwell’s essay title with the following conclusion on analysing a short story which Didion has written and about which she writes to answer the question, “Why I Write”:
Who was Victor? Who was this narrator? Why was this narrator telling me this story? Let me tell you one thing about why writers write: had I known the answer to any of these questions I would never have needed to write a novel.

There is an essay about the posthumously published autobiography of Tony Richardson, a film director most famous for winning an Oscar with Tom Jones in 1963. This is perhaps heavy on the personal connection, but reminds you that Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne, wrote Hollywood screenplays (including the 1976 version of A Star is Born).

Another highlight is “Last Words” about the posthumous publication of unfinished works by Ernest Hemingway, revealing about Didion’s approach to writing and amusing.

And having finished this short collection, I realise how much I have invested in the cool persona that is presented in Didion’s essays, compared to any of the other authors that I read. Other than Orwell, perhaps Patti Smith, who I have only recently discovered, is the only other author with anything like the same detached vision. Other authors have distinct personalities that enlarge their work and essays, Virginia Woolf, Joseph Roth, E M Forster, Cyril Connolly, Clive James, Milan Kundera, Alberto Manguel, Zadie Smith, but don’t do the “I” that Didion created.
Perhaps also W G Sebald, but he is examining memory, or forgetting. His personality is a more conscious construct.

An excellent collection, if you hadn’t already gathered! ( )