The Year of Magical Thinking

I just finished Joan Didion's memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking, about the year of her daughter's illness following the death of her husband. It was an incredibly moving work and I'm not sure I've ever read any such account of a tragic time in a person's life that was so without self-pity. It was honest, bare bones "this is what I wanted to know and couldn't find the answers to." The style of the book is unmistakeable. I don't claim to be a Didion expert, but from the excerpts of her other works and articles I've read, the writing is fluid and conversational without losing any integrity. She's well-researched, but references to medical texts and such aren't boring, they're weighty and interesting.

I can't pretend to know what Didion must have felt after being in a relationship with someone for 40 years and losing them suddenly, but I do remember my grandmother going through much of the same experiences when my grandfather passed away suddenly from a heart attack. From an outsider's point of view, Didion couldn't have written an account that made it easier for another person to feel her exact emotions.

And if you're into this whole reading thing, but aren't so hip to braving the hot 100s outside and hitting the library, check out booksfree.com. It's like Netflix but for books. Nice.

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Oh, and Carl Monday fans, Unfair Park had some more library masturbation shake-down fun today. Check it out here.