South and West: From a Notebook
Author: Joan Didion
Published by: 4th Estate
Pages: 126
Format: Paperback
My Rating ★★★★
Published by: 4th Estate
Pages: 126
Format: Paperback
My Rating ★★★★
Joan Didion has always kept notebooks: of overheard dialogue, observations, interviews, drafts of essays and articles--and here is one such draft that traces a road trip she took with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, in June 1970, through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. She interviews prominent local figures, describes motels, diners, a deserted reptile farm, a visit with Walker Percy, a ladies' brunch at the Mississippi Broadcasters' Convention. She writes about the stifling heat, the almost viscous pace of life, the sulfurous light, and the preoccupation with race, class, and heritage she finds in the small towns they pass through.
And from a different notebook: the "California Notes" that began as an assignment from Rolling Stone on the Patty Hearst trial of 1976. Though Didion never wrote the piece, watching the trial and being in San Francisco triggered thoughts about the city, its social hierarchy, the Hearsts, and her own upbringing in Sacramento. Here, too, is the beginning of her thinking about the West, its landscape, the western women who were heroic for her, and her own lineage, all of which would appear later in her acclaimed 2003 book, Where I Was From.
And from a different notebook: the "California Notes" that began as an assignment from Rolling Stone on the Patty Hearst trial of 1976. Though Didion never wrote the piece, watching the trial and being in San Francisco triggered thoughts about the city, its social hierarchy, the Hearsts, and her own upbringing in Sacramento. Here, too, is the beginning of her thinking about the West, its landscape, the western women who were heroic for her, and her own lineage, all of which would appear later in her acclaimed 2003 book, Where I Was From.
My thoughts:
In 1970, Joan Didion spent a month taking a trip with her husband through Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, thinking there might be a piece in it, that she ultimately did not end up writing. There is no plot or conflict or ending, these aren't really even essays, but this slim book makes for strange and eerily gothic reading, and though it's been almost 52 years since her trip there and since she wrote these notes, it is especially frightening that not much seems to have changed in the Deep South.
South and West: From a Notebook provides readers with a lot of insight into the writing process. I’d describe this as a literary sketchbook, full of jotted down conversation scraps, impressions, memories and thoughts. Most of the book is made up of Didion's reflections during her 1970s trip to the South as she wandered from town to town.
Her observations so keen and precise. Didion's tone is always cool and almost clinical, but she cuts straight to the heart of what she is examining. These notes offer an illuminating glimpse into the mind and process of a legendary writer. Brief, beautifully written, filled with wonderfully detailed descriptions of southern life and culture in 1970. I highly recommend this one.
Overall reaction:
In 1970, Joan Didion spent a month taking a trip with her husband through Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, thinking there might be a piece in it, that she ultimately did not end up writing. There is no plot or conflict or ending, these aren't really even essays, but this slim book makes for strange and eerily gothic reading, and though it's been almost 52 years since her trip there and since she wrote these notes, it is especially frightening that not much seems to have changed in the Deep South.
South and West: From a Notebook provides readers with a lot of insight into the writing process. I’d describe this as a literary sketchbook, full of jotted down conversation scraps, impressions, memories and thoughts. Most of the book is made up of Didion's reflections during her 1970s trip to the South as she wandered from town to town.
Her observations so keen and precise. Didion's tone is always cool and almost clinical, but she cuts straight to the heart of what she is examining. These notes offer an illuminating glimpse into the mind and process of a legendary writer. Brief, beautifully written, filled with wonderfully detailed descriptions of southern life and culture in 1970. I highly recommend this one.
Overall reaction:
