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trin's review
3.0
Scraps. This didn't need to be a book, except that Joan Didion ephemera is still full of phenomenal sentences, sharp and potent observations.
This book filled me with a longing for the road, and for a probably wholly imaginary, romanticized vision of a slower, more dignified, lost past. Simultaneously, it filled me with horror for the shocking, vilely racist reality of the actual past--both are somehow present in this book.
I shudder to think about which I would find more of if I went on a similar trip through the South today.
This book filled me with a longing for the road, and for a probably wholly imaginary, romanticized vision of a slower, more dignified, lost past. Simultaneously, it filled me with horror for the shocking, vilely racist reality of the actual past--both are somehow present in this book.
I shudder to think about which I would find more of if I went on a similar trip through the South today.
ardenannphillips's review
4.0
The American south sounds like hell by Didion’s writing about it does not
andotherworlds's review
3.0
3.5 // Didion has such a powerful way with words which is clear in her effortless poignance found in brevity.
bmarchman's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
A short but still excellent set of observations on the South from one of my favorite authors. I have had a passing interest in the American South thanks to some very good friends from the Gulf and other parts that have introduced me to what the region has to offer.
I do wonder why this book was released since it is far more sketches and impressions rather than solid continuous prose, but I still found Didion’s writing and thoughts, as always, to be original and captivating. I do think that her notes on California at the end of the book does little to add to what I think is a solid set of material on the South.
I do wonder why this book was released since it is far more sketches and impressions rather than solid continuous prose, but I still found Didion’s writing and thoughts, as always, to be original and captivating. I do think that her notes on California at the end of the book does little to add to what I think is a solid set of material on the South.
leeuhhhh's review against another edition
3.0
3.5! not my favourite didion, but there were a lot of interesting bits
bookwookie's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
3.5
This is my second time reading this book, and I definitely enjoyed it much more than the first time. It’s scary to read Didion’s thoughts on the south that have become relevant today. I really really enjoyed it, but I feel like the ending part where she talks about California felt a little out of place, and I was hoping it would also be a discussion of places, but oh well.