Reviews

Blue nights by Joan Didion

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bluudove's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

lilyloveslit's review against another edition

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4.0

Broke my heart. Into a million pieces. Oddly enough it was also inspiring and brought smiles to my face. This is a book about life after death. She remembers the events leading up to her daughter's death in 2005 and the subsequent effects of losing a child. This is a death that occurred less than two years after the death of her husband, John, in 2003 (read: "The Year of Magical Thinking" for more on John.)

Joan is now 75 years old. She also talks about the process of aging, parenting and adoption, and reflects on her life/memories with Quintana and John. She brings a lot of interesting insights to the table - why do we think we are above time or aging? Why do we think bad things only happen to other people? Why do we hold onto loved ones that we've lost? Learn to let it go, she repeats. She has such a beautiful story. I just love this woman. And I love this book.

thebellsjar's review against another edition

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3.0

this one was not as good as the year of magical thinking but it still had powerful moments that left me in the ground, wanting to go to sleep.

camwhitehurst's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced

4.0

Beautifully written but maybe not worth the emotional turmoil for all

mpanethiere's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

the complexity of motherhood and the ephemeral nature of memory and not savoring a moment until it’s over is something we all can relate so deeply to. Didion never failed in her writing in capturing the complexity of relationships and the human experience.