Ronald A. (rarendt) reviewed The Year of Magical Thinking (Audio CD) (Unabridged) on + 107 more book reviews
I've only read a few of Joan Didion's books, and, although she is obviously a talented author, she's not normally my cup of tea - a little too liberal and a little too feminist for my tastes. I decided to try this because it deals with the death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne, who is one of my favorite authors, and because my wife passed away four years ago. I thought I might get some valuable insights.
I could identify with some of her thoughts and feelings about the death of a loved one, although our experiences were somewhat different. My wife had a long history of health problems, and I had made peace with the fact that I'd probably outlive her years ago; I spent her remaining years trying to make her life as full and pleasant as I could. The last 19 months were particularly trying after she was diagnosed with acute leukemia, and when she finally passed it was a blessing because she suffered a lot towards the end.
The author's husband died suddenly of an acute myocardial infarction, which came as more of a shock to her than it should have since he had had heart trouble for years which involved several medical procedures including installation of a pacemaker.
She seems to have used writing down all her thoughts for a year as a form of grief therapy. I found myself bored after the first cd, but persevered to the end out of respect for the dead - both hers and mine. After a while, the name dropping about all the famous and near famous people she stayed with and had dinner with got a little tiresome, as did her references to all the glamorous and exotic places she and John had spent time in and jetted off to whenever they didn't want to face reality. She mentions their financial difficulties several times, bot it doesn't seem to have kept them from living pretty well all their lives - maybe there were monetary as well as therapeutic motives for the book.
I did get some nice insights into J G Dunne's life and his work, but on the whole I found the book more depressing than uplifting. Occasionally her obsessive ramblings made me think the title should have been "The Year Of Maniacal Thinking".
I could identify with some of her thoughts and feelings about the death of a loved one, although our experiences were somewhat different. My wife had a long history of health problems, and I had made peace with the fact that I'd probably outlive her years ago; I spent her remaining years trying to make her life as full and pleasant as I could. The last 19 months were particularly trying after she was diagnosed with acute leukemia, and when she finally passed it was a blessing because she suffered a lot towards the end.
The author's husband died suddenly of an acute myocardial infarction, which came as more of a shock to her than it should have since he had had heart trouble for years which involved several medical procedures including installation of a pacemaker.
She seems to have used writing down all her thoughts for a year as a form of grief therapy. I found myself bored after the first cd, but persevered to the end out of respect for the dead - both hers and mine. After a while, the name dropping about all the famous and near famous people she stayed with and had dinner with got a little tiresome, as did her references to all the glamorous and exotic places she and John had spent time in and jetted off to whenever they didn't want to face reality. She mentions their financial difficulties several times, bot it doesn't seem to have kept them from living pretty well all their lives - maybe there were monetary as well as therapeutic motives for the book.
I did get some nice insights into J G Dunne's life and his work, but on the whole I found the book more depressing than uplifting. Occasionally her obsessive ramblings made me think the title should have been "The Year Of Maniacal Thinking".
I listened to this audio book while sewing. I greatly enjoy biographies, true crime, non-fiction, and any fictional novel that tells a great story. This book was maddening. The author is a snob. Perhaps it was just the narrator Barbara Caruso who sounds like a snob as she reads the book, but I don't think so. The book is written with such a nose in the air, high society feel, that the reader gets the feeling these people have no sincere concept of how life is lived by anyone who's net worth is less than 10 or 20 million dollars.
The author uses the phrase "It occurred to me..." so many times in the book that I literally could not believe she had ever authored any other book in the past. What a rookie mistake to use the same phrase over and over and over, not to mention boring listless writing. How could it even get past an editor? By the 5th time she said it, I felt I could write the rest of the book. Maddening. Completely maddening.
I wanted so badly to like this book. I want badly to like every book I begin to read. But, within the first or second chapter, I began to realize this was not a year of magical thinking at all. This is a very sad, sad tale of losing a spouse of about 40 years. The only magical thinking in the book is that she semi-occasionally believes she could bring him back somehow. I get that. I watched my mom reel with grief after the loss of my dad, her husband of almost 38 years. It was real and tangible. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind my mother could listen to this book and understand every sentence down to her very core, shaking her head while shouting a rousing "Yes!" to every single feeling Mrs. Didion describes. But, come on, that's not magical thinking. That's called grief. That's called sorrow. That's called sadness.
This book is perfect for someone still trying to make sense out of something totally senseless - untimely death. One minute the man is eating dinner, the next he has a fatal coronary..."The Widowmaker" as the doctor describes it. The wife's life is completely turned upside down, as one would expect. It doesn't help matters at all that their only daughter is very, very ill. This wife just can't catch a break it seems. That's what the book is about. It is NOT about magical thinking at all.
The author uses the phrase "It occurred to me..." so many times in the book that I literally could not believe she had ever authored any other book in the past. What a rookie mistake to use the same phrase over and over and over, not to mention boring listless writing. How could it even get past an editor? By the 5th time she said it, I felt I could write the rest of the book. Maddening. Completely maddening.
I wanted so badly to like this book. I want badly to like every book I begin to read. But, within the first or second chapter, I began to realize this was not a year of magical thinking at all. This is a very sad, sad tale of losing a spouse of about 40 years. The only magical thinking in the book is that she semi-occasionally believes she could bring him back somehow. I get that. I watched my mom reel with grief after the loss of my dad, her husband of almost 38 years. It was real and tangible. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind my mother could listen to this book and understand every sentence down to her very core, shaking her head while shouting a rousing "Yes!" to every single feeling Mrs. Didion describes. But, come on, that's not magical thinking. That's called grief. That's called sorrow. That's called sadness.
This book is perfect for someone still trying to make sense out of something totally senseless - untimely death. One minute the man is eating dinner, the next he has a fatal coronary..."The Widowmaker" as the doctor describes it. The wife's life is completely turned upside down, as one would expect. It doesn't help matters at all that their only daughter is very, very ill. This wife just can't catch a break it seems. That's what the book is about. It is NOT about magical thinking at all.
CHERYL M. (Cheryl-Sam) reviewed The Year of Magical Thinking (Audio CD) (Unabridged) on + 39 more book reviews
I don't know what all the hype was about but I found this book to be a very dull read.
