vnnbrg's review
5.0
Als ik al een minpunt kan bedenken van deze bundel, dan is het dat het begint met Kruipend naar Bethlehem (Slouching Towards Bethlehem) dat direct zulke hoge verwachtingen schept dat het bijna oneerlijk is voor alles wat erna komt. Gelukkig stelt Didion werkelijk geen moment teleur. Neem alleen al het briljante The White Album, om maar iets te noemen. Elke zin die ze schrijft is even mooi. Joan Didion bezit de gave om je volledig mee te sleuren in haar verhaal, soms zonder dat je weet waar het nou precies over gaat, om je vervolgens aan het eind haarfijn te wijzen op wat er volgens haar mis is met de maatschappij (of met zichzelf, ze spaart ook haar eigen ego niet), dit alles zonder ook maar een enkele keer belerend of hautain over te komen. Dit was mijn eerste kennismaking met Didion en na deze bundel wil ik alles lezen wat ze ooit op papier heeft gezet.
inthecommonhours's review against another edition
5.0
I have favorites within this favorite, but the best thing to come out of reading Lara's review of YoMT is that it moved me to take this down from my shelf and open it once again.
stephvatz's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a wonderful book to start 2022 with. Joan Didion is a sense of place, a raised eyebrow, a matter of fact. There are seven books here in one. Not all books or essays of hers are created equal but her essays on California, on politics, on herself and her family are all a delight.
I giggled at her wry humor, I cried at her gutting use of metaphor, I Google'd madly -- trying to gain updated information about her absurdly well-researched points on topics ranging from Central American politics to California land use to urban planning to 1980s politics to shopping mall design to the pull of the prison guard unions.
I'm so grateful to have this collection to revisit her and her California.
I giggled at her wry humor, I cried at her gutting use of metaphor, I Google'd madly -- trying to gain updated information about her absurdly well-researched points on topics ranging from Central American politics to California land use to urban planning to 1980s politics to shopping mall design to the pull of the prison guard unions.
I'm so grateful to have this collection to revisit her and her California.
zoefaiith's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
whats_margaret_reading's review against another edition
4.0
We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live is a collection of Didion's nonfiction work, including Slouching Towards Bethlehem, The White Album, Salvador, Miami, After Henry, Political Fictions, and Where I Was From, stopping in 2003 before the deaths of her husband and daughter. I got bogged down in the more historical and political essay collections and took a long break after Miami but picked it back up and finished reading.
Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album are stellar, with Didion's sparse and biting prose describing the way of life and climate of the 1960's. Didion's essays on more personal topics, like keeping a journal, are insightful and interesting. Where I Was From comes back to this theme and is the later of Didion's work that I enjoyed best.
The more historical and political focused ones are less interesting. I'm not sure if I got bogged down in Didion's somewhat indignant tone or maybe the actions of the United States in the latter half of the 20th century are just going to be very depressing. In Political Fictions especially, with the focus American politics of the 1990's, Didion took a heavy hand in condemning those involved. It's justly deserved criticism, but lacks the variety in topic of some of Didion's other work.
I'm glad I stuck with this one, and Slouching Towards Bethlehem I would definitely read again.
Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album are stellar, with Didion's sparse and biting prose describing the way of life and climate of the 1960's. Didion's essays on more personal topics, like keeping a journal, are insightful and interesting. Where I Was From comes back to this theme and is the later of Didion's work that I enjoyed best.
The more historical and political focused ones are less interesting. I'm not sure if I got bogged down in Didion's somewhat indignant tone or maybe the actions of the United States in the latter half of the 20th century are just going to be very depressing. In Political Fictions especially, with the focus American politics of the 1990's, Didion took a heavy hand in condemning those involved. It's justly deserved criticism, but lacks the variety in topic of some of Didion's other work.
I'm glad I stuck with this one, and Slouching Towards Bethlehem I would definitely read again.