A review by adambwriter
The Last Love Song: A Biography of Joan Didion by Tracy Daugherty
3.0
What a gift to witness Joan Didion grow, and grow up. She was always a great writer. She became a great person. I admire no one more than the person who can face the truth and then change because they've faced it.
I wasn't a big fan of the style, here, though I do understand the author had to write this without Didion's cooperation. If you've read all of Didion's work and seen her interviews, there's not a whole lot to be gained. That said, the detail (which is fairly criticised as being overwhelming) and chronology, and the inclusion of stories happening/lives being lived in close proximity to Didion's, while at first irritating (as overkill/unnecessary), eventually made a lot of sense. If you're writing about a writer who is always looking for the threads, why not include the threads? I think we get closer to a truth that way.
I'm not sure I can forgive the biographer for disillusioning me about Didion's personality--oh, we'd have never been very good friends--but it's safe to say she remains my favorite writer.
I wasn't a big fan of the style, here, though I do understand the author had to write this without Didion's cooperation. If you've read all of Didion's work and seen her interviews, there's not a whole lot to be gained. That said, the detail (which is fairly criticised as being overwhelming) and chronology, and the inclusion of stories happening/lives being lived in close proximity to Didion's, while at first irritating (as overkill/unnecessary), eventually made a lot of sense. If you're writing about a writer who is always looking for the threads, why not include the threads? I think we get closer to a truth that way.
I'm not sure I can forgive the biographer for disillusioning me about Didion's personality--oh, we'd have never been very good friends--but it's safe to say she remains my favorite writer.