by Joan Didion
First published 2021
In this collection of Didion's early essays, she trains her discerning eye on everything from newspapers and gambling to Hollywood and war veterans. With her trademark cool detachment, she peels back the veneer of American life, revealing the anxieties, absurdities, and complexities that lurk beneath. Whether profiling the press, visiting the Hearst Castle, or attending a Las Vegas reunion, Didion's insights are as piercing as they are prophetic, offering a masterclass in observation and truth-telling.
Genres: essays, literary-criticism, american-fiction, 20th-century, american, biography-memoir, 21st-century, journalism
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: observational, truth-telling
156 pages · Paperback