Salvador
by Joan Didion
published
March 1983
by Bookthrift Co
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binding
Hardcover, 108 pages
isbn
0671470248
(isbn13: 9780671470241)
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 339)
Read in July, 2008
First El Salvador has moved on from this time period. While it is a part of Salvadorian history, the country has recovered. My first annoyance with this book was that she called El Salvador Salvador throughout the entire book. That’s like calling Los Angeles, Angeles all the time. The book touches on the subject from an Americanized point of view; it was quite interesting to see how she starts to see some of the picture. There is a great quote which expresses the feelings of the Salvadorian pe...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
People interested in Central America
Didion's report of a 2-week excursion to El Salvador in 1982 has incited me learn more about Central America, a region of the world I don't know very much about. Salvador, while a short read (108 pgs), is a difficult one. Didion mixes objectivity of the civil war with her own subjective observations of the terror that defined the country at the time. I think the book would have been easier to swallow if I went into it with more knowledge about the country's political history.
"That we ...more
"That we ...more
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Read in August, 2007
Quite worth the read if you want to meditate on fear and terrorism. It seems impossible to keep perspective when you're actually immersed in a place, like she was, but she pulls it off admirably. I can gush about this lady's pure humanist-meets-journalist streak all day.
This one may be best for die hard Didion lovers and/or those who already feel some pull to learn about the El Salvador situation in 1982. If you're a strident anti-Reagan-ite like myself, it can feel like preaching to the ...more
This one may be best for die hard Didion lovers and/or those who already feel some pull to learn about the El Salvador situation in 1982. If you're a strident anti-Reagan-ite like myself, it can feel like preaching to the ...more
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Read in August, 2008
A bit outdated, as Didion exhausted (as she's want to relay to the reader) a few weeks in Salvador in the early 80's. However, as is expected of our author, the reporting is dense, concentrated and begs questions and, in turn, answers them. I adore Didion for her verbose, erudite syntax, but I know that same writing style infuriates other readers. The book is short, but leaves you lunging for wikipedia updates and some sort of salvation for the nation. Read it. Didion is such a treat.
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
foreign policy wonks, people who love travel, people who don't mind being depressed
Insightful, penatrating, puts you in touch with the emotion reality of El Salvador in the early 80's, just beginning a 12 year civil war.
Very moving, very humane, frustrating to see clumsy American foreign policy, prescient in light of current struggles to help not hurt Africa and the Middle East.
More wonderful writing from Didion.
Meandering blog post at: http://intuitivechef.vox.com/l...
Very moving, very humane, frustrating to see clumsy American foreign policy, prescient in light of current struggles to help not hurt Africa and the Middle East.
More wonderful writing from Didion.
Meandering blog post at: http://intuitivechef.vox.com/l...
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
readers interested in the Civil War of 1980's El Salvador
A strange, impressionistic view of the Civil War in El Salvador and America's involvement. Extremely poignant considering today's mess in Iraq. This is the first Joan Didion I've read, and she does such a great job of juxtaposing dry objective data with her own intense subjective experiences. I look forward to reading something else by her.
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So far, this book is very intense. It is about El Salvador in the early eighties. Lots of gore and blood, but told from Didion's perspective of several trips she and her husband made there. It is wordy and full of dirty facts. It is a short book, but taking me a while to read because of this. I can only handle so much of that at a time.
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obviously i liked this so much because i'm partial. I really enjoyed the very TRUE observations she made about salvadoran culture and a good quick read and insight to what it would have been like if i had been here 25 years ago during the war.
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Read in March, 2008
Joan Didion is an incredible writer. This is a non-fictional account of the turmoil Didion witnessed during her trip to Central America in 1982--not a subject I'd normally seek out, but good writing is good writing. Lalaalaalaalaalalaaa.
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Read in April, 2008
This book did a good job detailing the violence and sordid relationships between the government and military of San Salvador during the 1980s. Probably not my cup of tea but an interesting book just the same.
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Read in June, 2008
Not much on facts, but brilliant at creating a feeling, showing you the uncertainty & fear pervasive at the time
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quick read - informational in a jounalistic fashion but also poetic. Very impressed.
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Read in January, 1984
Puerta del Diablo.
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