Beth's review
A Book of Common Prayer (Vintage International) by Joan Didion
Beth's review
rating:
recommended for: people who like Joan Didion's writing.
status: Read in November, 2007
rating:
recommended for: people who like Joan Didion's writing.
status: Read in November, 2007
I started reading Joan Didion about a year or two ago. I tend to prefer her non-fiction (The White Album being a favorite) to her fiction, but overall I just enjoy her writing style. Her style tends to be meandering, not quite stream-of-conscious and definitely not linear. That makes her extremely successful at evoking mood, amiance and a general sense of time (especially the writing that she did in the 60's). For that reason it almost doesn't matter what the subject matter is. Style become much more important than plot to me when reading her fiction work. That being said, plot obviously does have some importance. If I had to choose, River Run is my favorite J.D. fiction because it marrys her great style with an interesting plot (Southern gothic). The plot for A Book of Common Prayer centers on two American women living in Central America. Their stories are intersting but not fleshed out enough to be truly engaging. This is where the author's style saves the novel for me. If...more
