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The Year of Magical Thinking Paperback – 4 Sep 2006

3.9 out of 5 stars 103 customer reviews

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Product details

  • Paperback: 227 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial (4 Sept. 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007216858
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007216857
  • Product Dimensions: 13 x 1.9 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review

‘It is the most awesome performance of both participating in, and watching, an event. Even though Didion does not allow herself to break down, only a terribly controlled reader will resist doing the same.’ John Freeman, Independent

‘Ultimately, and unexpectedly for a book about illness and death, this is a wonderfully life affirming book.’ Lisa O’Kelly, Observer

‘Searing, informative and affecting. Don’t leave life without it.’ Financial Times

‘This is a beautiful and devastating book by one of the finest writers we have. Didion has always been a precise, humane and meticulously truthful writer, but on the subject of death she becomes essential.’ Zadie Smith

‘Taking the reader to places where they would not otherwise go is one of the things a really good book can do. “The Year of Magical Thinking” does just that, and brilliantly. Powerful, moving and true.’ Cressida Connolly, Spectator

‘A great book, a great work. Angular, exact, pressured and tough, precise as a diamond drill bit.’ Nick Laird

From the Publisher

The cover design is a limited edition print (1 of 2000) by Bob Crowley.

Bob Crowley is an award-winning theatre director, scenic and costume designer. He has worked extensively on Broadway and at The Royal National Theatre and The Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK. He was the designer for the stage adaptation of The Year of Magical Thinking. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I found it a depressing read. I lost my husband to cancer and still miss my lovely man so much. I thought this would be inspirational and helpful..... but no. I don't often abandon a book, but this one was sooooo depressing, I had to for my own mental health!
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Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Good memories of a life lived heal the raw wounds of death. Negative ones of death leave raw wounds open.
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Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
A very moving account of a tragic period in the author's life. Beautiful clear writing.
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Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Average book
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Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Such a moving and honest story. Anyone who has lost will relate to this book.
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Riveting excellent deep profound
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Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Thought provoking
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Format: Kindle Edition
Although I am not a fan of memoirs, I found Didion's memoir of the first year after the loss of her husband both sad and illuminating.

Sad, because, nine months ago, we lost my beloved father. I've had to watch my Mom grieve the end of one of life's grand love affairs - the passionate love affair between my parents, which lasted nearly 60 years.

Illuminating because, at times, Didion expresses her personal grieving in such a universal way that her loss became my Mother's loss. Didion gave a voice to the process of grief that my Mom, a widow, is experiencing and which I, a still-married daughter, have not yet experienced.

That Dunne brought deep meaning into Didion's life is unquestionable; her struggle to control or somehow change the events of that year, at times, makes fascinating reading because one senses that her emotions, her sens of loss are deep so that if she touched on them, she probably wouldn't cope.

But, while reading, I was struck by another level of sadness: at the hospital, which declared her husband dead, the social worker said of Didion's reaction, "It's okay; she's a pretty cool customer."

I constantly found myself asking, where ARE her emotions? What IS she feeling?

She could, and did, articulate the practical details of her year of grieving in microscopic detail, but there were times when I found her determined and strong-willed focus on medical facts, and the logistics of Dunne's death and her daughter's illness, disconcerting. Understandable, yes, and sad because it suggested a desperate attempt at mastering her overwhelming loss, but still disconcerting. She is, as the social worker said, "a pretty cool customer," and she manages to keep her deepest emotions very private.
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