Joan Didion
Anyone reading anything by J. Didion?
I just bought the White Album, which is an essay collection she published in 1979. Was drawn toward it by a recommendation from Bret Easton Ellis, who cites her as being a writer whose work encouraged him to write. I'd also read about her a long time ago in the Salon Reader's Guide to Contemporary Literature: the guide describes a story of hers in which the main character, having just aborted her baby, goes to get her hair done, unaffected and untrouble by the abortion. So, the same kind of casual nihilism for which we all seem to have such affection.
The first lines of the White Album: "We tell ourselves stories in order to live. The princess is caged in the consulate. The man with the candy will lead the children into the sea. The naked woman on the ledge outside the window on the sixteenth floor is a victim of accidie, or the naked woman is an exhibitionist, and it would be 'interesting' to know which. We tell ourselves that it makes some difference whether the naked woman is about to commit a mortal sin or is about to register a political protest, or is about to be, the Aristophanic view, snatched back to the human condition by the fireman in priest's clothing just visible in the window behind her, the one smiling at the telephoto lens. We look for the sermon in the suicide, for the social or moral lesson in the murder of five."
Etc.
how sad..responding to your own stuff just to make it an "official" thread...
Stop trying to hurt my feelings!
It's time for me to go home now.
Lookit, we are having a lively discussion about Joan Didion. So many replies.
if i wanted to hurt your feelings, i'd do it...there's no TRYing. and why would i try to hurt your feelings, pattypants??
Stop calling me pattypants. The other board members will stop respecting me.
Speaking of which, I love hiding out in these low-traffic sections of the board. [If it's actually possible to HIDE out in a place that doesn't actually exist.] No one ls listening.
I know exactly what you mean. That's how I feel about the chat room section thing.
Heh, pattypants.
There is hope, but not for us.
pattycakes, i totally agree. it's like cheers: sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name. and they're always glad you came. i know i've made this analogy before, but it's true! i just wish people would start yelling "MOE" when i log in...
p.s. there's a joan didion list in this month's believer
p.p.s. i reserve the solitary right to refer to patioman as "pattypants," "pattycakes," or any other cutesy version of patrick i have previously invented or will invent in the near future.
I read her book Play It As It Lays. It was mediocre.
Ellis is insulting himself by drawing a comparison between the two authors.
It's not easy having a good time.
Even smiling makes my face ache.
I think that he based the comparison, primarily, on her journalism work, which is excellent. I haven't read any of her fiction, but the essays in the White Album are amazing, especially style-wise — beautifully written.
A new autobio out from Joan Didion this month.
believer loves joan didion. there's supposed to be an interview w/ her this month, no?
Yepper. [short reply, must pad: "Who put superglue in Dad's hat? Was it really a ghost that made Mom tear out of the house? Only sweet, gentle Matilda knows. Because she's the one playing all the jokes! She's a genius with idiot parents — and she's having a great time driving them crazy."]
Oops, it's an article ABOUT her, not an interview WITH her. Just got my ish in the mail.
what other good stuff's in the ish?
Two Lists You Might Like, which I'll type out because I have NOTHING to do — please excuse typos:
[b]The Genera of Michel H[/b]
Thrombidium holosericum
Linguatula rhinaria
Artemia salina
Aglossa cuprealis
Tineola biselbella
Pan troglodytes
Macropus
Macaca mulata
Gallus deomesticus
Columba livia
Laceria agilis
Diptera
Saccharomyces
[b]The Movies of Michel H[/b]
Et Dieu créa la femme
Salut les copains
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror
A Clockwork Orange
Phantom of the Paradise
Les Valseuses
Emmanuelle
Quo Vadis
Naughty Nurses
The Hitchhiker Always Comes Twice
Teacher Spreads Her Legs
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by patioman [/i]
[b]The Movies of Michel H[/b]
The Hitchhiker Always Comes Twice
[/B][/QUOTE]
lucky her!!
but what's "genera?"
Plural of genus — classification of species.
i loves me some new vocab words!
Come to the new Jimmie Jams comic book store with me.
let's go to the twins/yanks game instead.
Oh, yeah, now that they're doing well, you like 'em. I see how it is.
who, the twins? the yanks??? fuck no!! i just thought you'd be interested, since thems your people and all...but i'll just go with someone else if that's how you're going to be!
I'll go with you if we can boo the Yankees and throw our shoes at them!
There is hope, but not for us.
you're not allowed to go, either. see the "hick writer" thread. you're OFF THE LIST!
Again!? Dang it.
Well I still love you!! Ha ha! And I still hate Robbins AND the Yankees!
There is hope, but not for us.
What? Joan Didion isn't GOOD enough for you? Is THAT it?