I have a bit of a complicated relationship with Joan Didion. I first read her collection of non-fiction, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, because it’s the book I’d heard the most about. I liked her observation skills, that she had access to such a wide range of people and experiences, and that she wrote about a hugely diverse range of topics – many previously overlooked or not looked at from her particular viewpoint. But I found it hard to really connect to her through her work, and to me reading her felt like looking through the eyes of that cool kid who sits in the corner judging everyone at the party and finding them wanting. That’s not what she wrote, but that’s how her style came across to me. She didn’t seem to really be part of any of her stories, and it was hard to get a handle on what she actually believed or who she was.
I then moved on to her set of memoirs about the deaths of her husband and daughter, The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue Nights. Of course these were much more emotional, and it felt like the remove she viewed the world from, the protective shell that sat between her and the sometimes horrific things she wrote about, had worn through in places. It felt like for the first time in her life she was really aware of personal loss and suffering, that she no longer felt untouchable. Both books were deeply moving, beautifully written, and recounted loss that I still don’t know how she survived. The books weren’t perfect – she still writes from a position of naïve privilege that can be hard to accept. But the common experience of loss and grief bridged that for me more than her journalism did.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read more of her work. I’ve tried a few of her novels and never managed to stick with it, and based on my initial Didion experience, I didn’t think this book would work for me any better. It’s a collection of some of her early non-fiction writing, previously not published in book form. It’s a short book, easy to read, particularly so on audiobook. I’m so glad I decided to give it a try.
This book is even more wide-ranging than Slouching Towards Bethlehem and shows more of a cynical view of society than some of her other books. It also has more humorous moments in it. I particularly loved the piece she wrote that says that taking her niece to a gated community would have been more successful if they’d just viewed it from the highway, the prophetic piece she wrote on Martha Stewart’s image and brand and the devastating effect any damaging personal scandal would have on both, and my favourite, the piece she wrote about Ernest Hemingway, an author I have not had any interest in before this.
If you’re a Didion fan or just looking to find out why she’s such a big deal, this is the book I’d recommend. If you love it, by all means move on to her other work, but this book shows you what she is capable of and it felt like the book that showed me her view of the world most openly.
Book Title: Let Me Tell You What I Mean
Author: Joan Didion
Series: No
Edition: Hardback
Published By: Knopf
Released: January 26, 2021
Genre: Non-Fiction, Social Criticism
Pages: 176
Date Read: February 24-28, 2021
Rating: 8/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.98/5 (2,636 ratings)