Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan DidionMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a great weekend read. Didion's writing is so good it's not fair to everyone else. How did she write this well in her early 30s?
The collection is mostly essays about California in the 60s, Didion really puts you there, even if, like me, you've barely ever been to California. What she failed to explain to me is why people live in a state that is so clearly hostile to humans and human settlement. Besides the earthquakes-- which she barely mentions, there are the mudslides, fires, deadly rivers, snakes, desert everywhere, and an entire essay is dedicated to the maleficent Santa Ana winds. She does dedicate an entire essay to why living in New York City when you are no longer young is crazy, with no special reasons except her own depression and cold weather. I am not the biggest fan of New York City either, but the ground in New York rarely tries to eat people alive.
Spoiler alert: In real life, she moves back to New York. Is there an essay about that?
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