The World According to Joan Didion

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A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2023 by The Millions • B&N Best Books of 2023 • “Shaped by intellectual rigor and artistic grace … McDonnell’s portrait is vibrant, fluent, sensitive, and clarifying.” — Booklist, starred review

An intimate exploration of the life, craft, and legacy of one of the most revered and influential writers, an artist who continues to inspire fans and creatives to cultivate practices of deep attention, rigorous interrogation and beautiful style.

Joan Didion was a writer’s writer; not only a groundbreaking journalist, essayist, novelist and screenwriter, but a keen observer who honed her sights on life’s telling details. Her insights continue to influence creatives and admirers, encouraging them to become close observers of the world, unsentimental critics, and meticulous stylists.

An antidote to a global view that narrows our vision to the smallest screens, The World According To Joan Didion is a meditation on the people, places, and objects that propelled Didion’s prose and an invitation to journalists, storytellers, and life adventurers to “throw themselves into the convulsions of the world,” as she once said.

Evelyn McDonnell, the acclaimed journalist, essayist, critic, feminist, native Californian, and university professor who regularly teaches Didion’s work, is attuned to interpret Didion’s vision for readers today. Inspired by Didion’s own words—from her works both published and unpublished—and informed by the people who knew Didion and those whose lives she shaped, The World According to Joan Didion is an illustrated journey through her life, tracing the path she carved from Sacramento, Portuguese Bend, Los Angeles, and Malibu to Manhattan, Miami, and Hawaii. McDonnell reveals the world as it was seen through Didion’s eyes and explores her work in chapters keyed to the singular physical motifs of her writing: Snake. Typewriter. Hotel. Notebook. Girl. Etc.

One of the first books to be published after the revered writer’s death in 2021, The World According to Joan Didion is a literary companion for those embarking on new journeys and a guide to innovative ways of being. It will radically transform the way you explore the world, and will help you answer the question as you sit in a café, or on a plane or train, pondering the future: What would Joan Didion have seen?

The World According to Joan Didion includes 19 black-and-white illustrations and photos throughout.

• The Writer’s Writer: Explore Didion’s world through unique physical motifs—from the typewriter to the snake—that defined her distinctive prose and keen observational style.
• New Journalism Pioneer: Go beyond the page with insights from Didion’s own words, including unpublished material, and interviews with those who knew her best.
• A Woman’s Voice: Follow the path of a native Californian, feminist, and critic who carved a new space for women in American literature, from Sacramento to New York City.
• Legacy of an Icon: Discover why Didion’s unsentimental criticism and meticulous style continue to influence a new generation of writers, journalists, and storytellers.
• The California Dream: Delve into the Golden State’s myths and realities, tracing a story of American life that travels from the Central Valley to the shores of Malibu.