Quicklet on The Year of Magical Thinking
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Description
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The Year of Magical Thinking documents the painful year of 2004 in author Joan Didion’s life as she deals with the death of her husband John and the serious illness of her daughter Quintana. It’s her most critically aclaimed book to date, earning her the National Book Award in November 2005 and the Pullitzer Prize for biography/autobiography. The book was also a finalist in the National Book Critic’s Circle Award. On March 29, 2007 Didion’s adaptation of the book for a Broadway play came to life with Vanessa Redgrave as the sole cast member. The production toured the world and has been translated into several other languages.
BOOK EXCERPT
From the Overall Summary:
The Year of Magical Thinking chronicles author Joan Didion’s true struggle to cope with her husband’s death and daughter’s serious illness, both of which are happening simultaneously.
When the book opens Joan’s husband John has just died and daughter Quintana is in the ICU. Didion weaves the past into the present seamlessly to explain how this all happened so suddenly and to explain the happy previous life they had as a family before tragedy struck. The title of the book refers to Joan’s hopeless notion that she might be able to find a way to bring John back.
Throughout the book, Joan explores many deep facets of the nature of grief, death, and mourning. For example, she explains “the vortex effect” in chapter ten, of being sucked down into a pool of memories and sadness despite trying to avoid things that remind her of Quintana and John. She talks about the difficulty of mourning in a culture that comes down so harshly on any shade of self-pity.
By the end of the year, readers are not entirely sure anything has changed, if Joan has made any kind of self progress through her grieving. But we have been with her every step of the way; heard her stories, felt her struggle, and wished so desperately that John could recover and come back to the way she was.
...To be continued!
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Table of Contents Click on the links below to read actual chapters from the book for free!
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Introduction
- Background Information for “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion
- Overall Summary of “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion
- Important People in “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion
- Major Themes in “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion
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Chapter Summaries
- “The Year of Magical Thinking” Summary, Chapters 1-4
- “The Year of Magical Thinking” Summary, Chapters 5-7
- “The Year of Magical Thinking” Summary, Chapters 8-10
- “The Year of Magical Thinking” Summary, Chapters 11-13
- “The Year of Magical Thinking” Summary, Chapters 14-16
- “The Year of Magical Thinking” Summary, Chapters 17-19
- “The Year of Magical Thinking” Summary, Chapters 20-22
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Additional Reading
- Related Online Content
- Trivia for “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion
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Quicklet - The Year of Magical Thinking
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