The Year of Magical Thinking biography, high resolution photos and videos by Americola 
The Year of Magical Thinking
[edit] Americola's celebrity biographies are provided by AmericolaWiki, a celebrity wiki. You can help contribute to Americola and edit this article.
The Year of Magical Thinking (
2005), by
Joan Didion (b. 1934), is an account of the year following the death of the author's husband
John Gregory Dunne (1932-2003). Published by
Knopf in October 2005, the book was immediately acclaimed as a classic in the genre of
mourning literature. It won the
National Book Award in November 2005.
The narrative structure of the book parallels the mental re-living of a tragic event that is common to many experiences of grief. The outline of the story remains constant: Didion and her husband were returning home after a visit to their daughter Quintana, then in a New York hospital battling life-threatening illness. At dinner John collapses, is taken to the hospital, and pronounced dead. But with each replay of the event, the focus on certain emotional and physical aspects of the experience shifts. Didion also incorporates medical and psychological research on grief and illness into the book.
Didion applies the iconic reportorial detachment for which she is known to her own experience of grieving; there are few expressions of raw emotion. Through observation and analysis of changes in her own behavior and abilities, she indirectly expresses the toll her grief is taking. She is haunted by questions concerning the medical details of her husband's death, the possibility that he sensed it in advance, and how she might have made his remaining time more meaningful. Fleeting memories of events and persistent snippets of past conversations with John take on a new significance. Her daughter's continuing health problems and hospitalizations further compound and interrupt the natural course of grief.
The Play
On
March 29th, 2007, the
Broadway adaptation of Didion's novel, directed by
David Hare, opened with
Vanessa Redgrave as the sole cast member. The play expands upon the memoir by dealing with the 2005 death of Didion and Dunne's daughter Quintana. Previews began
March 6th.
Trivia
- The letters highlighted in turquoise on the front cover of the book spell "John," her husband's first name.
- The book appears in an episode of Gilmore Girls.
- The book is quoted by Del.icio.us founder Joshua Schachter in an interview with John Heilemann of CNNMoney.com [1]
