Joan Didion, A BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER

Thank you for this enjoyable meeting! The five of us (Catherine, Clare, Robin, Michel and Maren) discussed Joan Didion's A BOOK OF COMMON  PRAYER in the as always welcoming "Les Editeurs".

The appreciation of writing and content was not shared equally. While Catherine and Robin were entirely taken in (both long time fans of Joan Didion, Robin even drew up a family tree for the Mendanas), Michel liked the book in general, but not especially the writing. And Maren appreciated the writing, but not what it said. Clare will decide when she has finished the book :-)

The writing was compared and related to Philip Roth, and this not only because of the book's theme (see American Pastoral, on the agenda in January 2014), but also in its form. Robin admired her ability to master both, being short and poignant as well as composing descriptive but comprehensible sentences long as a paragraph.

Apparently it is not easy to feel connected with any of the book's characters. Maybe some of us could have some sympathy with the narrator, Grace and Charlotte's second husband, Leonard. But in general the reader stayed in a position similar to Grace's: An observer and outsider.
Of course the main caracter, Charlotte, was most discussed. The ethereal woman who knows how to break a chicken's neck with bare hands. A character difficult to fathom for Maren, who lacks the experience of diplomatic cocktail parties and constant travellers, a world rich in "Charlottes" according to Catherine. Even more mysterious: Grace. What draws her to Charlotte? And why does she want to be a witness?

Robin shared many details about Joan Didion's life and from there we drifted into politics, its actors in history and today, English and American political commentators - in short: a real crash course for non-native English speakers! Thank you!

Maren