Matthew Royal reviewed South and west by Joan Didion
Review of 'South and west' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Joan Didion cuts across the different regions and cultures of the South, capturing her disdain for them with insightful observations in crafted language. They're somewhat unfinished narratives, but complete nuggets of feeling. Having lived in or visited the places she describes changes my acceptance of her words from omniscient truth to an unreliable observer with her own emotions and biases, and helps me come away with a better appreciation of her person.
"In a time when we have come to associate untouched lang with parkland, a luxury, Mississippi seemed rich in appearance. One forgets that this is pre-industrial, not parkland purchased at great cost in an industrial society."
"'Nothing here for the kid with an engineering degree. And of course the girls go where they marry. Southern girls are notoriously husband hunting, but I guess that's the same anywhere.' It occurred to me almost constantly in the South that had …
Joan Didion cuts across the different regions and cultures of the South, capturing her disdain for them with insightful observations in crafted language. They're somewhat unfinished narratives, but complete nuggets of feeling. Having lived in or visited the places she describes changes my acceptance of her words from omniscient truth to an unreliable observer with her own emotions and biases, and helps me come away with a better appreciation of her person.
"In a time when we have come to associate untouched lang with parkland, a luxury, Mississippi seemed rich in appearance. One forgets that this is pre-industrial, not parkland purchased at great cost in an industrial society."
"'Nothing here for the kid with an engineering degree. And of course the girls go where they marry. Southern girls are notoriously husband hunting, but I guess that's the same anywhere.' It occurred to me almost constantly in the South that had I lived there I would have been an eccentric and full of anger, and I wondered what form the anger would have taken. Would I have taken up causes, or would I have simply knifed somebody?"
Her most Daoist observation: "About the cathouse: the notion that an accepted element in the social order is a whorehouse goes hand in hand with the woman on a pedestal."