At least I don’t recall it being discussed and applauded ‘everywhere’. Too bad. It’s an excellent piece of writing on a subject that has broad interest.Īs in Didion’s book, things begin with a moment between husband and wife… after which everything changes. Shulman’s book, for whatever reason, didn’t elicit the same widespread reaction. In other words, was the buzz created by the magic of Didion’s words… or was it our interest, and faith, in a beloved literary icon? And then I stopped trying, and I began to wonder how it would rate or be discussed or ignored had it been written by an unknown. Her prerogative of course, but then why write a memoir? I actually read Year of Magical Thinking twice because I couldn’t believe I was the only person on the planet who didn’t wholly embrace it. I thought its honesty was bordering on superficial and maybe she held back because she simply wasn’t ready or able to give more. Here is what happened, she tells us, here is how mad I was with it, and we empathize, we’re with her, but after a while I wanted not just to read lists and repetitions of her mania but for her to offer something deeper, how she felt and how she was changed by this extraordinary period in her life. What I felt about Didion’s book was that rather a lot was missing. To Love What Isis her latest gem, an account of what happened after Shulman’s husband suffered brain damage from a fall-it will appeal to anyone who enjoyed Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking.
One of the few books I re-read on a regular (used to be annual) basis.
I received this book as a gift from someone who knows that I’ve been a fan of the author’s work since reading her memoir Drinking the Rain some many, many years ago.
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