Slouching Towards Bethlehem
May 2022
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
Joan Didion's savage masterpiece, which, since first publication in 1968, has been acknowledged as an unparalleled report on the state of America during the upheaval of the Sixties Revolution.
We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget. We forget the loves and the betrayals alike, forget what we whispered and what we screamed, forget who we were
In her non-fiction work, Joan Didion not only describes the subject at hand - her younger self-loving and leaving New York, the murderous housewife, the little girl trailing the rock group, the millionaire bunkered in his mansion - but also offers a broader vision of the world, one that is both terrifying and tender, ominous and uniquely her own.
Other books discussed: James Baldwin’s Giovannis Room, Nadine Gordiner’s My Son’s Story. Eve Babitz’s Slow Days, Fast Company, Tessa Hadley’s Free Love.
Discussion Resources:
Print:
Joan Didion the woman
Slouching Reviews
New York Times original review
Listen to:
NPR Fresh Air interview with Terry Gross
CBC Writers and Company Interview
Watch:
Netflix Documentary ‘Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold’
