CC Book Club-The Year of Magical Thinking

[CCBookClub]

Posting discussion questions. :D

1. Consider the four sentences in italics that begin chapter one. What did you think when you read them for the first time? What do you think now?

2. In particular, address “The question of self-pity.” Does Didion pity herself? In what ways does she indulge that impulse, and in what ways does she deny it?

3. Discuss the notion of “magical thinking.” Have you ever experienced anything like this, after a loss or some other life-changing occurrence? How did it help, or hinder, your healing?

4. Do you think Didion’s “year of magical thinking” ended after one year, or did it likely continue?

This thread will open for posting May 25th!

[Chris~n~Jen]

Posting the rest of the discussion questions!

6. Consider the tone Didion uses throughout the book, one of relatively cool detachment. Clearly she is in mourning, and yet her anguish is quite muted. How did this detached tone affect your reading experience?

7. How does Didion use humor? To express her grief, to deflect it, or for another purpose entirely?

8. Over the course of the book, Didion excerpts a variety of poems. Which resonated for you most deeply, and why?

9. To Didion, there is a clear distinction between grief and mourning. What differences do you see between the two?

10. One word critics have used again and again in describing this book is “exhilarating.” Did you find it to be so? Why, or why not?

11. Discuss Didion’s repetition of sentences like “For once in your life just let it go”; “We call it the widowmaker”; “I tell you that I shall not live two days”; and “Life changes in the instant.” What purpose does the repetition serve? How did your understanding of her grief change each time you reread one of these sentences?

12. The lifestyle described in this book is quite different from the way most people live, with glamorous friends, expensive homes, and trips to Hawaii, Paris, South America, etc., and yet none of that spared Didion from experiencing profound grief. Did her seemingly privileged life color your feelings about the book at all? Did that change after reading it?

13. At several points in the book Didion describes her need for knowledge, whether it’s from reading medical journals or grilling the doctors at her daughter’s bedside. How do you think this helped her to cope?

14. Reread the “gilded-boy story” on pages 105–6. How would you answer the questions it raised for Didion?

15. Is there a turning point in this book? If so, where would you place it and why?

16. The last sentence of the book is “No eye is on the sparrow but he did tell me that.” What does this mean?

17. Didion is adapting The Year of Magical Thinking into a play bound for Broadway. How do you imagine its transition from page to stage? Would you want to see the play?


We open for discussion tomorrow!

[Chris~n~Jen]

Since there are so many questions, I think everyone should just answer the ones that they feel they would like to discuss. There is no way that every person is going to give their thoughts on all of the questions, so if everyone just picks the ones that they have an opinion about I think it will keep the thread more interesting. :D :D :D

[Chris~n~Jen]

We're open for discussion!

Anyone want to post??? It's to late for me tonight and my brain just doesn't want to think. So it looks like I'll have to post my thoughts tomorrow. Also I finished the book almost two weeks ago so I need to have it in front of me while I'm answering to jog my memory. I was hoping to find some discussion already. :D

[TracieB]

I'm headed out to lunch, but will answer some of the questions a little later.

[TracieB]

I have to be honest and say that I didn't really enjoy this book. I don't know what it was... her writing style just seemed so, I don't know, scatterbrained at times and it was hard for me to follow along. I ended the book not really knowing what "magical thinking" was and if Didion even experienced it.

That being said though... I have to preface my answers by saying that (thank the Lord!!), I haven't really had much to grieve or mourn about in my lifetime thus far (and hopefully not for a long, long, long time). It made it somewhat hard to read because I haven't lost a loved one or gone through a tramautic experience like she does in the book.

2. I don't think she pities herself. I do think, however, that at times she masks her feelings through her research and reading millions of medical books. I think that may have helped her mourn... I'm not sure and realize that I completely didn't answer the question. Ha!

4. I think her magical thinking continued longer than a year. I say this because I'm not sure if she ever had the time to mourn her husband's death. It seemed like everything with her daughter filled her time and gave her something to think about other than her husband. So, I think she'll continue the "magical thinking" for years following.

6. I mentioned above that I didn't like her detached writing style. I couldn't really feel her grief although I KNOW she was grieving.

7. I don't think I cracked one smile while reading this book... I didn't find humor anywhere. Did any of you? I'm interested!

9. I think the difference Didion was trying to make between grieving and mourning was that grief is instant and mourning last a lot longer. Grief is the inital shock of the events and mourning is the lingering feelings that take a long time to go away, if at ever.

10. No, did not find it to be exhilarating, nor do I see how anyone could call it that, but I'm interested to hear anyone's opinion that feels that way.

13. I do think Didion used medical research to help her cope with everything going on. I think she felt like she had no "hand" in anything going on, so being well-informed about the medical condition of her daughter, she felt somewhat in control of the situation.

I don't know if I can answer anymore. I don't mean to be such a downer, but this is a book that's completely different than anything I've read and I just didn't enjoy it. I'm sure other people have completely opposite reactions to the book and I'd love to read your answers!

[lawyerlee]

I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to participate yet. :o I will try to get to this some evening this week.

[mili04]

I'll start by admitting I didn't finish reading this book. I really wanted to like it, but I couldn't get into the writing style. So with that in mind.....

1. Consider the four sentences in italics that begin chapter one. What did you think when you read them for the first time? What do you think now?
I found the last line interesting, The question of self-pity. It doesn't seem to fit with the other three lines, and overall, the italicized statement feels like an odd first statement to make. I am much more drawn to further on the page where she writes, Life changes in an instant. The ordinary instant. To me, these are more powerful words.

2. In particular, address “The question of self-pity.” Does Didion pity herself? In what ways does she indulge that impulse, and in what ways does she deny it?
Sure, I believe she pities herself at times, but I think she tries to avoid it. All of the reflecting on the past and what will happen in the future is evidence of self-pity (and I don't mean it in a bad way). When she tries to avoid thinking about those times, I think she is trying to deny self-pity.

6. Consider the tone Didion uses throughout the book, one of relatively cool detachment. Clearly she is in mourning, and yet her anguish is quite muted. How did this detached tone affect your reading experience?
I've already said I did not enjoy the writing style of this book. The detached tone made the book feel jumpy and keeps the reader from feeling attachment.

13. At several points in the book Didion describes her need for knowledge, whether it’s from reading medical journals or grilling the doctors at her daughter’s bedside. How do you think this helped her to cope?
This is one area I could really relate to Didion. Sometimes, when there is nothing else you can do in a bad situation, understanding the situation is the only power you have. I think the search for knowledge helped her feel a tiny bit in control in the midst of so many terrible things happening outside of her control.

I'm really interested in hearing other people's responses and perspectives on this book, especially from those that are different from mine. I think TracieB and I felt the same way about it.

[lawyerlee]

I think I'm still trying to sort out my thoughts on this book. It was different than I expected. I don't think I anticipated that so much of it would be what was in her head or that it would be crafted from her perception of events alone. I appreciated her skill in crafting this kind of story and respect her for writing something so personal, though. I think it would be hard to expose yourself the way she does and open yourself up for scrutiny as to such profoundly raw topics in your life.

2. In particular, address “The question of self-pity.” Does Didion pity herself? In what ways does she indulge that impulse, and in what ways does she deny it?

I think her views on the propriety of self-pity evolve before us in this work. Initially, she takes the very common view that self-pity is unnecessarily indulgant. However, she comes to the realization that it is okay to feel sorry for yourself when something truly devastating happens and allows herself the space to feel what she feels. My perception of her discussion of self-pity was that we have a tendency to demand that people grieve in a way that is comfortable for the rest of us and disregard the need of the grieving person to go through the natural process of experiencing the feelings that arise when one experiences a profound loss.

6. Consider the tone Didion uses throughout the book, one of relatively cool detachment. Clearly she is in mourning, and yet her anguish is quite muted. How did this detached tone affect your reading experience?

I think her tone is simply another coping mechanism, for one thing. I also think it is revealing of how surreal the time was for her. I don't know that I felt one way or the other about this.

10. One word critics have used again and again in describing this book is “exhilarating.” Did you find it to be so? Why, or why not?

"Exhilarating" is not a word I often use, and I certainly would not use it to describe this book. I find it downright puzzling that the book has been described in this way. I think it is an honest work in that it captures the loneliness, disorientation, and regret that I imagine one might experience at the sudden loss of a life partner. I just don't associate the experience of reading a book that made my heart ache with the word "exhilarating".

11. Discuss Didion’s repetition of sentences like “For once in your life just let it go”; “We call it the widowmaker”; “I tell you that I shall not live two days”; and “Life changes in the instant.” What purpose does the repetition serve? How did your understanding of her grief change each time you reread one of these sentences?

I loved the way she utilized repetition a literary device. This technique was an incredibly effective way of illustrating to the reader the thoughts that kept running through her mind and, I think, revealed her guilt. I'm not sure that she was even aware of it, but I think she blamed herself - for missing the clues that something would happen to John, for not being the kind of wife who could let things go and wasting precious time she had with him in that way. I very much felt that she was punishing herself by hashing and rehashing all the moments of their lives together. I also think the repetition illustrates the way in which every thought brought her back around to John. I would imagine it is that way we've you've shared so much of your life with one other person. It a way, it is a romantic notion to me. We should all be so lucky as to build a lifetime of memories with our true love and continue to be so consumed with each other that death doesn't end our connection.

12. The lifestyle described in this book is quite different from the way most people live, with glamorous friends, expensive homes, and trips to Hawaii, Paris, South America, etc., and yet none of that spared Didion from experiencing profound grief. Did her seemingly privileged life color your feelings about the book at all? Did that change after reading it?

I read some descriptions of the book that were very critical of Didion for what they called "excessive name dropping" and "snobbery". I personally felt this was an unnecessarily harsh way to view the book. As far as I'm concerned, their lives were what they were, and I would hardly expect her to refrain from sharing details that were meaningful to her. They were her memories, and she clearly used many of those details as triggers in her mind. I appreciated that she let her thoughts unfold organically and shared that process with us. It made her experience more real to me.