A Book of Common Prayer

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Writing with the telegraphic swiftness and microscopic sensitivity that have made her one of our most distinguished journalists, Joan Didion creates a shimmering novel of innocence and evil.A Book of Common Prayer is the story of two American women in the derelict Central American nation of Boca Grande. Grace Strasser-Mendana controls much of the country's wealth and knows virtually all of its secrets; Charlotte Douglas knows far too little. "Immaculate of history, innocent of politics," she has come to Boca Grande vaguely and vainly hoping to be reunited with her fugitive daughter. As imagined by Didion, her fate is at once utterly particular and fearfully emblematic of an age of conscienceless authority and unfathomable violence.

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1977

About the author

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Joan Didion was an American writer and journalist. She is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism along with Gay Talese, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe.
Didion's career began in the 1950s after she won an essay contest sponsored by Vogue magazine. Over the course of her career, Didion wrote essays for many magazines, including The Saturday Evening Post, Life, Esquire, The New York Review of Books and The New Yorker. Her writing during the 1960s through the late 1970s engaged audiences in the realities of the counterculture of the 1960s, the Hollywood lifestyle, and the history and culture of California. Didion's political writing in the 1980s and 1990s often concentrated on the subtext of political rhetoric and the United States's foreign policy in Latin America. In 1991, she wrote the earliest mainstream media article to suggest the Central Park Five had been wrongfully convicted. In 2005, Didion won the National Book Award for Nonfiction and was a finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for The Year of Magical Thinking, a memoir of the year following the death of her husband, writer John Gregory Dunne. She later adapted the book into a play that premiered on Broadway in 2007. In 2013, she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by president Barack Obama. Didion was profiled in the Netflix documentary The Center Will Not Hold, directed by her nephew Griffin Dunne, in 2017.

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March 26,2025
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"a book of common prayer" by joan didion is a novel that delves into the complexities of human relationships, personal identity, and the elusive nature of truth. set against the backdrop of a politically turbulent central american country, the story follows the lives of two american women, charlotte and grace, whose paths intertwine in unexpected ways.

the novel's action unfolds through introspective narratives, reflecting the inner turmoil and disillusionment of its characters. charlotte douglas, a woman seeking solace and purpose, travels to the fictitious country of boca grande, where her daughter has become involved in the political unrest. grace strasser-mendana, a wealthy expatriate living in boca grande, becomes intricately linked to charlotte's life as she navigates her own disillusionment and fractured relationships.

as the narrative progresses, didion explores the contrasting perspectives of these two women, unveiling their inner desires, fears, and vulnerabilities. the novel's action is driven not by external events, but by the internal struggles and emotional landscapes of its characters. through their interactions and introspections, didion paints a vivid portrait of disillusionment, privilege, and the search for meaning in a world fraught with uncertainty.

the political turmoil and social unrest in boca grande serve as a backdrop against which the characters' personal dramas unfold. through the characters' interactions with the local populace and the country's political elite, didion weaves a narrative that reflects the collision of personal and political upheaval. the novel's action is propelled by the tension between individual agency and the overwhelming forces of history and politics.

against this backdrop, didion skillfully constructs a narrative that blurs the lines between truth and perception, inviting readers to question the reliability of memory and the subjective nature of reality. the action of the novel is driven by the characters' attempts to reconcile their own experiences with the turbulent world around them, ultimately leading to a profound exploration of identity, morality, and the nature of belief.

in "a book of common prayer," joan didion masterfully constructs a narrative that eschews traditional action-driven plots in favor of a deeply introspective exploration of human consciousness and the intricacies of personal relationships. through vivid prose and compelling character dynamics, didion offers a thought-provoking meditation on the nature of truth, the complexities of human connection, and the ways in which individuals navigate the tumultuous landscapes of both their inner and outer worlds.
March 26,2025
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Sfolgoranti i primi capitoli, nei quali la scrittura saettante di Joan Didion sbozza personaggi e contesto con straordinaria abilità. Ne esce un esilarante ritratto familiare dei governatori di Boca Grande, piccolo paese dell’America Latina dove il potere viene trasmesso a colpi di finte rivoluzioni e complotti demenziali (in puro stile Bananas). Il romanzo prende una piega melodrammatica quando si concentra sulla protagonista Charlotte Douglas e sulle sue dolorose vicissitudini, spostandosi avanti e indietro nel tempo tra Stati Uniti e America del Sud.
Didion esplicita una stretta connessione tra Charlotte e la voce narrante Grace. Grace vede se stessa razionale e attenta alla realtà, e si descrive in contrapposizione alla distratta Charlotte, per la quale pare esistere soltanto il proprio mondo interiore. Ma Charlotte è solo apparentemente alienata dalla realtà, mentre Grace, come Charlotte, è capace di ignorare deliberatamente l’evidenza dei fatti. Didion sembra dire che il nostro rapporto con la realtà e con la Storia è sempre soggettivo, e che ciascun individuo sceglie cosa ricordare e come ricordarlo: la vita è qualcosa che continuiamo a raccontarci, passato, presente e futuro; sappiamo solo quello che vogliamo sapere. Tutto il resto è oblio.
March 26,2025
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First time reading Didion's fiction and much of what I love so much about her nonfiction is still there. The observation the distance the desire to dig deeper and eventually realization that it is likely not possible.

This was good and a quicker read than I thought. The balance between the different plots and characters felt lopsided at times, but I enjoyed this quite a bit.
March 26,2025
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«Escribo estrictamente para averiguar qué estoy pensando, qué estoy mirando, qué veo y qué significa. Para averiguar lo que quiero y lo que me da miedo. ¿Qué esta sucediendo en esas imágenes que tengo en la cabeza?» (“Por qué escribo”, en Lo que quiero decir)

En Una liturgia común, la novela que la crítica considera como la más lograda de Didion, se cuenta la historia de dos mujeres estadounidenses en un país caribeño inventado, en el que por supuesto abunda la violencia y la corrupción. Como suele hacer la autora de El pensamiento mágico, la historia inicia con un enigma, una muerte, que parece ser lo que nos mantendrá en vilo durante toda la novela, pero —y bien al estilo Didion— nos damos cuenta a medida que avanzamos que el libro se trata de otra cosa.

La narradora en primera persona cuestiona, reprocha y se llena de preguntas que no puede responder, aunque encuentra algunas respuestas y le teme a muchas de ellas, pero lo más importante es que su propósito es entender lo que aconteció con la protagonista, con su amiga con la que constantemente se compara y a la vez intenta, en un tiro y afloje histérico, acercarse.

Es una novela con muchos giros sobre sí misma, con una gran construcción de personajes y que se centra en la amistad entre mujeres por más que nos quiera distraer con otras cosas grandilocuentes que suceden en la periferia del relato.

La mirada del otro, la moral, la ignorancia disfrazada de inocencia , el privilegio de clase, la crítica a toda una sociedad y la concepción del afuera, del outsider, son algunos de los temas en los que Didion decidió que había que dar cátedra. Sin duda, es una de las grandes escritoras del siglo xx estadounidense.
March 26,2025
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Not my very favorite Didion, but it was a good read, and my lovely partner had bought an autographed copy for me. weird to finish it just before her death. what a prolific woman. this book made me a little sad for all the characters but that’s pretty typical.
March 26,2025
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The first time I read this, the Latin American scenes stayed with me, but this time I was knocked out by the travelogue section set in the Deep South, which weirdly kept evoking moments from the banned Rolling Stones tourfilm 'Cocksucker Blues.' Then there's the great New Orleans dinner party scene, which is as vivid as anything in 'The Moviegoer.'

There's so many loaded cultural details packed into the prose and the story accumulates in such odd spasms that this isn't nearly as immediate as 'Democracy' or 'Play It As It Lays.' But just as I was starting to downgrade it, the ending pulls the various strands together, the final pages brilliantly revising everything you've read to that point.
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