I find Joan Didion to be a fascinating Essayist. And while I appreciate the melancholic, dry tone of Run, River, I don’t think this book did her writing justice. Then again, it was her debut novel. I’m going to go into detail as there’s a lot of that on here, but it’s not a face-value novel - I'd suggest you have a general understanding of California and the Elite class of the time. The book centers around family, reputation, obligation, deceit and consequence. I’ve bought Play As It Lays, The White Album and Slouching Towards Bethlehem with hopes of feeling a bit more fulfilled. However, Didion showcases her impressive vocabulary throughout the book, something I greatly admire, and at times it almost seemed auto-biographical. Didion is an important figure in modern literature nonetheless, and if you’re not into cheesy fiction and supermarket check-out duds – which I really cannot stand – this book is worthwhile. It’s almost kinda like reading a scaled-back version of Dynasty circa-1950 something, but that's still way better than 50 Shades of Grey or any of that other junk could ever be - no disrespect to people that read that stuff.
Initially I found it difficult to read and almost decided not to proceed, however I am glad I did go on reading. The character of Lily really annoyed me, but then each of the characters is in some way flawed - and isn't that so very human? No-one is a perfect human being. This line-up though seem to be locked into personal bubbles, their contact seemingly impersonal, yet under it all there is a vein of love and there is certain insecurity and deep need of belonging. The fact that they're Old California, landowners doesn't seem to give them any great edge on feeling very secure. It's also an interesting take on the whole scene of the period when settlers' great grand-children take on the responsibilities of family property or standing in society. Not quite a study in manners piece, but certainly an interesting character study of dysfunctional family life. The writing is terrific, no word is wasted yet the sentences are not particularly extraordinary prose as such, but every one of them drives the rambling narrative along it's unrelenting path towards an end.
What do You think about Run River (1994)?
lacklustre ending, but a very elegant book with *something* stirring under the surface that never quite shows itself but its tangible presence can be felt throughout...... unsure how much of my connection to the main character was due to her various points of connection to lily briscoe, my all-time favourite fictional character but....? i definitely got a sense of what didion was trying to do and i liked it. there's way more i could say but i kinda just want to leave it quite spare and basic because it's a very...... subjective piece
—megan freeburn
This was a re-read, but one from several decades back, when I was first discovering how lapidary prose like Didion’s could make even a story about over-privileged, unsympathetic characters such a page turner. It’s the story of Lily Knight and Everett McClellan, children of two old land-owning families in California’s central valley, whose faltering marriage might be read as a symbol of the decay of Old California. Of course, in Didion’s more-than-capable hands, it never feels like anything so heavy-handed as a symbol. What it feels like is a darn good read. (Have I mentioned how much I love that woman’s prose?) And it contains what may be my all-time favorite line of dialogue in a novel, spoken by a man from an old Sacramento family: “Mississippi, Tennessee…what’s the difference? It’s all Del Paso Heights to me.”
—Janet Gardner
Didion's first novel. Usually I love Joan Didion but there was something about the main character constantly having tragic mental breakdowns while her maid is downstairs caring for her children that made me finally understand why people have problems with her. Also, it was sort of upsetting how many times there would be scenes of the main character Lily having a fight with her husband and then sentence, "And then he hit her and then everything was all right." Guess I am pretty happy to have been born way after women's lib began.
—Annie Tucker
