Man this book is a ride - even if a short one. The story about Hollywood in the 60‘s is probably still very applicable to today‘s reality in that industry. While it feels like a script it is strangely captivating. I find it more depressing than the year of magical thinking - it leaves you with many questions. Maria is not really likable but the others are worse so she still gets your sympathy.
Which Didion fiction to read next?

Life changes in an instant. The ordinary instant.

What stays is the warm feeling this books holds. It‘s like an golden hour VSCO Filter for your inner eye. The story is captivating. What is identity and how much influence does a person have on it? It deals with so many different layers of how people reinvent themselves. I have to admit that the timeline was not always super clear and I had to go back to the beginning of the chapter to check the timeline more than once. Still mesmerizing read.

I don‘t get the hype. This is at best an average book with a story as deep as a puddle. For some reason I couldn‘t like one character in that novel. Well I guess now I can watch the show and might actually enjoy this. Did anyone feel the same?

I wanted to love it - I tried. I can see that his story needs to be out there/have an audience. I was very grateful for the insights on Vietnamese immigrants since I certainly have to do some self-education in that direction. But for me this just felt like he was trying very hard to please a hipster audience. Can see that people love it but for me it feels a little overrated.

The first part I found a little confuse and hart to see where she was going but once she got there it was a mesmerizing read. So many parts that you want to mark and reread later. And despite having had the feeling that you probably should have read oranges first, it‘s not the story about the author of oranges are not the only fruits. It‘s the story about a woman trying to heal a wound so deep that there might not be a cure for it at all.

I have chosen Layla F. Saad Me and white supremacy and Brit Bennett The Vanishing Half. Can‘t wait to read them!

This one is not trying to be your next favorite book - but it will be.

Awesome read. Memoir that feels like fiction. Amazing biography.