Where I Was From
Encyclopedia
Where I Was From is a 2003
book of essays by Joan Didion
. It considers aspects of the history of California
, as well as her own and her family's history in that state.
, novelist and critic Thomas Mallon
wrote, "The more penetrating and idiosyncratic moments of 'Where I Was From' are the work of someone who can still be very much herself, someone who is even now, arguably, a great American writer."
2003 in literature
The year 2003 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Peter Ackroyd - The Clerkenwell Tales*Atsuko Asano - No...
book of essays by Joan Didion
Joan Didion
Joan Didion is an American author best known for her novels and her literary journalism. Her novels and essays explore the disintegration of American morals and cultural chaos, where the overriding theme is individual and social fragmentation...
. It considers aspects of the history of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, as well as her own and her family's history in that state.
Didion on Where I Was From
Didion writes, "This book represents an exploration into my own confusions about the place and the way in which I grew up [...] misapprehensions and misunderstandings so much a part of who I became that I can still to this day confront them only obliquely."Reception
In The New York Times Book ReviewThe New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
, novelist and critic Thomas Mallon
Thomas Mallon
Thomas Mallon is a novelist and critic. He was born in Glen Cove, New York. He attended Brown University as an undergraduate and earned a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. from Harvard. He received the Ingram Merrill Foundation Award in 1994 and won a Rockefeller Fellowship in 1987...
wrote, "The more penetrating and idiosyncratic moments of 'Where I Was From' are the work of someone who can still be very much herself, someone who is even now, arguably, a great American writer."