The World According To Joan Didion by Evelyn McDonnell

The World According To Joan Didion (HarperOne an imprint of HarperCollins; Sept. 26, 2023) is an examination of the life and legacy of the late writer. 

Acclaimed journalist, essayist, critic and university professor Evelyn McDonnell said “I spent the past year deep diving into Didion’s work, both published books and unpublished manuscripts, and visiting many of the places that inspired and informed her. Not a full-length biography, the book is more like a treasure map and an interrogation. Didion’s precise, unsentimental observations of politicians, musicians, murderers, Manhattan, Waikiki, and of course the California landscape have influenced me as a journalist since I was in college. The more I burrowed into her words, the more I was impelled by the clarity and beauty of her prose. In these times of ideological schisms and hot takes, her relentless pursuit of factual detail and hard-boiled critique of narrative seem more important than ever.”

A beautifully designed book, the cover features an iconic photo of Didion in her Corvette Stingray, taken by the late Julian Wasser — one of the dozens of friends, families, associates, and fans of Joan whom McDonnell interviewed. There are historic photos and line drawings by Anne Muntges throughout.

In The World According To Joan Didion, McDonnell provides an intimate exploration of the life, craft, and legacy of one of the most respected and significant writers of our time, Joan Didion, groundbreaking journalist, essayist, novelist and screenwriter. 

Didion reshaped the geography of American literature by redirecting readers’ attention away from the east and toward the way the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. She wrote about the world she knew — the rivers, the freeways, the mountains, the ocean, the buildings — and she wrote about it with such an eye for detail and an ear for music, and with such a mix of appreciation and skepticism, the reader feels they are along for the ride.

In The World According To Joan Didion, McDonnell talks to those who knew Didion and were inspired by her. Through McDonnell’s unique clarity, travel to the places Didion lived and documented, dig through archives and dive deep into her writing. This book is a meditation on the people, settings, and objects that propelled Didion’s prose and an invitation to journalists, storytellers, and all life adventurers to “throw themselves into the convulsions of the world,” as Didion once said.

The World According To Joan Didion is the perfect literary companion for readers embarking on new journeys. Didion’s writing was often extremely personal; she confessed her madness, her grief, her guilt, her love, her failures. This book will transform the way readers explore life around them, helping them see the world through Didion’s eyes.

About The Author:

Evelyn McDonnell has written or co-edited multiple books, including Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyonce. Girl Groups to Riot Grrrl and Queens of Noise: The Real Story of the Runaways. She has been a pop culture writer at the Miami Herald and a senior editor at the Village Voice. Her writing has appeared in anthologies and publications, including the New York Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Ms., and Billboard. She teaches journalism at Loyola Marymount University and lives in San Pedro, California. https://populismblog.wordpress.com/