Didion's voice is both straightforward and penetrating. Written in the sixties, the short essays of Slouching focus on people, places, and scenes that differ from one another except for an underlying theme of loss and being misplaced. Do not expect flowery or artful language and metaphor, only the facts with dry and witty asides and observations.
While not all of the essays resonated with me, (I sometimes felt while reading that I would not get along with Miss Didion at all if we met), the ones that I did connect with evoke visions and feelings very profoundly; about growing up in the West, being a New York City transplant, and in my favorite story “On Keeping a Notebook“, the value of everyday life.
But what do you think?