Author

Yes, but another writer I read in high school who just knocked me out was Theodore Dreiser. I read An American Tragedy all in one weekend and couldn't put it down - I locked myself in my room. Now that was antithetical to every other book I was reading at the time because Dreiser really had no style, but it was powerful.

From Joan Didion

I have always wanted a swimming pool and never had one.

From Joan Didion

Life changes in the instant. The ordinary instant.

From Joan Didion

Americans are uneasy with their possessions, guilty about power, all of which is difficult for Europeans to perceive because they are themselves so truly materialistic, so versed in the uses of power.

From Joan Didion

To free us from the expectations of others, to give us back to ourselves - there lies the great, singular power of self-respect.

From Joan Didion

I don't think anybody feels like they're a good parent. Or if people think they're good parents, they ought to think again.

From Joan Didion

Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.

From Joan Didion

The willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life is the source from which self-respect springs.

From Joan Didion

The writer is always tricking the reader into listening to their dream.

From Joan Didion

Novels are like paintings, specifically watercolors. Every stroke you put down you have to go with. Of course you can rewrite, but the original strokes are still there in the texture of the thing.

From Joan Didion

Joan Didion

Notable Quotes

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