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Didion, Joan. Blue Nights
Condition:
“Softcover. Very Good”
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Located in: Cashtown, Pennsylvania, United States
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Estimated between Tue, Jun 4 and Thu, Jun 6 to 43230
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eBay item number:155415417798
Item specifics
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller Notes
- “Softcover. Very Good”
- Narrative Type
- Nonfiction
- ISBN
- 9780739378434
- Book Title
- Blue Nights
- Item Length
- 9.2in
- Publisher
- Random House Large Print
- Publication Year
- 2011
- Format
- Trade Paperback
- Language
- English
- Item Height
- 0.5in
- Features
- Large Type
- Genre
- Family & Relationships, Biography & Autobiography
- Topic
- Death, Grief, Bereavement, Personal Memoirs, General, Parenting / Motherhood, Literary
- Item Width
- 6in
- Item Weight
- 8 Oz
- Number of Pages
- 192 Pages
About this product
Product Information
From one of our most powerful writers, a work of stunning frankness about losing a daughter. Richly textured with bits of her own childhood and married life with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, and daughter, Quintana Roo, this new book by Joan Didion examines her thoughts, fears, and doubts regarding having children, illness, and growing old. Blue Nights opens on July 26, 2010, as Didion thinks back to Quintana's wedding in New York seven years before. Today would be her wedding anniversary. This fact triggers vivid snapshots of Quintana's childhood--in Malibu, in Brentwood, at school in Holmby Hills. Reflecting on her daughter but also on her role as a parent, Didion asks the candid questions any parent might about how she feels she failed either because cues were not taken or perhaps displaced. "How could I have missed what was clearly there to be seen?" Finally, perhaps we all remain unknown to each other. Seamlessly woven in are incidents Didion sees as underscoring her own age, something she finds hard to acknowledge, much less accept. Blue Nights --the long, light evening hours that signal the summer solstice, "the opposite of the dying of the brightness, but also its warning"--like The Year of Magical Thinking before it, is an iconic book of incisive and electric honesty, haunting and profoundly moving.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Random House Large Print
ISBN-10
0739378430
ISBN-13
9780739378434
eBay Product ID (ePID)
17038681141
Product Key Features
Book Title
Blue Nights
Format
Trade Paperback
Language
English
Features
Large Type
Topic
Death, Grief, Bereavement, Personal Memoirs, General, Parenting / Motherhood, Literary
Publication Year
2011
Genre
Family & Relationships, Biography & Autobiography
Number of Pages
192 Pages
Dimensions
Item Length
9.2in
Item Height
0.5in
Item Width
6in
Item Weight
8 Oz
Additional Product Features
Edition Description
Large Type / Large Print Edition
Reviews
"A haunting memoir . . . Didion is, to my mind, the best living essayist in America . . . What appears on the surface to be an elegantly, intelligently, deeply felt, precisely written story of the loss of a beloved child is actually an elegantly, intelligently, deeply felt, precisely written glimpse into the abyss, a book that forces us to understand, to admit, that there can be no preparation for tragedy, no protection from it, and so, finally, no consolation . . . The book has . . . an incantatory quality: it is a beautiful, soaring, polyphonic eulogy, a beseeching prayer the is sung even as one knows the answer to one's plea, and that answer is: No." -Cathleen Schine, The New York Review of Books " Blue Nights , though aselegantly written as one would expect, is rawer than its predecessor, the 'impenetrable polish' of former, better days nowchipped and scratched. The author as she presents herself here, aging and baffled, is defenseless against the pain of loss, not only the loss of loved ones but the loss that is yet to come: the loss, that is, of selfhood. The book will be another huge success . . . Certainly as a testament of suffering nobly borne, which is what it will be generally taken for, it is exemplary. However, it is most profound, and most provocative, at another level, the level at whichthe author comes fully to realize, and to face squarely, the dismaying fact that against life's worst onslaughts nothing avails, not even art; especially not art." -John Banville, The New York Times Book Review "The master of American prose turns her sharp eye on her own family once again in this breathtaking follow-up to The Year of Magical Thinking . With harrowing honesty and mesmerizing style, Didion chronicles the tragic death of her daughter, Quintana, interwoven with memories of their happier days together and Didion's own meditations on aging." -Malcolm Jones and Lucas Wittmann, Newsweek "A searing memoir" - People "Darkly riveting . . . The cumulative effect of watching her finger her recollections like beads on a rosary is unexpectedly instructive. None of us can escape death, but Blue Nights shows how Didion has, with the devastating force of her penetrating mind, learned to simply abide." -Louisa Kamps, Elle "A scalpel-sharp memoir of motherhood and loss . . . Now coping with not only grief and regret but also illness and age, Didion is courageous in both her candor and artistry, ensuring that this infinitely sad yet beguiling book of distilled reflections and remembrance is graceful and illuminating in its blue musings." -Donna Seaman, Booklist, "A haunting memoir . . . Didion is, to my mind, the best living essayist in America . . . What appears on the surface to be an elegantly, intelligently, deeply felt, precisely written story of the loss of a beloved child is actually an elegantly, intelligently, deeply felt, precisely written glimpse into the abyss, a book that forces us to understand, to admit, that there can be no preparation for tragedy, no protection from it, and so, finally, no consolation . . . The book has . . . an incantatory quality: it is a beautiful, soaring, polyphonic eulogy, a beseeching prayer the is sung even as one knows the answer to one''s plea, and that answer is: No." --Cathleen Schine, The New York Review of Books " Blue Nights , though as elegantly written as one would expect, is rawer than its predecessor, the ''impenetrable polish'' of former, better days now chipped and scratched. The author as she presents herself here, aging and baffled, is defenseless against the pain of loss, not only the loss of loved ones but the loss that is yet to come: the loss, that is, of selfhood. The book will be another huge success . . . Certainly as a testament of suffering nobly borne, which is what it will be generally taken for, it is exemplary. However, it is most profound, and most provocative, at another level, the level at which the author comes fully to realize, and to face squarely, the dismaying fact that against life''s worst onslaughts nothing avails, not even art; especially not art." --John Banville, The New York Times Book Review "The marvel of Blue Nights is that its 76-year-old, matchstick-frail author has found the strength to articulate her deepest fears--which are fears we can all relate to." --Heller McAlpin, The Wasthington Post The Week magazine''s 5 Best Non-Fiction Books of 2011 "The master of American prose turns her sharp eye on her own family once again in this breathtaking follow-up to The Year of Magical Thinking . With harrowing honesty and mesmerizing style, Didion chronicles the tragic death of her daughter, Quintana, interwoven with memories of their happier days together and Didion''s own meditations on aging." --Malcolm Jones and Lucas Wittmann, Newsweek "A searing memoir" -- People "Darkly riveting . . . The cumulative effect of watching her finger her recollections like beads on a rosary is unexpectedly instructive. None of us can escape death, but Blue Nights shows how Didion has, with the devastating force of her penetrating mind, learned to simply abide." --Louisa Kamps, Elle "A scalpel-sharp memoir of motherhood and loss . . . Now coping with not only grief and regret but also illness and age, Didion is courageous in both her candor and artistry, ensuring that this infinitely sad yet beguiling book of distilled reflections and remembrance is graceful and illuminating in its blue musings." --Donna Seaman, Booklist "Brilliant...Nothing Didion has written since Play It As It Lays seems to me as right and true as Blue Nights . Nothing she has written seems as purposeful and urgent to be told." --Joe Woodward, Huffington Post "[Didion] often finds captivating, unparalleled grooves. Her expansive thinking...is particularly striking." -- The A. V. Club "The reader only senses how intimately she understands her instrument. Her sentences are unquestionably taut, rhythmic and precise." -- Time Out NY "A searing, incisive look at grief and loss by one of the most celebrated memoirists of our time." --Relevant Magazine "Both Fascinating and heartbreaking." --Marie Claire
Target Audience
Trade
Dewey Decimal
813/.54 B
Dewey Edition
22
Item description from the seller
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eBay item number:155415417798
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| Shipping and handling | To | Service | Delivery*See Delivery notes |
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d***n (656)- Feedback left by buyer.
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Rock Top Bookshop ROCKS! They stand out among booksellers here on EBay because they actually COMMUNICATE ( rare), they didn’t try to price gouge me with outrageous shipping costs (rare), and they mailed it expeditiously (somewhat rare). I’d say it was da m n near perfect . Almost as perfect as actor Robert Conrad’s butt in this skin tight painted on pants he wore back in the day on TV’s Wild a Wild West. And ..well..In my book , Folks, that is about as good as it gets . Gracias Amigos!
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A+ seller — item better than described, fast shipping, great communication!
e***e (98)- Feedback left by buyer.
Past 6 months
Verified purchase
Not quite what I expected; so even at discounted price offer, a little pricier than maybe should have been. Some issues (not sure who's to blame -- eBay or the company making the delivery) over tracking info. But book is amusing (the people who wrote the doggerel poems were clearly having WAAY too much fun). And even with the tracking snafu it was delivered a bit earlier than I was anticipating (good -- had bad weather a day or 2 later). "Very good" condition? Maybe.... Not an expert there.
Reply from: medievalbooks- Feedback replied to by seller medievalbooks.- Feedback replied to by seller medievalbooks.
I am very sorry you are disappointed with the condition. At least it arrived within 4 days of purchase. If you wish to return it you may.
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