Blue Nights by Joan Didion is a memoir, a treatise on grief, losing someone you love (a daughter), getting older, and life. Short and sweet, the author has a true gift with words.
I enjoyed this book, which reminded me of a mix of other books including A Grief Observed, by C.S. Lewis, A Divine Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken, and Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage by Madeleine L'Engle.
The author supposes an intimacy with the reader and throws out all sorts of names and references to people in her life. It amazes me how different the lives of the rich and famous can be from the lives of ordinary Americans. There are points when I think Didion's daughter is a little screwed up from the lives of her parents. However Didion's love and feelings seem to reflect the universal, and it is the simply the details that vary from family to family.
It is a bit blue, but even in that the author captures a bittersweet part of life that we all experience at some point.
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