New York Magazine - USA (2022-01-03)

january 3–16, 2022 | new york 59

subjectthatinThe Yearof MagicalThink-
ingdrewa tideof late-careeracclaim.In
19 69,at theRoyalHawaiian,she’dtoldthe
re aderas if off hand thatshe was in
Honolulu“inlieuof filingfordivorce.”In
20 05,shebroughtthesamecombination
ofdisclosureanddistanceto a griefmem-
oir.Theeffectwaswrenching,ratherthan
chillyor detached:Thegulfbetweenthe
muteimmensityof lossandtheexactitude
of her voice gave the book its power. After
Dunne’s fatal heart attack, at the hospital,
a social worker called Didion “a pretty cool
customer,” she wrote. Maybe so, but she
also observed her own inability to clear his
closet, harboring the irrational conviction
that he’d return and need his shoes.

Theposewasalwaysself-aware.And

whileit washeressenceas a writerandher

gr eatassetas a publicfigure,Didion’s

al oofnesswasalsowhatdrovehercritics

nuts.It lentitselfto caricature,as if she

wereherpa ck inglistpersonif ied:st ylea nd

nothingmore.Herfinelytunedtaste(and

sk illin craftingherownimage)encour-

agedthoseinclinedto seeherin thisway.

In“LetterFrom‘Manhattan,’” Didion

described Allen’s collection of “modishly

eclectic” cultural references as “the ulti-

mate consumer report,” a litany of proper

nouns standing in for an identity. An irony

of her career was that she became a figure

fans used in this way—as an emblem of

good taste on the cultural consumer

reportsthatproliferatevia social media.

Thanks to herembraceof the first

person,Didionhaslongoffered some-

thingof a modelfor thegeneration of

writers whocame of age publishing

online.She,too,wroteprose yoked to

a publicpersona;she,too,took her subjec-

tivityas a startingpoint.What’s changed,

ofcourse,is thesenseof remove—Didion’s

commitmentto thepostureof an observer,

in contrast to many of her heirs’ sense of

themselves as directly engaged advocates.

But I hope part of her legacy can be a

renewed appreciation for distance as

a critical and rhetorical tool. The power of

an ice-cold, unf linching gaze turned

toward antagonists? Oh, wow. ■

Photograph by Brigitte Lacombe

DidioninNewYork,2011.