A Book of Common Prayer – Joan Didion (1977)
Didion’s second novel is a masterful exploration of American dislocation and political unrest, set in the fictional Central American country of Boca Grande. The story follows Grace Strasser-Mendana, an anthropologist and widow of a Boca Grande oligarch, as she pieces together the life of Charlotte Douglas, a naive Californian woman drawn to the country’s revolution. Through Grace’s clinical yet increasingly personal narration, Didion dissects themes of privilege, violence, and the stories we tell to make sense of chaos. The novel’s fragmented structure and razor-sharp prose cement Didion’s reputation as a chronicler of cultural unraveling.
If You Appreciated This, Try:
- Democracy (Didion, 1984) – Another political novel of American idealism in crisis.
- The Year of Magical Thinking (2005) – Didion’s nonfiction on grief and narrative.
- The Volcano Lover (Susan Sontag, 1992) – A similarly cerebral historical novel.
