The shorter entry is a meditation on California, the place Didion grew up and long called home. And while Didion’s estrangement sharpens her reportorial eye, it can curdle, at times, into condescension. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyAlthough it was 1970, the attitudes Didion encountered can sometimes sound like those described by Harper Lee in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” set in 1930s Alabama. Even these hurriedly written notes shine with her trademark ability to capture mood and place.

Source: New York Times March 06, 2017 22:30 UTC