1~22

Writer's writer, icon of American literature
With numerous modifiers
Joan Didion's masterpiece, "Loss"

The titles “writer’s writer” and “writer respected by writers” are probably the most honorable titles a writer can receive.
And changing society through writing and actively leading the public will is not something that just anyone, no matter how famous, can do.
Joan Didion was just that kind of writer.


As a journalist, she was one of the pioneers of New Journalism in the 1960s.
Through new journalism, he created a trend of journalism that went beyond the simple listing of facts as a reporter and actively expressed opinions and subjectivity.
Although New Journalism has now faded, it is clear that she elevated the role of reporter to that of a writer who leads the change of the times.


As a writer, she has been creative in various fields, writing several novels, non-fiction, and screenplays.
The author used a unique and highly polished writing style that even the author wanted to imitate.
Not only did she have a readership that devoured her writing, but there was also a public that admired her lifestyle.
There was a group of women who followed not only her fashion but also her way of life.
The term 'icon of American literature' also describes her.
Another adjective that Penguin Random House, her publisher, used when announcing Joan Didion's death in 2021 is also the one that best describes her as a writer.
'America's most astute writer and observer.'

Joan Didion's works have largely remained unknown to domestic readers.
However, as the Netflix documentary about Joan Didion's life was released and celebrities began recommending her work, her name gradually became known, and more people began seeking out her work.
In particular, the title “Loss” will be familiar to many readers.
When it was first published in Korea in 2006, readers and celebrities who had read it first recommended this work among Joan Didion's works, and word of mouth spread to readers who had not yet encountered it.
Since this book went out of print, many readers have sought it out.
So at one point, the used price rose to more than ten times the original publication price.
Many readers have been waiting for the re-publication of 『Loss』.
Now, we can present it to our readers with a new translation and design.


Joan Didion's masterpiece, Loss, was selected as the book of the year by the New York Times at the time of its publication and won the National Book Award in 2005.
She also received the National Humanity Medal in 2013.
By republishing this work, I hope that the great writer Joan Didion will become known to more Korean readers.

The pain of losing a family member
Struggling to overcome
A record of a year's journey

"Loss" is an essay written by Joan Didion about a year after the sudden death of her husband, John Gregory Dunn.
She wrote about the painful days she had to endure due to separation from her lover in a relatively calm manner.
But in reality, that calmness is just one aspect of her that she shows to hold on and not lose herself.
She is tormented by the constant reminders of her husband, whether a single word or a single place, and she is compelled to unfold her thoughts, unfiltered and unfiltered, to the reader.
And she reveals that she was obsessed with the thought that her husband would return at that time.
She describes the unrealistic thoughts she harbors as “magical thinking.”
She herself tries to objectively analyze this unstable mental state based on various literature and materials.


The arrow of that sharp analysis is pointed right at oneself, so the viewer can only look on with a pitying heart.
In doing so, he candidly reveals the abnormal aspects of his thoughts at the time and his human weaknesses.
We also try to analyze the emotion called 'sorrow' that appears as the pain of losing a family member.
The reader will come to realize that even the effort to objectify these emotions and the phenomena they cause is a struggle to not lose oneself.
Anyone who watches such an attempt at objective analysis can only shed tears at how desperate it appears.
Rather than expressing her overwhelming emotions, the extent of her pain is more vividly felt in the way she tries to maintain the appearance of a 'calm customer'.
The emotions she felt are conveyed in waves, touching the depths of the reader's heart.


As readers watch the author, who is unable to escape the constant recurring memories of her husband and the bizarre thoughts that can be described as abnormal, they will empathize with the author's feelings and even feel a sense of heartbreak.
What is most heartbreaking is her cries, unwilling to end the time she had to spend in that confusing and painful emotion.
She is distressed by the fact that her painful wounds do not heal, but rather she becomes increasingly numb to the pain over time.
Breaking free from that magical thinking, he is tormented by the thought of forgetting his loved one.

Joan Didion also lost her daughter around the time this book was first published.
The daughter, who had fallen ill with the flu before her husband passed away, seemed to be recovering, but was taken to the hospital again and passed away.
Those who have not experienced the pain of losing a family member cannot truly know or understand the feeling.
It would be a feeling that cannot be expressed simply with words like 'sorrow' or 'sorrow'.
However, through this work, we can think about what it would be like when such a moment comes.
Ultimately, we will be able to understand, even if only a little, the emotions that everyone must experience at that moment.
How should I overcome that moment? How should I accept my fate and strive not to lose myself? How can I cross the river of sorrow and enter into true mourning? Perhaps, as I close the final chapter of this work, I will find some small answers.

Recommendation

It is a vivid, sharp and memorable book.
It is an accurate and honest account of personal fears and sorrows.
—Robert Pinsky, [New York Times Book Review]

It's surprisingly honest and detailed.
The sadness caused by loss is vividly portrayed like a portrait.
-Michiko Kakutani, [The New York Times]

I can't think of any other must-read book besides this one.
I can't imagine dying without reading this book.
-John Leonard, [New York Review of Books]

It's heartbreakingly beautiful.
We came to admire and love Didion for her almost supernatural composure, her unparalleled eye for the absurd, and her aversion to Orwellian pretension.
So watching her turn such a critical gaze on herself is a moving, painful, and deeply heartbreaking experience.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, Los Angeles Times

An act of consummate literary courage, for a writer renowned for clarity to allow us to watch his own mind become clouded by sorrow… .
She travels back in time, conjuring up a sparkling portrait of her unique marriage.
In an attempt to express her grief truthfully, Didion shows us what she has lost.
-Lev Grossman, [Time]