In 1976, a profile in The New York Times written by Michiko Kakutani declared that “California belongs to Joan Didion.” But this California, Kakutani makes it clear, was not the one where “everyone wears aviator sunglasses, owns a Jacuzzi and buys his clothes on Rodeo Drive.” No, hers was California as the West—“a parable of the American penchant for discarding history and starting tabula rasa,” which is to say: starting over, seeking a blank slate.
In 1976, a profile in The New York Times written by Michiko Kakutani declared that “California belongs to Joan Didion.” But this California, Kakutani makes it clear, was not the one where “everyone wears aviator sunglasses, owns a Jacuzzi and buys his clothes on Rodeo Drive.” No, hers was California as the West—“a parable of the American penchant for discarding history and starting tabula rasa,” which is to say: starting over, seeking a blank slate.
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