Joan Didion's writing is truly unparalleled - the way she's able to paint such intricate pictures of individuals, times, and places is phenomenal, picking up on details that any other observer would overlook. I wish I had a fraction of her incisive eye, evocative writing, and analytical mind.

I think that's why her writing has stood the test of time – not only does she perfectly capture California in the 1960s, from suburban development to fading old Hollywood glory to drug-addled counterculture teenagers in Haight-Ashbury, but she captures the timeless human traits, emotions, and sins that defy this specific era. Some of these essays are true standouts, and others are rather forgettable, but the collection as a whole is a strong modern classic.

I snagged the recent audiobook release narrated by Maya Hawke, whose gorgeous, almost-Transatlantic tone is exactly how these essays were meant to be read.

I’ve started my physical copy of this book so many times. I struggle with essay collections but since I so enjoyed Didion’s memoirs and this is one of her most famous works I badly wanted to get through it.

Being approved for this audiobook was really the push I needed. The narrator’s voice is so calming and easy to listen to. It got me through chapters that I ordinarily would’ve paused at. It’s easy to read essays when the topics interest me, when they don’t it takes me a long time to pick up where I left off.

Surprisingly, this collection was the opposite reading experience of “The White Album” for me. In that one I enjoyed the titular essay over all the rest, in this work I didn’t really care for “Slouching towards Bethlehem”. It is also, I believe, the longest section of this book and again, I wouldn’t have gotten through it so readily without the audiobook.

Aside from that I really enjoyed the variety of topics covered. The preface is immediately gripping: “ My only advantage as a reporter is that I am so physically small, so temperamentally unobtrusive, and so neurotically inarticulate that people tend to forget that my presence runs counter to their best interests. And it always does. That is one last thing to remember: writers are always selling somebody out.”

And Didion covers figures I’ve never even heard of (Comrade Laski, Howard Hughes) and somehow gives them this allure that makes me want to look them up. I enjoyed these profiles alongside the second half focusing on her more personal writing (On Keeping a Notebook, On Self Respect, Goodbye to All that) the most.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for approving me for this audiobook. I will definitely seek out more works narrated by this reader.

Joan Didion's first book of nonfiction! Unfortunately, the audio narration really didn't work for me. The delivery was so one-note and subdued, I actually YouTubed Didion to confirm the narrator wasn't attempting to emulate her voice. I'm having trouble describing it, but it's almost as if the narrator was trying to tell a bedtime story... except the essay is about someone who burned to death and a murder trial. I hate to critique a narrator but I listen to a lot of audiobooks and it's rare for me to feel such a mismatch between the narration and the text. To be sure, many are saying that they liked the casting, so perhaps this was just me.

This was such a fun way to experience a historical slice of life. The stories were different and compelling, and the presentation was so clear and interesting. I enjoyed the voice performance a lot.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

SLOUCHING TOWARDS BETHLEHEM was initially published in 1968 and this audiobook, read by Maya Hawke, is being re-released to give new life and perspective to a moment in time.

These essays previously appeared in various publications before being gathered together in this volume and offer a snapshot of life in California and the United States in the mid 1960s. Some stand the test of time, others feel more niche, but all can be appreciated to help frame Didion's work for an audience who may approach this being primarily familiar with her grief memoir and not as aware of her journalism.

(Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.)

Slouching Towards Bethlehem is a fascinating time capsule of California in the 1960-70s. This book really captures the anxiety and climate of the culture from Didion’s point of view. However, I am not necessarily interested in this time period, and not from Didion’s limited point of view either. It is undeniable her writing is incredible. And the narration was very well done.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great journalistic view back to the 60’s. Didion certainly deserves to be up there with the biggest names like Hunter S. Thompson or Truman Capote for her nonfiction writing. Will definitely be seeking out her other books.

There’s nothing to say except exceptional! It was interesting to experience this on audio - I think that reading Joan on paper is the best way to go for me personally but this was lovely nonetheless. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This is such a classic piece of writing that I have loved for a long time. It is a classic for a reason. Maya Hawke does a fantastic job narrating.

I can’t believe we are getting this seminal work in audiobook form? So I can make even non-readers read it! Lovely narration and powerful observations as always.

I enjoy Joan Didion’s writing, and I hadn’t read this classic book before. Maya Hawke was a good choice for narration.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC!

A great Didion collection. I really liked the narrator of Slouching Towards Bethlehem, the pacing and tone were great

The narration for this timeless classic is chef's kiss. Truly, this book has been on my TBR for a very long time and I'm not sure I would have completed it without this audiobook version! Maya Hawke captures the tone of the book perfectly.

While I love Didion's writing, at times I felt like I was missing so much context to fully enjoy this collection. As with all collected works, some really worked for me while others didn't. I will say I'm so happy that I listened to this new audiobook, since I LOVED Maya Hawke's narration. I'm curious to read more Didion and see if Hawke reads any other work in the future.

4.5 articulate stars

🎧 Audiobook 🎧 is exceptionally narrated.

I am unsure why this audiobook has been rerecorded (given that the original was voiced by Dianne Keaton!!), I am hoping that this young actor’s popularity will bring it back into the spotlight of today’s youth.

Didion has been hailed as “an articulate witness to the most stubborn and intractable truths of our times” (The New York Times Book Review). Though, in “Slouching Towards Bethlahem”, she holds up a window into several key movements and lifestyles of America in the 1960’s, she also holds a mirror up to our own fraught times in the 2020’s.

Her unique voice, and dedication to observing the details and intersecting interests in the world around her, bring us wholly into scenes we might otherwise have never truly understood. And it seems truly imperative that we understand the past, so as not to repeat it.

I am of Gen X - I am a child of those described in this book. I am a latchkey kid, brought up bohemian, wild and free. I have my own stories of visiting Haight & Ashbury, of seeing the Grateful Dead, and of paving my way in a world born of the one described here. But for those younger than me, there is so much more than nostalgia to be gleaned in this book. So much tension in the air and in politics, again. So, I do hope that the rereading of this seminal text, brings insight to those leading the charge into this newest age.

Huge gratitude to Netgalley, and the publisher Macmillan Audio, for an Audio-ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

This is one of those books I'd always heard about but never read. It's being re-released so I decided to give it a try and I'm very glad to have read it. This is a collection of essays written by Joan Didion in the 1960s. Her writing is beautiful, but I also found this book fascinating as a time capsule. Her topics range from true crime to the pretension of intellectual "think tanks" to how it feels to leave home for the big city. Didion is insightful and funny and surprising. The title essay is a long one, based on time Joan spent among the hippies in S.F. (One of them found out she was 32. After an akward pause, he said, "It's ok - there are old hippies too.") Through the entire essay you get the feeling Didion is pretty neutral to positive on these people. Then in the last few paragraphs she absolutely slams them by describing the neglect and outright abuse their children suffer because of their lifestyle. I recommend this one.

There is something so stunning about this. These are essays detailing people and places I barely know or have never heard of, a piece of 1960s Americana trapped in amber. It felt like listening in on conversations in a crowded hotel bar. I understood almost nothing; I loved it deeply.

Admittedly, I picked this up 1) because Maya Hawke reads the audiobook, and I find her voice hypnotic, and 2) because I knew as a literary american woman it was about time I finally read some Didion.

Ugh! This was a treat. I hope Maya Hawke narrates more, she did an exceptional job.

Joan Didion's first nonfiction book, published 2 years before I was born, is tale after tale of her life in the 1960's in California. I've always felt like I was born too late for my hippy soul and I loved each and every story.
Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the review copy!

Reading essay collections written nearly 60 years ago can be a mixed bag. No matter how well written, they are very rarely relevant. Slouching Towards Bethlehem looms large in the cultural conversation though so when I received the opportunity to listen to an updated version of it, I thought it might well be time to try it.

First and foremost, the audio production is excellent. I don't know much about Maya Hawke except she's the daughter of two very famous actors, which I'm embarrassed to admit made me skeptical of her talent. I was wrong however. I was truly blown away by her narration. The emphasis, the pacing, all of it was perfect.

Didion's prose is gorgeous, lush, descriptive. There were some things that felt less than relevant to today's times but overall the writing was so beautiful, I wasn't as worried about that.

Well worth listening to the updated audio if you haven't read this collection yet. It's an engaging and thought-provoking read.

Okay, I get the hype about Joan Didion now, and it is well-deserved. 👏 Her prose is superb and insightful. I feel like she lived such an exciting life. As a reporter, she achieves the perfect balance of being present in each moment with her interviewees while still maintaining the role of a silent, outside observer. She writes her non-fiction essays like novels with descriptive language and robust characters. The great writing—along with great narration by Maya Hawke in my audiobook copy—made this a very easy and engaging listen. 😊

Each chapter in this book is a separate account of some facet of life in the 1960s. The book is divided into 3 sections. (I will describe each section in very broad terms.) The first section describes general life in and around 1960s California. The second section contains more introspective essays on Didion's personal life and thoughts in her early twenties. The third section details current life in specific places across the United States. As with most anthologies, some essays are better than others. I found that some of the topics and references were a bit dated, but I was pleasantly surprised with how many of Didion's themes, thoughts, and conclusions from the 1960s and '70s are still relevant in 2024. She was progressive for her time!

I am now even more interested and excited to read Didion's other works, especially The Year of Magical Thinking, which I've heard is really good. I am also interested in listening to other audiobooks narrated by Maya Hawke. I think she'd do well with fiction, too! [Also, this might be just me because I choose to listen to audiobooks in bed and often fall asleep regardless (oops)—but I felt that Hawke's voice was especially soothing and seemed to put me to sleep faster than usual. 😅 Maybe her next order of narration business should be a sleep album, honestly!]