Praise for Let Me Tell You What I Mean: ‘The peripheral, the specific, the tangible – or, as the writer Hilton Als notes in his foreword, “the Didion gaze”, the penetrating prose of a reporter who writes with a scalpel – is by far the most compelling theme in Didion’s latest collection of essays’ Vogue ‘The clarity of Didion's vision and the precision with which she sets it down do indeed feel uncanny … Reading her now, she does seem prophetic, as manifested, for instance, in her concerns in 1968 about the weaknesses of the “traditional press”, whose unspoken attitudes and “quite factitious ‘objectivity’” come “between the page and the reader like so much marsh gas”. Perhaps those iconic sunglasses were really X-ray specs’ Independent ‘Didion’s dogged pursuit of the truth in her writing is more vital than ever in our era of fake news, echo chambers and political turmoil. This is an essential read that reminds us of her magic’ i Paper ‘The slighter these pieces are, the more remarkable they seem: they’re so deft and enigmatic … A sentence by Didion, whether it sticks to 39 characters or articulates possibilities in multiple dependent clauses, is always a marvel of magical thinking’ Observer ‘One of the most celebrated, influential and pioneering writers of the past 60 years. As the great chronicler of US cultural, societal and political movements, Didion’s prose illuminates understanding of what connects and divides a nation … It’s a treat for Didion fans but also serves as an introduction to the writing that would become legendary’ Irish Times ‘A valuable addition to the literature of self-doubt and self-awareness, an elegant untangling of what and why we remember and forget’ Francesca Wade, Guardian

A new collection of essays • Joan Didion is one of the great writers of the past fifty years. In fiction and non-fiction, Didion’s voice has defined the american experience for a generation. • Let Me Tell You What I Mean is a collection of unpublished work from Didion’s early career, giving insight into the birth of her writing style and expanding on topics she’d spend a lifetime exploring. Competition: The year of magical thinking;slouching towards bethlehem;the white album;play it as it lays;trick mirror;intimations;my name is why;how do we know we’re doing it right;coming undone;the hungover games;three women;upstream. Zadie Smith;Pandora Sykes;Terri White;Jia Tolentino;Lisa Taddeo;joan didion