Beyond Didion’s opening

Press, 20 February 1988, Page 25

Beyond Didion’s opening

Democracy. By Joan Didion. Pan, 1987. 174 pp. $12.96 (paperback). (Reviewed by Joan Curry) You could easily be put off by the first few lines, but do persevere. This is how the book starts: “The light at dawn during those Pacific tests was something to see. Something to behold. Something that could almost make you think you saw God, he said. He said to her. Jack Lovett said to Inez Victor. Inez Victor who was born Inez Christian.” It might tempt you to throw the book at the wall. You might decide that it promises to be tiresome, pretentious nonsense. But if you enter into the spirit of the thing you might find that there is a rhythm and an urgency about the style that overcomes your initial exasperation, and then the story takes over. The construction is unusual. In this “novel of fitful glimpses” the author appears as narrator, as Joan Didion, journalist and novelist, uncovering the story of Inez Victor, who is the wife of

an American congressman and presidential hopeful. In the background is Jack Lovett whose international dealings are shadowy and most likely improper, as are his relations with Inez Victor. The story begins in Hawaii, but skips around Asia and the Pacific with interludes in the United States. There are political tensions and family tensions; somebody gets shot and we are not too sure why although we can guess, and through it all Inez Victor, on the campaign trail, is urged by her husband’s campaign manager to “trot out the smile and move easily through the cabin, babe, ok?” as they fly from one rally to another. The scenes are episodic, skilfully defined like scenes in a film, with the reader filling in the bits in between as the film scrolls by. Absurdities of the American political arena add touches of humour, sharpened with cynicism, to the narrative. The style might take a little getting used to, but the rest of the book is nothing like as exasperating as those first few lines.