Characters from The Year of Magical Thinking

Character Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Characters

The Author (Joan Didion) - This person was a well-known and critically respected novelist and screenwriter who became a widow.

John Gregory Dunne - This person was a noted writer and screenwriter who died from cardiac arrest.

Quintana - This person first suffered a severe case of pneumonia, then required neurosurgery.

Gerry - This person was devoted to their spouse during illness.

Emily Post - This person was a legendary, turn-of-the-nineteenth-century expert on etiquette and manners.

Medical Professionals - These were people in the book frequently portrayed as arrogant, touchy and insensitive to...
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