num_pages: 272
description: Writing with the telegraphic swiftness and microscopic sensitivity that have made her one of our most distinguished journalists, Joan Didion creates a shimmering novel of innocence and evil.A Book of Common Prayer is the story of two American women in the derelict Central American nation of Boca Grande. Grace Strasser-Mendana controls much of the country's wealth and knows virtually all of its secrets; Charlotte Douglas knows far too little. "Immaculate of history, innocent of politics," she has come to Boca Grande vaguely and vainly hoping to be reunited with her fugitive daughter. As imagined by Didion, her fate is at once utterly particular and fearfully emblematic of an age of conscienceless authority and unfathomable violence.
language: English
title: A Book of Common Prayer
titlecomplete: A Book of Common Prayer
genres: 20th Century, American, Americana, Politics, Literary Fiction, Novels, Adult Fiction, Literature, Fiction, Contemporary
ratings_count: 5029
awards: awardedAt: 220953600000
name: National Book Critics Circle Award
category: Fiction
publisher: Vintage International