Where We Are Now: Notes from Los Angeles

by D.J. Waldie

Where We Are Notes from Los Angeles is the second book by D.J. Waldie, one of the most gifted writers on the American scene. As Los Angeles Times columnist and NPR commentator Patt Morrison notes in her foreword, “The suburb is America’s lifeline and its punchline, and Waldie is its bard.” Few observers can present the facts of everyday life with the texture and emotion of a symphony, the way Waldie does. A breathtaking progression from his much-celebrated book Holy A Suburban Memoir, Where We Are Now is a compilation of Waldie’s most intriguing recent works and an exploration of the meaning of place in Los Angeles, long regarded as the most “placeless” of American cities. D.J. Waldie is the author of Holy A Suburban Memoir and Real Downtown Los Angeles Inside/Out . His narratives about life in Los Angeles have appeared in Buzz magazine, Kenyon Review , the Massachusetts Review , the Georgetown Review, Salon and Dwell magazine. His book reviews and opinion pieces appear in the Los Angeles Times . He is a contributing writer for Los Angeles magazine. D.J. Waldie lives a not-quite-middle-class life in Lakewood, in the house his parents bought in 1946.

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

About the author

D. J. Waldie is a cultural historian, memoirist, and translator. In books, essays, and online commentary, he has sought to frame the suburban experience as a search for a sense of place. Often using his hometown of Lakewood as a starting point, Waldie’s work ranges widely over the history of suburbanization and its cultural effects.

Reviews

[Chuck Weiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather excellent collection of essays about life and growing up in Los Angeles from author D.J. Waldie whom I've always appreciated. His recollection of living and growing up in the "planned community" of Lakewood is both poignant and important in order to understand the richness and vastness of what we call Los Angeles.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays about life in Southern California, alternately insightful and ponderous. Waldie lives in the same house in Lakewood that he grew up in, and he doesn't drive a car. Worth reading, but not before reading Carey McWilliams and Reyner Banham first.

[Veronica]

Waldie's precise hold of Los Angeles beating heart grips my own as he takes the readers deeper and deeper into the shadows of LA we often ignore.

[Salsa_libra · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent vignette on LA public transportation.