Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates

9 reviews

lea_elisa's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Abortion, and Sexual harassment

faustyyyy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

 Here's my fun little review of the Andrew Dominik film based off this book https://boxd.it/9AG0
pretty much mirrors exactly what I like and dislike about this book, stick around for my thoughts though!


In theory, this is a book that I should absolutely love. A character study of someone who doesn't know who they are or what they want, coming to learn that they believe they're worth is intrinsically tied to pleasing others and making everyone love you, dealing with catastrophic loss and being forces into a cruel and unforgiving industry that would just as easily accept you with open arms as stab you in the back, and dealing with this stress and pressure and pain with drugs and sex and the vices of the world that ultimately ends up being your downfall?
Yeah, that's my shit. I'm all for the physical and literal exploration of ego death, the psychological exploration of the self through yourself and others, it's awesome! And I have to commend the writing for that because it does an amazing job conveying this, especially in the last 100 pages of the book. The way sentences are structured and paced, how each run-on sentence feels just the right length and how it's all utilized together is really awesome. I also love this exploration, specifically, of Old Hollywood and how fucking bad it was, and what people did and ended up doing in this wild west climate.

The problem just always, always boils down to the fact that the Blonde Actress is not an anonymous amalgamation if Hollywood stars, it is not a metaphor for Marilyn Monroe even. It *is* Marilyn Monroe, it *is* Norma Jeane Baker, and Joyce Carol Oates seems to relish in this (in her own words) "radically distilled form of life." Blonde is fiction, and it treats its "characters" as caricatures of their very real counterparts, going as far as to slip in her own idea of what improbably happened, labeling figures as abusers and rapists, nymphomaniacs and junkies, all under the guise of barely disguising their names (The Ex-Athlete, The Playwright, hell she doesn't even try to hide Cass Chaplin and Eddy Robinson Jr, which is a whole other sort of rabbit hole). 

I won't pretend to know a lot about the tumultuous life of Marilyn Monroe (this book made me more interested in learning what's actually true, so thank you Oates!), so I can't speak of how much Joyce Carol Oates wrote is accurate or speculation (she acknowledges further that she made stuff up in her foreward) but this book feels like it equally loves Marilyn Monroe despises her with every single letter that is typed. I don't mind that point of view, of being cynical of an icon known for her sexual appeal when she was really so much more, but the fact that Blonde keeps torturing the image of Marilyn Monroe for its own benefit of being a provocative novel is absolutely disgusting, in my opinion. With each year that passes by, this book ages worse and worse, and the big question always lingers in my mind, a question that has come around every time some true crime series is released, or new biopic, or anything involving real people: When is enough enough? Why can't we let them rest?


Their secrets were their own, so why are we so obsessed with speculating about what might have happened? What's done is done, what's happened has happened. Let the dead rest; they deserve it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Antisemitism, and Alcohol

bloodypuppe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

britanicadramatica's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have incredibly conflicting feelings about this book. It is incredibly well-written, yet it is very slow-paced. There were several times where I picked up the book and felt like I had been reading for hours, only to have read about 20 pages. What causes me conflict, is that it is a fictional "exploration" of the life of Marilyn Monroe - so a lot is to be taken with a grain of salt. 

However, It was reflective and provided an incredible insight on femininity. Especially, what it's like to be a woman who is sought after, never taken seriously, and increasingly objectified, no matter how hard she tries to love and be loved. I felt several moments of sadness and empathy. As a woman, a lot of the content made me feel seen. 

This book emphasizes a duality of women. How we see ourselves, how we long to know ourselves, how we long to share ourselves with others; and the juxtaposition of how we are perceived by others, especially men. Over and over again in this book, we see Norma Jean/Marilyn Monroe treated much better by women than men. Additionally, how she internalizes the horrific things that are said and done to her, and how they crop up throughout her life. 

I truly appreciated the introduction by Elaine Showalter. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Rape, and Abortion

himpersonal's review against another edition

emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The whole time I was reading this book, I kept wondering why I was reading it and why it was written and how or why it was nominated for a Pulitzer. Of course Marilyn Monroe is forever an icon, but if any of what was written here was true, then it was a very sad life she had. That’s all I can say about the book. It wasn’t fun to read or enriching to my life. It was much less than I expected of her, based on her other works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and War

rtthalia's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Excrement, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

persnickery's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Absolutely devastating. I only know Marilyn Monroe as a sex icon, but this story shows how she was made, that Norma Jean was always there, being used and abused and shaped into Monroe be the endless, voracious male audience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

mstjohn813's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Abortion

courtneyhollyy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Abortion

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Antisemitism, and Pregnancy