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niapanini's review against another edition
5.0
Scandalous in 1966- and some today would still say. A mix of drugs, shitty men, spiralling, sex, friendship, Hollywood and the female experience. The book is set in chronological order and through 3 different perspectives(Anne, Neely and Jennifer)
Valley of the dolls is set in primarily post war New York to 1965 (though the film is obviously set in mid to late 60s) At the start we follow Anne, a beautiful well off girl from Lawrenceville. Desperate to escape her small town life and loveless engagement. Anne moves to New York and gets a job at a secretary firm and becomes one of their golden employees. Meets and gets engaged to Allen Cooper a rich and famous New yorkian. Anne gets stirred up in life of parties and fancy dinners, though she dosent love him. But a former employee at the secretary, Lyon Burke!
At Anne’s small boarding house meets Ethel O’Neil. Who later renames herself as Neely for the show buisness. Neely is 17 year old girl and is a member of the Gaucheros, a trio who’s trying to make it big on broadway.
We also meet Jennifer North, famous for her beautiful figure and face, therefore gets acting jobs despite having little to no talent.
We see the girls rise up to the top of Hollywood and the dark side. Affairs, drugs, alcohol and the toxic industries affect on the girls.
Overall I really enjoyed valley of the dolls- however I do enjoy old Hollywood. But seeing their friendship come to life and then them spiralling then again trying to build a name back for themselves in the industry was quite interesting to me.
Susann said that one of the purposes of Valley of the Dolls was that money and fame do not equal happiness. And personally I think she wrote it in really well.
Valley of the dolls is set in primarily post war New York to 1965 (though the film is obviously set in mid to late 60s) At the start we follow Anne, a beautiful well off girl from Lawrenceville. Desperate to escape her small town life and loveless engagement. Anne moves to New York and gets a job at a secretary firm and becomes one of their golden employees. Meets and gets engaged to Allen Cooper a rich and famous New yorkian. Anne gets stirred up in life of parties and fancy dinners, though she dosent love him. But a former employee at the secretary, Lyon Burke!
At Anne’s small boarding house meets Ethel O’Neil. Who later renames herself as Neely for the show buisness. Neely is 17 year old girl and is a member of the Gaucheros, a trio who’s trying to make it big on broadway.
We also meet Jennifer North, famous for her beautiful figure and face, therefore gets acting jobs despite having little to no talent.
We see the girls rise up to the top of Hollywood and the dark side. Affairs, drugs, alcohol and the toxic industries affect on the girls.
Overall I really enjoyed valley of the dolls- however I do enjoy old Hollywood. But seeing their friendship come to life and then them spiralling then again trying to build a name back for themselves in the industry was quite interesting to me.
Susann said that one of the purposes of Valley of the Dolls was that money and fame do not equal happiness. And personally I think she wrote it in really well.
hgrimston's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jademcam's review against another edition
3.0
3,75 ★ je suis trauma … je sais même pas comment noter ce livre j’avais juste envie de vomir à la fin lol
bonne représentation de la pression de la société patriarcale sur les femmes
tw : language homophobe / raciste
bonne représentation de la pression de la société patriarcale sur les femmes
tw : language homophobe / raciste
zoe_schlosser's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-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
4.5
marivana91's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
nerv_atz's review against another edition
3.0
almost feel asleep reading this but i admire how it kept me reading bc i just want to know how would susann wrapped up the stories of these girls.
kari_coz's review against another edition
4.0
A great account for it's era, pervacatively classic and truthfully honest.
melissacartwright41's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
</what the actually fuck Lyon! Lyon is such a whiny little man who doesn’t deserve Anne. Neely was unbearable, what a wicked woman. The ending made me emotional.>