You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

anneshirley4u 's review for:

Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion

Joan Didion is an incredible writer. It is a shame the story is a bit played out (or maybe just dated):

A starlet divorcee suffers the feminine mystique post-break-up. She has a back-alley abortion and issues with aging and Daddy. There's not much to like about her personality, but It's Okay because she's a)hopped up on pills, b) pretty enough to lay and c)losing her marbles. She detaches further and further and further.

We watch it happen. Whoo, ennui.

And yet this book has it's haunting moments. And prose, the lovely prose.

p.s. I love despicable characters, believe you me. Maria just was not my personal brand of heroin. There's something simpering about her, and I get the distinct notion that She Is Absolved because the world is so cruel to sexy starlet divorcees. They are not exempt, anyway.