Review of the Day: Valley of the Dolls

Valley of the Dolls may be the most famous of all "trashy" novels, which is why I've always wanted to read it. I have never even seen the movie, so I never knew what it was about. I had a vague, misconceived notion that the book was about women (dolls) . . . who lived in a valley? Maybe in Connecticut?

How do these ideas take root?

Jacqueline Susann's novel is actually about three young women who come to New York City after World War II, looking for fame and fortune. Anne comes from a well-off but stodgy New England background, gets a job as a secretary to a high-powered attorney-for-the-stars, and exercises extremely poor judgment in her choice of men.  Neely is a 17-year-old vaudeville trouper who dreams of becoming a musical star. Jennifer is a no-talent bombshell who builds a career around her enormous boobs.

The story rips along through two decades, following the careers, love affairs, break-ups, crack-ups, and tragedies of the three until they start to lose their youth, beauty, health, and sanity.  As life gets tougher, all three eventually turn to sleeping pills (red "dolls) to get through the night and pep pills (green "dolls") to get through the day.

And there is no happy ending.

Which is why I now  wish I hadn't read it. I don't mind sordid during the story, but I like a happy -- or at least hopeful -- ending, with the bad guys getting their comeuppance and the good guys prevailing. What with the booze and pills and adultery and abortions and back stabbing and general ugliness, I just wanted a good scrubbing by the time I got to the end. 

OTHER REVIEWS

(If you would like your review posted here, please leave a comment with a link to your review post and I will add it.)

NOTES

I read this for the Birth Year Reading Challenge hosted by the Hotchpot Cafe. So at least I get a candle!

Teaser Tuesday: Down River

"The trailer was old, probably thirty, which is about three hundred in trailer years. It canted to the right on cinder-block legs."

-- Down River by John Hart

This is an Edgar winner, and I am really enjoying it.  I don't usually do teasers from audio books, but I failed to download one of the disks, so had to get the book book from the library to fill in -- giving me the chance to find a teaser.

James Lee Burke pretty much has a lock on moody, atmospheric Southern mysteries, so I admire an author willing to even give one a shot. That this one is very good, original, and not a Burke homage makes it definitely worth reading. Those Edgar folks picked a good one.  


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday

I enjoyed Peaceful Places, Los Angeles so much that I got my hands on a copy of Peaceful Places, New York City.



There are plans afoot for a trip to New York this fall, so I can't wait to read this and get ideas.

This is the first week of the new Mailbox Monday blog tour. This month, Chick Loves Lit is the host.

Opening Sentence of the Day: The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt

"In front of the house, under the big chestnut tree, Mother sat on a wooden bench talking to Uncle."

-- The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt: War Through a Woman's Eyes, 1939 - 1940, "Rulka Langer's extraordinary personal memoir of the opening chapter of World War II, covers the six-month period from August 1938 to February 1940 -- from the end of the last peacetime summer, through the Nazi invasion of Poland, the Siege of Warsaw and the first few months of the Nazi occupation."

This has been on my Guilt List for a long time. But it caught my attention now, because I was fascinated by the women's stories about WWII in London in Small Island by Andrea Levy, which we just read for book club. 

Also, it is a good balance to Valley of the Dolls.

Too Busy to Blog!

But there is always time to HOP!

It has been a while since I participated in the Book Blogger Hop. Jennifer has added a new "question of the week" feature since I last hopped.

This week's question is: "Who is your favorite new-to-you author so far this year?"

My answer is A. J. Cronin.  That's kind of a funny answer, since Cronin published his first novel in 1931 and his last in 1978. So he is definitely not a new author -- just new to me.  I read Three Loves this February and reviewed it here. I enjoyed it so much that I added Cronin to my list of authors whose works I plan to read in their entirety, or as close to it as I can manage.

Happy Hopping!