Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Valley of the Dolls
Book Review: BEWARE! by M. Boucher
Summary: 5 Stars
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS was my introduction to trashy novels. I was 15 then. Now that I'm almost twenty years older and that I'm more mature, I have to admit that this novel is downright...wonderful!Jackie took a lot of heat from the critics for having penned a «bubble gum» novel. But little did they know that she would end up being ahead of her time. Just look at the top of the bestseller list today. Danielle Steel, Jackie Collins, Sidney Sheldon... Even John Grisham, who's considered by many to be a great storyteller, is from the same school. One only has to compare his work to Susann's to discover that his prose is exactly the same : simple and fast-paced.
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS is a great novel, and anyone who proudly blasts it, may blast a favorite author along the way. Beware!
Book Review: Badly written and laughably tame
Summary: 1 Stars
Silly soap opera that follows three women--Anne Welles, Neeley O'Hara and Jennifer North--from 1945 to 1965. Along the way there's death, suicide, lesbianism, cancer, marriages, tons of drug abuse, institutionalization etc. etc. Once notorious book (it was considered filthy when it was published in 1966) is ridiculously tame now. The characters aren't even interesting--Welles comes across as having NO personality whatsoever, North comes across as vapid and O'Hara is a mean, foul-mouthed witch. Aside from the one-dimensional characters, the situations are predictable (as are the resolutions) and the book is just horribly written. Characters appear and disappear with no rhyme or reason, years go by between paragraphs (the reader isn't told--you have to figure it out yourself) and there's no sense of time or place. The book starts in the 1940s but it could be ANY era! All the charcters talk like they're from the 1960s--NOT the 1940s--and there's no mention of fads or fashions of the time which would help the reader get a grip on where they are and there are no transition scenes between time or locale. This would be forgivable if the book was entertaining--but it's not! The sex scenes are non-existent and it's frankly quite dull. It was chore reading this--I just skimmed the last 50 pages cause I was so bored I just wanted it over. I heard when author Jacqueline Susann first submitted this publishers rejected it (for good reason) but one female publisher said it had to be published. To her it was just like two women talking. Books like that just weren't being published back then. However it needed a complete overhaul because it was so badly written! Supposedly Susann willingly went along with this but the publisher who helped her rewrite it was driven to an almost nervous breakdown trying to get this mess in order! Still it was a massive hit when it came out. However it's hopeless, boring and stupid by today's standards. It DOES read quickly and some of it is so jaw-droppingly stupid it's fun in a certain bad/good way but it's really not worth your time or money.Book Review: Beautiful trash
Summary: 5 Stars
The first time I read this book I hated it: the characters are awfully bitchy and frighteningly stupid, the plot is disgusting and tacky, and the ending is horribly depressing and cynical. But I've read this book about five times and still can't get enough of it. I also recommend Once Is Not Enough, by the same authorBook Review: Better Ending
Summary: 4 Stars
I loved the book and also the movie (the book was better). I just don't like the way it ended. It could have had a lot better ending than it did.Book Review: Camp, Class, and a little something else...
Summary: 5 Stars
I had heard of the book, I had heard of the movie, I had heard of it all. But I never read it. It may have been taken seriously when it was first published but in 2001 this book is a camp classic. Yes, yes, yes, I did sympathize and empathize but you have to take this book with a grain of salt firmly in place. Not only is it probably one of the most hysterically funny and poignant books (not an easy feat to pull off) but you really do begin to care for them and want to see them succeed. My only complaint is that the "dolls" weren't introduced sooner. Halfway through and wondering when are we getting the pills and then WHAM! Of course you have to do plenty of set up to get to that point....I just wish it had come closer to the beginning.... .... .... .... ....