In today's video I'll be reviewing Play it as it Lays by, Joan Didion. Play it as it Lays Written Review: www.instagram.... Find me on Instagram for more bookish content and written book reviews! IG: / alana_estelle
I think where Didion succeeded in PIAIL is the amount of empathy we have for a main character who isn't intrinsically interesting. We have a pretty girl, but not quite a starlet, who has climbed up from a difficult childhood into Hollywood but to remain there she has to discard last few naive dreams she has of being someone. Like others similarly situated, she's welcome to stay in this modern Sodom but only on the terms that she accept their hedonistic quest for animal passion. Didion understands that this a person about whom no one cares, including the audience, but she's able to write the book in a way which makes us feel for Maria.
"...she's welcome to stay in this modern Sodom but only on the terms that she accept their hedonistic quest for animal passion."- That's quite deep. I really like what you're saying here. This is why most spiritual practices suggest detachment. No, a person never experiences passion at its best, but also doesn't experience sadness at its worst. You sort of learn to keep a steady flow. Thanks for posting this reply. I really like it.
"I see no one I used to know, but then I'm not crazy about a lot of people. Maybe I was holding all the aces. But what was the game?" I love this quote. I totally feel like this and have for a while now. Seriously wondering the value of things and, for me, it comes down to humility. Sounds like a great book. Thanks for reading and review it.
I don't know for sure but maybe humility is the opposite of egotism? Though even there there are limits:As an example, it can't be necessary to lower oneself to the level of wild beasts, feeding where and when opportunity arises and lacking the ability to change the environment even when it's unfriendly, like during a winter storm.
@@jamesduggan7200 Well said. I am in a difficult situation right now with the people who surround me and I have found only finding detachment in every situation (stepping outside of myself and seeing love) has helped. For example, a professional relationship which also turned into a friendship, has recently been revealed to have caused a few failures in my life. It was quite shocking and character-changing because now I see that evil can exist within a very sweet person. It was a hard blow. Maybe it wouldn't have been if it was short, but it was a 13 year contract. I'm still recovering from this. I even went to an Ashram for a few months to distance myself and find some peace. Thanks for the comment. It's very intelligent. I appreciate that.
Thank you for inspiring me to re-read. I've just finished reading and - as you say - there's something indescribable about Didion's writing. For me, it's something about putting whole images in my head using the shortest of descriptions. Also her use of never, always - she loves these words and it gives her books a sense of gravity and of her word being the last. Great video and i would recommend Slouching Towards Bethlehem as her next read 🙏
Just read this one myself and rewatched your review. I totally agree that in talking about this book, you often kind of have to just go back and see for yourself exactly what language the character (or Didion) used. I definitely enjoyed the book; I read the whole thing in just 2 days which is quite fast for me! Maybe I’ll try Black Swans now since you reminded me here of Eve Babitz again.
I have yet to read any of Joan Didion's works. I must add Play It As It Lays and Simone De Beauvoir's The Woman Destroyed to my reading list (a seemingly endless list). While discussing the honesty and rawness of the book, I'm thinking about Gayl Jones' book, Corregidora (currently re-reading), with themes of womanhood, sexuality, and the psychological residue of slavery. There's a sentence in Corregidora that sticks out to me in the second reading, "Everything said in the beginning must be better said than in the beginning." Didion and Jones are having conversations about the agency of self and bodies. Both books were published in the 70s, and I'm interested in the thoughts of these writers during that time. We must give Toni Morrison credit for editing and publishing Jones' book. We don't think enough of Morrison as an editor bringing forth a diversity of Black writers during her time at Random House. Can you imagine being an editor and a writer? I also can't help but wonder how Jones' book influenced Morrison's later books.
Been meaning to pick this book up and wanting to compare it to Valley of the Dolls (i know 😂) but im even more excited to get into it now ❤ love the reviews as always
