Reading the 20th Century discussion

A thread to discuss....


Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion

A ruthless dissection of American life in the late 1960s, 'Play It as It Lays' captures the mood of an entire generation, the ennui of contemporary society reflected in spare prose that blisters and haunts the reader. Set in a place beyond good and evil - literally in Hollywood, Las Vegas, and the barren wastes of the Mojave Desert, but figuratively in the landscape of an arid soul - it remains more than three decades after its original publication a profoundly disturbing novel, riveting in its exploration of a woman and a society in crisis and stunning in the still-startling intensity of its prose.

My copy of this book arrived today.

I have my wife's old paperback from the 70's, priced at $1.75. I'm hoping it won't come apart as I read it (as my university copy of Metamorphoses did).

Who knew? I apparently read it in 2011. No memory.

Ben wrote: "I have my wife's old paperback from the 70's, priced at $1.75. I'm hoping it won't come apart as I read it (as my university copy of Metamorphoses did)."

I love finding second-hand copies of books like Penguin classics in prime condition... but with the price printed on at £1.25! Unbelievable that books were once so cheap.

£8 for my copy 😱

Nigeyb wrote: "£8 for my copy 😱"

Still, less than the price of a cocktail, and the enjoyment lasts longer ;)

V true


I rationalise a lot of my purchases by comparing the cost to bar prices 🍻👨🏻‍🎤

Haha, me too!

A suitably decadent form of measurement for a book about the sixties!

Kindle now has this for $2.99 in the US.

I picked it up so I guess I will read it.

Great news Jan. Sounds like it will be right up your street

Sad to hear that Joan Didion died today. Even more glad we'll be reading her in the New Year.

Yes, just read that - sad news


Be good to read my first JD, by way of tribute

I was really sad to read about it too, just ordered my copy of this to make sure I have it for our group read.

I started today having missed there was a Wednesday this week. Company coming tomorrow and a lot of work to do. Then I read a news bulletin. I have been reading Joan Didion off and on since 1968. I feel as though I have lost a good friend. Makes me want to re-read Slouching Toward Bethlehem and I only just finished that last month. I have a number of other books of hers still waiting to be read without re-reading already. I will have to get back to Play It As It Lays. Griffin Dunne, her nephew, did a documentary on her for Netflix, The Center Will Not Hold.

Jan C wrote: "I have been reading Joan Didion off and on since 1968. I feel as though I have lost a good friend."

Aw, that's a lovely tribute to her as a writer, Jan. I've got her The White Album so might make a start on that ahead of our group read.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Jan C wrote: "I have been reading Joan Didion off and on since 1968. I feel as though I have lost a good friend."

Aw, that's a lovely tribute to her as a writer, Jan. I've got her The White Album ..."

I prefer her essays. Her memoirs are good too.

Sad news indeed. The obituary in the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/23/bo...

As mentioned elsewhere I was delighted when The Year of Magical Thinking (2005) was chosen by my book group

It's the first book I have read by Joan Didion and means I can compare and contrast it to Play It As It Lays when I get to it. I'll be reading that one soon.

I have just finished The Year of Magical Thinking which chronicles Joan Didion’s grief in the aftermath of her husband John Gregory Dunne’s sudden and unexpected death. This tragedy was compounded by their daughter being critically ill at the same time.

As I explain in my review I was a little disappointed and wonder if my expectations were too high, or if it was something else.

Review here...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I suspect that the above title was a very challenging first title to read, Nigeyb. Great review though.

Probably not the ideal first book of hers. I'm glad that I'd already read some of her fiction and non-fiction. I'm also not sure I should have read it right after my father died. Each person faces grief on their own.

Too bad you were disappointed, Nigeyb. I think the matter-of-fact style you mention in your review may be her hallmark. It worked really well for me, but unlike Jan, I read it a long enough time after some grief of my own, so the timing was right. I'll be very curious what you all think of the novel!

Sorry Nigey, although have to admit I loved that one, found it incredibly moving. But less so the follow-up Blue Nights

Thanks all


I've decided to press straight on with Play It as It Lays (1970) and I'm loving it. A deeply cynical take on the emptiness of early 70s Los Angeles (and Nevada), specifically the gritty grim "glamour".

Maria Wyeth's numb, self-destructive, angst-ridden, indifferent slide into debilitating despair is quite something.

It's clear that Bret Easton Ellis copped this style big time for his Less Than Zero - another firm favourite.

Cheery it ain't, but for those that like that sleazy nihilistic LA vibe (e.g. James Ellroy, Raymond Chandler etc) where the ever present sun will never eradicate the overwhelming emptiness, exploitation, and melancholy, this is sublime.

Joan Didion's pared back style suits the content perfectly. The story is primarily told in short sharp cinematic vignettes.

Interesting thoughts, everyone, on Magical Thinking - I tried it just after my dad died but it was a bit too close and I DNF, but definitely intend to go back to it.

So glad that you're loving Play it as it Lays, Nigeyb: ooh, Chandler and Ellroy - now you're talking!

I am also reading Play it as it Lays. Haven't had an awful lot of reading time recently, but I am also loving it. It does have that feeling of a late Sixties film, all long silences and driving on the highway...

Alwynne wrote: "Sorry Nigey, although have to admit I loved that one, found it incredibly moving. But less so the follow-up Blue Nights"

That's not good news. Another one I have but haven't read yet.

Nigeyb wrote: "Thanks all


I've decided to press straight on with Play It as It Lays (1970) and I'm loving it. A deeply cynical take on the emptiness of early 70s Los Angeles (and Nevada), specif..."

Not really enjoying it so far. But you may have pointed out why: I've been numb, self-destructive, angst-ridden and writhed in the depths of despair. Maybe there is something about the book hitting too close to home.

But I will plug on. Maybe it'll get better.

That's a good point, Jan. How you feel at the time can really affect how you respond to a book. That has happened to all of us - perhaps you should put it aside and come back to it another time?

If you're not enjoying it Jan then I would ditch it - especially if it's dredging up old and unwelcome memories. I am only halfway through but am not expecting any great change in style or content. The narrative is all pointing one way.

I don't feel that way currently. I have felt that way in the past. Some of the many reminders of my past that I really don't care all that much for.

I'm willing to give it some more time and maybe I will like it better.

Just finished


I was impressed

Review coming soon

Dark, and cleverly written in a pared down series of vignettes

Really looking forward to this discussion now

Glad to hear you enjoyed it more than the previous book you read, Nigeyb.

Thanks Susan


Nothing in there about the sixties or the counterculture though, except in the very loosest sense. That was my only disappointment, otherwise it's brilliantly written and perfectly captures a late 60s Hollywood sense of ennui, nihilism, boredom, futility, breakdown, and abuse.

Whether that's something the rest of us want to read about, should make for an interesting discussion

I know some readers like to feel positively about characters and that's nigh on impossible with Play It As It Lays.

Her writing style certainly seems to suit this kind of material better than a heart wrenching memoir about tragedy (e.g. The Year of Magical Thinking)

I know virtually nothing about this author, but I note this was published in 1970, so I suppose this has a feel of authenticity and the author didn't feel the need to point things out to readers that they would have been familiar with, even if they had not experienced it themselves.

It's a recognisable mix of the destructive effects of ammoral Hollywood film and TV industry, the California anti-culture, drug use and the loss of grounding in the sixties. But the novel lacks any sense of the positives that grew out that creative destruction: new voices, new styles of the arts, and openness to new political movements.

Yes, more a sense of the end of the optimism of the Sixties and the party being over...

Ben wrote:


"....the novel lacks any sense of the positives that grew out that creative destruction: new voices, new styles of the arts, and openness to new political movements."


Susan wrote:

"Yes, more a sense of the end of the optimism of the Sixties and the party being over..."


Spot on

We are already careering headlong into the cynical 70s (Vietnam, Watergate etc)

I suspect elsewhere in the USA during 1969-70 there was still a sense of optimism and possibility. It's nowhere to be seen here.

Perhaps LA and Hollywood catch these changes faster?

Or maybe (and more likely) this is just the nature of Tinsel Town and can be seen across all eras?

Have you ever read Easy Riders, Raging Bulls?

I read it when it came out in the late 1990s. Peter Biskind provides a detailed account of 1960s and 1970s Hollywood which was a golden era on the screen.

He highlights films like Easy Rider, The Godfathers 1 & 2, The French Connection, Chinatown, Taxi Driver, The Exorcist, The Last Picture Show, and onto blockbusters like Jaws, Star Wars etc. As I recall he convincingly argues that the late 60s through to the mid 70s was as good a period for film as there is ever likely to be. Hard to disagree in my opinion.

None of this sense of possibility or excitement is present in Play It As It Lays which seems to be more of a classic and, to an extent timeless, tale of abuse, disillusionment and breakdown.

Didion started out as a culture critic from the conservative side of the aisle, and perhaps this novel reflects that perspective.

I'm looking forward to reading The White Album and Slouching toward Bethlehem during the year.

Haven't read Didion yet so may be talking nonsense here, but might her view be inflected by gender? i.e. male cultural optimism not translating into the same from a female perspective? It just strikes me that many of those films cited (at least the ones I know of!) represent quite macho views of masculinity and authority.

That's interesting. I did not know that biographical detail. My lazy assumption was that she must me a more left leaning, liberal type.


Your suggestion makes a lot of sense Ben.

A lot of the Californian counterculture types soon stated espousing a creed of individualism (Ayn Rand etc) which ultimately fed into laissez faire capitalism, Reaganism, the yuppies, Silicon Valley etc.

There is certainly no evidence of community in Play It As It Lays with the characters out for what they can get. Maria Wyeth is cynically chewed up and spat out.

I accept that RC, but it's also worth comparing Tom Wolfe, who lined up with Didion, and Ellen Willis, a feminist critic who also took a more positive view of the 60's.

She became more sceptical of the Republicans during the Reagan administration and later, and didn't even think Trump worth writing about.

Ben wrote: "She became more sceptical of the Republicans during the Reagan administration and later, and didn't even think Trump worth writing about."

* Breathes sigh of relief *

Roman Clodia wrote: "Haven't read Didion yet so may be talking nonsense here, but might her view be inflected by gender? i.e. male cultural optimism not translating into the same from a female perspective?"

That could well be a part of it RC

I'll be very interested in your reaction

Ben wrote: "I accept that RC, but it's also worth comparing Tom Wolfe, who lined up with Didion, and Ellen Willis, a feminist critic who also took a more positive view of the 60's."

Thanks, Ben - I bow to your superior knowledge!

Yes, I'm looking forward to getting to Didion at last.

I do think the feminist commentaries on 60's machoblind counterculture are a very rich vein to mine. I highly recommend Ellen Willis, whom I read early in 2020.

Ben wrote: "I do think the feminist commentaries on 60's machoblind counterculture is a very rich vein to mine. I highly recommend Ellen Willis, whom I read early in 2020."

I'll follow up on that top tip Ben

Any other recommendations?

Nigeyb wrote: "Thanks Susan


Nothing in there about the sixties or the counterculture though, except in the very loosest sense. That was my only disappointment, otherwise it's brilliantly written and perfectly c..."

For '60s/counterculture you need to read Slouching Toward Bethlehem.