Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - Play It As It Lays

Play It As It Lays
Play It As It Lays
Author: Joan Didion
A dissection of American life in the late 1960s, Play It As It Lays captures the mood of an entire generation. Joan Didion chose Hollywood to serve as her microcosm of contemporary society and exposed a culture characterized by emptiness and ennui. — Maria Wyeth is an emotional drifter who has become almost anesthetized against pain and pleasure....  more »
ISBN-13: 9780374521714
ISBN-10: 0374521719
Pages: 214
Rating:
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 17

3.3 stars, based on 17 ratings
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 17
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Play It As It Lays on + 13 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Didion's prose is like poetry...chapter 1 is the best part, I thought. This is the 2nd book by Didion I've read (started with The Year of Magical Thinking, also highly reccommended) and she is already one of my favorite authors.
xserafinx avatar reviewed Play It As It Lays on + 78 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I really enjoyed this book... It's definitely NOT upbeat though.
Read All 4 Book Reviews of "Play It As It Lays"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

reviewed Play It As It Lays on + 134 more book reviews
Spare and difficult as always but Didion captures darkness better than just about anyone. Lost a half-star because the introduction in this edition contains spoilers. Why would you do this?!

Also there is liberal use of the word "f*ggot"-I know in the mindset of the time it's considered appropriate usage but was uncomfortable to read in 2014. Just a warning about that.
reviewed Play It As It Lays on + 15 more book reviews
Basic Didion 1978 paperback


Genres: