Review: Valley of the Dolls
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3 stars. Well, isn't this just the tangy, sour glass of lemonade I've been looking for since spring turned to summer.
At first glance, this book, which follows three women as they navigate a merciless and drug-fueled entertainment industry in the 40s and 50s, feels very ahead of its time. The men and the women are equally complex and equally capable of heartfelt good and destructive evil. It explores gender and identity and relationships with a sharp and witty voice that felt especially relevant in the wake of the #metoo movement (yes, fifty years later and not much has changed). I'm not surprised Susann's painfully realistic depiction of sex and sexuality was labeled as "dirty" and slapped with censors.
Yes, it's mesmerizing, entertaining, witty and rings very true. When the publisher gave the manuscript to his wife to read, she famously said, "I feel like I picked up the phone and I was listening in on a conversation of women talking about how their husbands are in bed. Who would hang up on a conversation like that?" I totally reveled in the juicy bits and enjoyed the lightly-veiled references.
But overall it wasn't, for me, a particular fun or enjoyable book to read. I absolutely adored it and I am in awe of the unusual plotting, but I felt tight with tension throughout the first three quarters, vibrating like a plucked string or taut rubber band. I believe this is because, as a woman, I could feel that under the polka dots and the champagne and the boisterous appeal of show business in the 50s, I was watching a tragedy unfold.
Back before the age when all of us women heaved a collective sigh and admitted, with a combination of fear and relief, that we can't indeed "have it all," there were many Annes, many Jennifers, and many Neelys. Chewed up and spat out by the world - by the men of the world, in most cases. But this is not the tragedy to which I refer. The tragedy is that many of these women, knowingly or unknowingly, jumped into the mouth themselves.
Valley of the Dolls, much to the delight of its fame-hungry author, will have a legacy as long as its in print. I think it very admirably says a lot, almost unintentionally, about ... well, a lot. But I can't ignore the simmering anger I felt upon finishing. Men are rats. Fleas on rats. And so are women. The end.
