tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post3070087761012828659..comments2023-10-30T20:33:13.380+10:30Comments on the paper drunkards: November 07: Play It As It Lays, Joan Didionthe paper drunkardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282542514339651070noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-86387212428977567412007-11-22T20:37:00.000+10:302007-11-22T20:37:00.000+10:30"trapped between the more conservative times... [a..."trapped between the more conservative times... [and] the money, drugs, sex of life in Hollywood"<BR/><BR/>from a 21st century viewpoint i just find it so hard to imagine a world where these are the only options; Hollywood hedonism or conservative rule-following. it IS sad and disturbing.<BR/><BR/>anyway, i'm sure i'll give it another chance down the track. :)<BR/><BR/>great review Milly!Dothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02948665806519701747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-41480457972819191472007-11-21T08:08:00.000+10:302007-11-21T08:08:00.000+10:30Good work Milly.Good work Milly.R.H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04639593801088008224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-62269503540771985432007-11-20T15:08:00.000+10:302007-11-20T15:08:00.000+10:30G'day DotI can see why you'd think Maria was feebl...G'day Dot<BR/>I can see why you'd think Maria was feeble; but if you give the book another try it seems as if she's really just burned out, a hollow shell. She's trapped between the more conservative times and in trying to escape the money, drugs, sex of life in Hollywood, with her role as a mother (via the distance of her daughter being kept in an institution) perhaps the only thing keeping her going.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps too, what we read as feeble is in fact in keeping with what most people would do in reality. If we had the money and no pressing work/family needs, wouldn't it be nice to check in to some 5-star rehab facility and avoid having to deal with accusing widows, ex-husbands or agents? How many of us dream of doing something really dramatic (or violent, or malicious), yet in reality we barely grimace as we hobble away?<BR/><BR/>Just a thought....<BR/><BR/>regards, MillyMoo<BR/><BR/>PS - thanks for everyone's kind comments about the review - I was pretty bloody nervous about it!Kath Locketthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09677312773827236567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-42178167623877910942007-11-19T22:21:00.000+10:302007-11-19T22:21:00.000+10:30i read two thirds of this book in Barnes & Noble w...i read two thirds of this book in Barnes & Noble while waiting in the queue to meet Steven Colbert (probably the ALL TIME geekiest thing i've ever done). <BR/><BR/>i didn't like the book at first. but then i kind of got into it and thought i'd return to the store to buy the book. <BR/><BR/>but i never did. <BR/><BR/>...and now i've pretty much forgotten everything i did read, so it must not have impressed me that much. <BR/><BR/>Maria just seemed so feeble. there was no one to root for.Dothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02948665806519701747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-40023805842951935092007-11-18T12:29:00.000+10:302007-11-18T12:29:00.000+10:30Woot! Saved. Hungry Hungry Hypocrite has come to t...Woot! Saved. Hungry Hungry Hypocrite has come to the rescue. Watch this space for December's book.redcaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01916750858980883634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-23201838459624727642007-11-18T11:54:00.000+10:302007-11-18T11:54:00.000+10:30davey, heh. I just feel like smacking people when ...davey, heh. I just feel like smacking people when I see them reading Dan Brown and saying, "What are you thinking?! Snap out of it!"<BR/><BR/>rosanna, no sign of anyone yet, but it would be cruel to expect you to do it on your holidays! You'll have better things to do than read, I'm sure. If all else fails, we can always just do another modern classic like The Outsider or The Quiet American. <BR/><BR/>So come on, drunkards - be quick if you'd like to move up the list!redcaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01916750858980883634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-78293629659278838512007-11-15T18:53:00.000+10:302007-11-15T18:53:00.000+10:30Milly, this was an absolutely wonderful review. I'...Milly, this was an absolutely wonderful review. I'm thinking a future career path?<BR/><BR/>Redcap - let me know if you get stuck for someone re: December. I'll be o/s but I'm sure I can find something intelligent to say... at a last resort!Rosannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06087927276996432786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-63422010196367499292007-11-15T09:54:00.000+10:302007-11-15T09:54:00.000+10:30Milly Moo, thanks so much for choosing this one - ...Milly Moo, thanks so much for choosing this one - I've always meant to read it and now I have. And that's a fabulous review, too.<BR/><BR/>Like RC, I've only ever read Didion's (brilliant) non-fiction before, so it was fascinating to see how her style translates into fiction.<BR/><BR/>At the risk of being a 'Me Too' Kevin Rudd-ish person here, I have to say that Didion's characters reminded me of Fitzgerald too - that lack of moral compass (living 'in between' different sets of morals perhaps) and their breezy, beautiful, hedonistic and essentially empty lives.<BR/><BR/>I'd like to re-read this, too - it seems one of those books where you get more from each re-reading.<BR/><BR/>And yes, I thought Carter and Helene were just as, if not more, selfish than Maria. And their actions led to BZ's death more than hers did. All she did was to not stop him - because she respected his viewpoint. When faced with nothing to live for, you either end it now or 'play it as it lays' - play it out just to go with the flow, follow the chain of events set in motion and see what happens. It's almost as if he was better off than her - he had enough energy left to make a decision. She lives on partly because she doesn't care enough to make a decision to end her life - and also, I guess, because of Kate. That's a kind of gambling - gambling on the unlikely event (it seems) that she'll ever get her back.<BR/><BR/>It seems to me that Maria is destroyed, more than anything, by a broken heart over not being able to play out the one role she is committed to and cares for - that as a mother. It seems that she's been destroyed first by her own mother's death, then by Kate's condition, and finally by the enforced abortion.<BR/><BR/>Davey, that's very funny. Go on, say it to someone. I dare you!Arielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17570339715916432947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-88051184054947364242007-11-15T02:42:00.000+10:302007-11-15T02:42:00.000+10:30Milly:Wonderful review, thankyou.Redcap:Ha! What a...Milly:<BR/>Wonderful review, thankyou.<BR/><BR/>Redcap:<BR/>Ha! What a great story. 20 years? I've often felt like approaching people reading certain books also -- except my motives are slightly different.<BR/><BR/>"Excuse me. I'm really sorry but I just had to let you know that The Da Vinci Code is the least significant book I have ever read. I haven't seen anyone reading it for 20 minutes."daveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17776102795991089823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-37131118886050713402007-11-14T21:01:00.000+10:302007-11-14T21:01:00.000+10:30I was thinking of FSF's careless people when I rea...I was thinking of FSF's careless people when I read it too, Milly. And the people in Hemingway's Fiesta/The Sun Also Rises. They're all rich, careless, hopeless, selfish people. I did feel sorry for Mariah, though. Carter and Helen both liked to think she was the awful one, the selfish one, the empty-headed one, but they were both just as bad if not worse and just as responsible for the ennui that ended up killing BZ.<BR/><BR/>I've only ever read Didion's essays before. Try Sloping Towards Bethlehem - it's about the same era - and is a very thinky read.<BR/><BR/>As a little aside, I was reading <I>Play it as it lays</I> on the train home one evening when a woman came up and said, "Excuse me. I'm really sorry, but I just had to interrupt you. You're reading <I>Play it as it lays</I>. That is the single most significant book I have ever read. I haven't seen anyone read it in 20 years." She was sitting opposite me again the other day - I recognised her red necklace - but neither of us said anything and by then I was reading a different book, so she probably didn't recognise me.redcaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01916750858980883634noreply@blogger.com