What I love about the Rory Gilmore Book Challenge is that it is
full of classic novels from various countries and throughout history, but is
also composed of bestsellers that, well, may not be considered highly
intellectual novels. In my opinion, just because a book is not considered
“literary” does not mean that it is not a good book. It is a matter of opinion.
People should read what they want to read whether it is something “literary” or
something “light.” The novel Valley of
the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann falls in the latter category, but it is also
considered a classic novel in terms of its influence and commentary on society.
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| Cover of the edition I read |
Lorelai is
the one to make a reference to Valley of
Dolls (the movie version though) in passing to Babette. This is exactly the
type of story that Lorelai would reference because it is just enough
controversial by name without many people knowing exactly why. Valley of the Dolls touches on a lot of
taboo topics such as sex and drug abuse all why taking place in the
entertainment industry from the 1940s through the 1960s. It follows three young
women as they rise to success in this industry, but the more they succeed, the
more they fall apart.
I’m going to break this post down by each of the three main
characters:
Anne
The novel
begins through the character of Anne and throughout the course of the story,
she is the one we keep returning to. She is the connecting piece of the novel
and propels the plot forward even when the chapter isn’t in her name. Anne is a
natural beauty who enjoys her work being a secretary for an entertainment
lawyer. In the beginning of the novel, she goes on casual dates with a man
named Allen. She has no romantic interest in Allen; she just simply enjoys his
company. Allen, though, is head over heels for Anne and asks her to marry him.
The problem is Anne never says yes to his proposal. Allen just assumes that she
will marry him and she will eventually give in. Whenever Anne says that she
does not love him and does not want to marry him, Allen scoffs and basically
says “that doesn’t matter.” It irks me that her wants and her desires are
laughed at and seen as unimportant. Allen only breaks off his “engagement” to
Anne when she begins an affair with her office crush Lyon.
For some
reason, Anne is drawn to Lyon even though he is pretty much the definition of a
player. Anne and Lyon have a love affair that is on and off throughout many
decades. She has relationships with other men, but Lyon is the one she always
returns to. I have many issues with Anne and her love of Lyon, but I am one to
talk since I do not have the best look with guys. My issue is that despite
knowing that Lyon is having multiple affairs, Anne does not leave him and still
thinks that she cannot do any better. It is a sad way to end her story (sorry
for the spoiler, but I’m sure you knew there weren’t going to be any happy
endings). Everyone deserves to be with someone who is crazy about them and good
to them, but sometimes we see ourselves as undeserving. Maybe because Anne
spent so much time invested in Lyon, she felt like she had to stay with him or
she doesn’t know who she is without wanting him. Maybe she just wants to have
someone and she feels that she is too old to find someone new (this idea of
aging will come up again later). It is sad because Anne was so self-assured in
the beginning of the novel, but the more success she had, the more she began to
doubt herself.
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| Look at that hair! |
Jennifer
I feel some
sympathy for Jennifer since I am also a baby-faced woman whom people
underestimate. However, I lost most sympathy for her as the novel goes on and
it is revealed she has had about seven abortions and refuses to have a
mastectomy (she had breast cancer) because she doesn’t want to lose her boobs.
She is literally one of the most vain characters in all of literature. It
begins with little things such as lying about her age, but progresses to
basically committing suicide because she doesn’t want to lose being desired by
men. What is sad, though, is her husband is the same way and perpetuates this.
He would rather her have her large bosom than to be healthy. I’m sorry. I would
definitely choose my health over my boobs any day. Just saying. Jennifer
becomes so unhappy and dependent on people telling her she is pretty that she
never realizes her own worth within.
This is
definitely something we struggle with in our society. Looks and appearances
matter too much. I care how I look, but
my friends can tell you that I don’t do too much make up wise besides concealer
and mascara. It takes me about two minutes to do my entire makeup routine in
the morning. On nights out, it takes me about five minutes. I’m not a slob; I
just prefer the natural look. The women in this novel care more about the outer
appearance than how they feel about themselves on the inside and this is sad to
me.
Neely
Neely is
definitely the least likable character in this novel. Neely flies under the
radar in the beginning of the novel. She’s just an innocent teenager who wants
to succeed in show
business and find love. She turns into a conniving adulterous
selfish woman. She betrays all of her friends even sleeping with her supposed
best friend’s husband repeatedly and purposely overdoses on “dolls” (aka drugs)
so her employers will feel sorry for her and not fire her. She reaches the
highest level of success in show business, but the more success she has, the
more she loses her humanity. There is no redemption for Neely by the end. There
is actually no redemption for any of the characters.
Even though the three main characters were unlikable,
shallow, and lacking substance, I still found this book enjoyable. It was “light,”
but with a dark twist. The entertainment industry is something that fascinates
many people which is why Hollywood is such a draw. This story draws on this and
succeeds in making you see the flaws in an industry that many people day dream
of taking part in. I love a soapy, scandalous read. It was a nice change from
all the Shakespeare.
Pictures
-Book Cover: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81YS9egzy2L.jpg
- Movie Poster:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91qhPW+HSQL._RI_.jpg
- Cover:https://cassandraparkin.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/valley-of-the-dolls-cover1.jpg
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