Blonde, by Joyce Carol Oates, is a fictionalized account of the short, sad, weird life of Marilyn Monroe, that is, Norma Jean Baker. It was my first novel by JCO, and while at times I thought it brilliant, I was so relieved when I finally finished it. It was a long 700 pages.
There is no doubt that Norma Jean was enormously talented, as well exploited, abused, intimidated, and victimized. Most of the story was painful to read, and while JCO managed her themes adroitly, I couldn't help feeling that the novelist was just one more person exploiting Norma Jean.
I did spend a lot of time on my iPad looking up images of the various people who played a part in Norma Jean's life--JCO usually used initials or nicknames or labels, such as the Playwright for Arthur Miller, and the Ex-Athlete for Joe DiMaggio, which I found a bit irritating and not a little coy. I am inspired to watch some of her movies, particularly Some Like It Hot, which I have never seen, Bus Stop, which I caught on a Saturday afternoon matinee when I was about ten and was mesmerized, and The Misfits, which was her last completed movie. But, time, being in chronically short supply, I probably won't!
I did spend a lot of time on my iPad looking up images of the various people who played a part in Norma Jean's life--JCO usually used initials or nicknames or labels, such as the Playwright for Arthur Miller, and the Ex-Athlete for Joe DiMaggio, which I found a bit irritating and not a little coy. I am inspired to watch some of her movies, particularly Some Like It Hot, which I have never seen, Bus Stop, which I caught on a Saturday afternoon matinee when I was about ten and was mesmerized, and The Misfits, which was her last completed movie. But, time, being in chronically short supply, I probably won't!
I definitely had mixed feelings about this book--I admired the writing and the storytelling, but I found it sad and tedious and was happy to close the book and swap it on paperbackswap.com for something a bit more positive to read.
This is the first book completed in the Big Book Summer Challenge, and another book to check off my TBR Pile Challenge list.
