Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Play It As It Lays

Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion

201 reviews

whimsy_and_rigor's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If Didion wrote it, it gets 5 stars. This story of Maria from the desert living in LA is a story of women under the power and influence of men. Plus, it’s LA, so the business was of being in the industry as a woman also play a role. The final line from Maria shows, maybe, she has changed. But also, maybe not. Ennui at its finest.

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adeline_rivero's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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sallyrooneystanclub's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I found the minimalist style confusing. When this came out it would have been radical with it's themes. Over time I think it's lost its punch.

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kkpines's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The book's beauty was undeniable, but it didn't quite spark the emotional connection I craved.

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tillydaisym's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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batrick_pateman's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

"In the heat some mornings she would wake with her eyes swollen and heavy and she would wonder if she had been crying."

my god this was brutal. bitter, relentlessly bleak, scathing in its portrayal of late 60's hollywood culture. i have to start reading happier books. hopefully The Virgin Suicides will be a bit more fun and upbeat :)

didion's prose is excellent and reminds me a lot of shirley jackson's (jacksonian? shirleyesque?). it's stripped-down and deceptively simple: words and sentence structures are basic, but every word and every single detail is chosen and placed with such thought and precision that what you end up with is deep, moving, and psychologically complex in just a few lines. didion captures such a rich, anguished mixture of feelings with such brevity, and I like it a lot.

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