A review by ljjohnson8
Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates

5.0

Once again I am reminded of why JCO is one of my favorite authors. This was a novelization of the life of Marilyn Monroe, and it was fascinating and appalling. The writing was so brilliant that I was often walking around in a daze for the last two weeks with the author's voice going 'round and 'round in my brain. It becomes unimportant what is "true" and what is the author's invention because larger questions of where does victimization end and calculation begin, and whose "reality" about the Blonde Actress is most trustworthy, take over. I was brought to some ugly, low places with this book and sometimes I would actually need to take some air to shake it off. If you haven't read Oates, you are missing something rare and special.