Rating: 
Summary: What's the truth?
Review: I bought this book because I read that this was supposed to be the truth about Marilyn Monroe's life. It showed her addiction to sex and sedatives. But you have to wonder, what's the truth and what's not? How can the author of this book know how Marilyn felt in the different situations? If Marilyn was alive, and could retell her story, then it would be great. But this is based on facts about her life, and the rest seems like guesswork. That doesn't give you more knowledge of her life. I know it is a novel, and not a biography. But when you her that this is the story about her behind the glamour, you expect a lot. And I wasn't impressed by the result. Some chapters are better than others. But once the author repeats herself over and over again in what is supposed to be a poem written by Norma Jean, it is awful. I would not recommend this book for anyone. It doesn't live up to it's high expectations, and you don't get any closer to the truth. Buy another book!
Rating: 
Summary: I can't see the idea of this book
Review: Well, I'm a Marilyn Monroe fan. And books like this make me sick, because they don't tell the truth. What's the idea of writing a novel about a REAL person that has once LIVED? Well of course it's fine to write it NOW, since Marilyn's not here and she can't sue mrs.(or miss?) Oates.
Writing a novel is not easy. At least not for Oates. I see that she's trying to use symbols and metaphores, but she simply fails. She's taking some of the events from Marilyn's (or, the Blonde's) real life but then she adds something that has NEVER HAPPENED. And that she keeps saying that "this is a novel, don't take it seriously" just makes people want to buy this and believe every word. THIS IS HOW RUMORS GET STARTED. People forget from where they read this and that about Marilyn, they just remember that she had "many boyfriends" or things like that. That's SICK.
I prefer reading good novels. This isn't among them. And for those who don't know much about Marilyn Monroe, PLEASE DON'T READ THIS AS YOUR FIRST MARILYN MONROE -BOOK!! Read a couple of real biographies first so that you can tell the facts from the fiction. They'll tell you what's it all about. And beware: this is not the only fact-and-fiction book about Marilyn. I'm sad to say that.
Rating: 
Summary: Blonde Oates
Review: I wonder what kind of person can write this kind of book. Marilyn cannot defend herself, her frends, husbands and so on are dead.Why did Carolyn Oates write this book.She must have some kinds of problems inside herself.
All in this book can be true or not, and it is very well written, but something is wrong,it is heartless....
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing!
Review: I truly loved this novel... I went through all 700+ pages in less than two days. I could not put it down. Oates is an extremely talented author who portrays Norma Jeane as the movie star one can relate to, everyone's well meaning but problematic friend. You want to be Norma Jeane's friend, you love her, you hate her, you want to help her. Anyone who is interested in Old Hollywood will love the book for it's insight on life in The Studio and in Los Angeles from when talkies were new to the 60s. You do not have to be a Marilyn Monroe fan to love this book, at times I forgot I was reading about one of America's favorite icons, and not some other girl with tendencies to fall into bad luck. The size of the book should not intimidate anyone, it goes all too quickly, and it does not have "slow" parts. The book has stayed in my thoughts. The book was intriguing and ended all too soon for my liking, much like "Marilyn"'s life.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book
Review: This book requires some intelligent thought on the part of the reader, and takes some time to read. It is a very poetically written, wrenching insight into Norma Jeane Baker's life. The author uses titles such as The Fair Princess and The Playwright and Rat Beauty instead of giving famous people's names. Some readers have complained about this, but I think it gives the novel a mythic quality, a timelessness that explores the plight of a beautiful woman who is used and abused to the point of destruction. This is a good book.
Rating:
Summary: A Fast and Riveting 700+ Pages
Review: It was no surprise to me to see that most of the reviews for this book were polarized - most readers either loved it or hated it. I have been a major JCO fan for a long time. I find her writing intelligent and her insights astonishing. Frankly, I am not a Marilyn Monroe fan. First, I was too young to remember her when she was alive, and I have never seen any of her movies. So why read a long book about her? Because Joyce Carol Oates wrote it. Because Ms. Oates has taken liberties with fact (she does, after all, refer to this as a novel)it really wasn't necessary to know anything about Marilyn/Norma Jeane. The fact that her life was so fascinating, troubled, and dramatic makes for great fiction. Some readers objected to Oate's writing style. But for those of us who have enjoyed her previous writings, this was a gourmet feast! If you are a Marilyn Monroe fan you will probably enjoy this book, and if you're not, you will still enjoy it, because it covers so much of what fascinates us - madness, sex, drugs, drama and pathos. 700+ pages went surprisingly quickly.
Rating:
Summary: Behind the Face.
Review: In Blonde Joyce Carol Oates has succeeded in exploring what the real Marilyn may have been like. No one know what Marilyn's thoughts and emotions were but this novel does illustrates her insecurities and fears and more importantly who and what caused her problems. It is clear that from childhood and through to stardom, society, those around her and the system gave Marylin little chance at emotional and, ultimately, physical survival.Blonde is an enthralling read and a devestating look at American society in the twentieth century. Indeed, the novel can be favourably compared to De Lillo's Underworld. As in Underworld a lot of real and famous people are depicted and not always in a flattering light. In Blonde the facades are clinically removed. Another thing I really enjoyed was Oates' description of the acting process. All in all Blonde is a great book.
Rating:
Summary: A daring portrait of a Legend
Review: Blonde is a very long book, yes. But, it is truly a novel to read slowly and savor. Joyce Carol Oates has created a fully believeable voice for a woman we all know of but most know little about. And even if the events in this novel aren't necessarily true, the heartbreaking and sometimes disturbing impact is still very strong. What's most interesting to me about this book is how Oates has structured it, and captured in an amazing way the notion that the woman Norma Jeane, is different from Marilyn, and also different from the way she was viewed by the public, as the Blonde Actress. We hear many voices in this story. The many fractured voices of Norma Jeane, as well as the people around her also very much a part of her history-from directors, to husbands, to an entire evening poetry class. I found this book absorbing, engrossing, terrifying, disturbing, honest, daring and heart-rending. Some may accuse of it of being dissonant and hard to follow, but that's all a part of Oates style, and she capitalizes on it beautifully for this novel. Of all of her novels, I think this may be my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Candle in the Wind
Review: I absolutely admire this book, and JCO's talent. She is amazing in her insight into human behavior and emotion. This book, though a fictionalized account of Marilyn Monroe's life, comes closer than anything else I have read to capturing what I believe to be MM's essence. I don't know what is truth and what is fiction in Oates's novel, but it FEELS true. Oates makes us understand that Marilyn Monroe was a persona that Norma Jeane Baker invented and donned like a costume. As she became more and more a commodity and less and less a person, the facade of Marilyn Monroe became harder and harder for her to conjure up. Her struggle to exist within these two identities colored her relationships with men--her bosses used her sexually and dismissed with ridicule her attempts to become a serious actress. Her relationships with the men in her life were either merely sexual and exploitive, or colored by her lovers' jealousy of her sexual appeal to other men. Finally she could hold her life together no longer. Oates does not go into detail on Marilyn's death, nor does she speculate on whether it was accidental, suicide or murder. I do not think we will ever know with any certainty. And that seems right. I became so immersed in this book that I hated for it to end. Please read it.
Rating:
Summary: Not worthy of Oates
Review: I like Joyce Carol Oates. I don't consider her a great writer...but I do think that she has many merits. For the most part, Oates creates compelling characters and page-turning stories that never fail to entertain. Her novels are often intense and absorbing reads--although they lack real substance. Reading a truly great book is like eating a fabulous 6 course meal. Reading an Oates book is like eating a really good turkey sandwich. Reading Blonde, however, was like eating mac & cheese with peas and carrots and cabbage and cinnamon on top! It's confusing, contradictory, messy, many of the elements just don't fit, and it just doesn't go down very well. I'm not a purist. I can enjoy a fictional account of a person's life as long as it manages to tell a good story and create a substantial, convincing, and captivating character. Blonde, however, completely fails at this. Oates' fails at doing the one thing she should have done with this novel--make us believe and fall in love with her Marilyn Monroe. Throughout the novel, it seems that Oates never really knows how to portray her heroine. In one moment, Norma Jean (aka Marilyn) is a cowering, terrified bunny. In another moment, she's a shrewd actress-businesswoman of steel! In another, she is a artist-genius. In another, a country girl who just wants a husband and a baby. And Norma/Marilyn not only changes from one characterization to another within one chapter, but sometimes within one paragraph--or sentence! It's not that a human being can't be full of such contradictory facets and traits...It is just that Oates completely fails to make these complex contradictions believable. They have no basis. Oates' Marilyn is like a smudgy collage of one cliche after another...without any true defining core. As a result, it becomes impossible to identify with her, impossible to sympathize, and impossible to love her. Instead, I found myself frustrated and impatient through much of the novel--trying to figure out where NJ/M's actions and motivations were truly coming from. The rest of the novel fails even more miserably. The secondary characters are even less interesting. The prose reads like that of a maudlin high school student. It is at times boring. At times laughably sentimental. At times sloppy and convoluted. Although I have not read any other biographies of Marilyn Monroe, after reading Blonde, I now feel the urge to pick one up. I think a distant, more factual account of the actress' life would bring me to a closer understanding and appreciation for her than this book. My one suggestion to those who DO want a more intimate look into Marilyn Monroe--rent The Misfits--her last movie. Written by her former husband Arthur Miller, I am convinced that the character he wrote for her IS the real Marilyn Monroe--tragic and trusting and misunderstood.
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