Rating: 
Summary: Marilyn
Review: If you are a Marilyn Monroe fan-which I am-it MAY be worth it to read this novel.It is abit stupid and the author should be named Joyce Carol Pottymouth...is there a more disgusting woman than this writer?
Rating: 
Summary: Turgid, unedited pretentions
Review: This book is so shoddy, so badly written, so pretentious and turgid that it is extremely likely that no editor ever read it, that Ms. Oates merely types her latest draft(fast) and sends it off. Her reputation--perhaps based on some pretty good stories she wrote years ago--has become so blown up, so exaggerated, so over-rated that she can get away with this. Reviewers then dutifully review, and juries dutifully award. How scandalous for good literature. If anyone bothers to actually read this novel that purports to be loosely based on the story of the poignant, beautiful actress Norma Jeane, who became Marilyn Monroe, they will encounter writing that strives to be poetic by repetition, blurring phrases that "seem" profound and that say nothing, writing that a sophomore in college should be ashamed of. But here it is, and despite all the negative reviews, there are the gasps of "Masterpiece," and "great"--dutiful reactions for this writer of exaggerated reputation. The book is full of contempt toward all the author's characters, especially her protagonist, clearly the object of envy. There are scenes of gratuitous cruelty that purport to investigate the most intimate aspects of the movie star's life, including bodily functions. Finally, one word describes the only possible, intelligent reaction to this monstrous creation: Revulsion.
Rating: 
Summary: A Magnificent Dark Epic
Review: I came away from this novel convinced that America has no better living writer than Joyce Carol Oates. Put off by the size of the book-- there are over 700 pages-- I had decided to skip yet another book about Marilyn. Then while driving recently, I heard Ms. Oates give a brilliant radio interview about the book; I drove straight to my favorite Atlanta bookstore and bought a copy.I am not an authority on Norma Jean Baker's life, having only read almost 30 years ago Norman Mailer's book, so I do not know how accurate the facts are here. (Ms. Oates in the Author's Note says this book is not meant as a historic biography and lists several sources she has used to get her information.) But whether the book is historically accurate or not hardly matters. I will go to my grave believing that Ms. Oates has captured the essence of Norman Jean/Marilyn. We already know how the book will end. We know the bare facts of Marilyn's life, the mentally ill mother, the marriages, the affairs, the pills. But along the way Ms. Oates takes us into the very soul of Marilyn. She is abused, victimized, misunderstood but strangely resilient. The novel takes on a life of its own; we are pulled into it and 700 pages quickly pass by. Parts of the book are sheer poetry. The first chapter called "Special Delivery" reads like Walt Whitman without the optimism. Death comes in the form of a bicycle messenger bringing a gift with no return address to "MM". "There came Death hurtling along the Boulevard in waning sepia light. There came Death flying as in a children's cartoon on a heavy unadorned messenger's bicycle." This wonderfully dark metaphor of Death continues through the first chapter of this marvelous book. Writing does not get better than this. I do not know what the book is about. I only know I was in the presence of a genius while reading it. I had the same sensation I have when I see a Bergman movie. Even if I don't know what the movie is about, I know I have witnessed greatness. There is a mystery to this many-layered book as there is with all great literature. Surely it is a criticism of Hollywood, of the movie industry, of the cruelty of men, a metaphor of the dark side of the American Dream. I've used up my gush quota. BLONDE is simply as good a novel as anything I've read in years. People will be reading and discussing it years from now.
Rating:
Summary: Convenient contradictions, eh?
Review: Ms. Oates has claimed quite publicly that she felt Norma Jeane (who became Marilyn Monroe) guided her hand to write this piece of unadulterated trash. How, then, can she disassociate herself, when convenient, into the contradictory position that this is all fiction, nothing real, all invention, based loosely-- Etc. She further claimed she came to feel that only she could tell the story of Norma Jeane, and in a leap that would be awesome if it were not ridiculous, went on to claim that she then felt what it was like to "be" her. Lots of contradictions, eh?--as her chracters are fond of asking: Eh? However one may look at this book--fiction, claimed possession--it is unabashedly horrible. The prose is turgid, pretentious; in places it clearly does not make sense. When a friend pointed out that in one place a refrigerator runs out of the house to hang clothes to dry, I didn't believe it--until I read it myself, and there it was; that's how the sentence reads. I suppose Ms. Oates' admirers would say that that's part of its surrealism? Nothing of the sort; it's merely another example of Mrs. Oates' recklessness; she's reckless with prose, reckless with another's life, reckless in her contradictions about its creation. And then there's the heavy-handed philosophizing about acting that makes as much sense as, well, actors speaking about acting, except that here Ms. Oates presents the bombast seriously. She's used the bare bones of Norma Jeane's poignant life story to imbue with her distortions and envy of the movie star. One has a feeling of years-long detestation of the beautiful woman by Ms. Oates, and, here, finally, pay-back. But she's not the only one on whom Ms. Oates heaps her contempt. Men, especially gay men, come in for gross mistreatment--except for Arthur Miller, who, however, comes off looking like a wimp. Is that because he's Ms. Oates' friend? All of these considerations would pale if the novel were a sound literary work. It isn't. A masterpiece? That designation demeans the word for anyone who admires literature.
Rating:
Summary: Emotionally draining, but a fantastic read!
Review: Let me start out by saying that I have never before read a book by Joyce Carol Oates nor a book about Marilyn Monroe. When all of the publicity came out about the mini series, I got interested and picked up a copy. Let me just say that _Blonde_ blew me away. If you're looking for a book about Marilyn Monroe, I'd suggest to look elsewhere as the concept behind this book isn't really the life of Monroe but rather Norma Jeane Baker. Joyce Carol Oates takes a look at the girl/woman that Norma Jeane might have been. _Blonde_ is told from Norma Jeane's eyes. Another thing for Marilyn fanatics to be careful of is the fact that this book is fiction. Ms. Oates took a lot of liberties with gossip and myths about the larger then life Marilyn Monroe and used them in her story. She makes Norma Jeane into a complex character with many problems but a character that compells the reader to keep on reading. _Blonde_ is about the transformation of Norma Jeane Baker to Marilyn Monroe and her trials along the way. And it is excellently written. Joyce Carol Oates does get a bit tedious at times, but her writing is fascinating and her ideas definitely push the envelope. _Blonde_ is a horrific, beautiful, crazy account of one of the most influential movie stars of our time. Reading it is emotionally draining but a wonderful experience and the book won't stay closed. Yes, it is a bit long, but the pages will fly by and by the time you finish, you will be wishing to read more about the fagile butterfly that was Norma Jeane. The sympathy and feeling that Ms. Oates injects into her book is visible and lovely. This is a sad book, but reading it is such an experience that you really must pick it up for yourself. There is a reason why Ms. Oates has so many fans and has had such a wonderful long career... and it's evident in her masterpiece. If you enjoy being moved by a book, I would suggest _Blonde_.
Rating:
Summary: Blonde by J.C. Oates
Review: "Blonde" is an intensely psychological novel, that is, though at times tough going, a very rewarding experience. The author, Joyce Carol Oates, is one of the most profound and productive American authors of our time, and possesses a seemingly invincible literary talent. In this fictionalized psychological biography of Marilyn Monroe, Oates peers into the psyche of the famous, and famously troubled, American icon. What she finds there is a scalding vision of femininity, fame, sex, relationships, and American life as all whole. This work reminds me of Don DeLillo's "Libra ," and also of Russell Banks' "Cloudsplitter." and to go back somewhat further, the later phase novels of Henry James. If any of the above appeal to you, then I recommend "Blonde" highly.
Rating:
Summary: Oates Masterpiece
Review: I have been reading Joyce Carol Oates for years. I try to read everything in fiction that she writes. This book is her best ever. When I first heard of it, I thought, Oh no, why is she doing this? What else is there to say about Marilyn Monroe? But when I read it, I found myself mesmerized. She has created a complex, layered character in her fictional Marilyn, a portrait of Hollywood and it's treatment of sex stars in that era, and an utterly sympathetic but not maudlin portrait of a woman who never grew up, who became caught in the trap of her character of "Marilyn" and who didn't know how to find her way out. I could not put this book down and, now that I have finished it, I miss it! Joyce Carol Oates should have gotten the Pulitzer Prize for this work!
Rating:
Summary: A monstrous creation
Review: Apparently readers stayed away in droves from this ... what to call it? Despite massive publicity it never appeared on bestseller lists; nor did it appear on lists after the television version, which usually sends a book's sales soaring no matter how bad the adaptation. That's a tribute to readers, since this novel is about as terrible as a book can get. It's not about Marilyn Monroe, it's about a creature that Oates has dredged out of some depths in her heated mind, a creature she sets out to torture, expose to abject humiliation, expose to the kind of scrutiny of her sexuality that would violate any woman, or man, for that matter. How would Ms. Oates feel is someone took fictional liberties like this with her own life? It might happen, if this book got published--but then who would be interested in such a novel about Ms. Oates? That anyone would suggest that Marilyn Monroe would welcome this hideous exploitation--that's beyond comprehension; that anyone who is literate would consider this good writing--that, too, is beyond comprehension. That it was nominated for several book prizes-that shames the judges, renders the process of selection suspect. There is no story, just words, words, words--most of them in italics, on the assumption, I suppose, that italics automatically suggest profundity and poetry. There is nothing profound here, nor poetic; Oates doesn't know how to write a good sentence, if this is evidence--and I appreciate genuine experimentation, the carefulness, say, of Joyce's stream-of-consciousness, or Virginia Woolf's, the play of words by Nabokov. This is just typing, fast typing that was sent out without reading. I doubt that any editor ever read it before it was rushed to the stores in the belief that the name of Marilyn would push it through. It didn't, and that's the only good news about this truly monstrous creation, an insult to serious readers lured by its public relations puffery. If it were possible to give a book zero-stars, then this book would deserve such.
Rating:
Summary: Losing Her Self
Review: The novel Blonde immediately raises questions concerning the reasons for its creation beginning with the choice of its subject: Norma Jean Baker. To write a lengthy novel on a person who has inspired volumes of biographical accounts and publicity may appear to be a spurious task. Yet, Joyce Carol Oates has published Blonde whose original hardback length reaches 738 pages (she reports the original length to be over 1,400 pages before editing) making it the longest novel of the thirty-nine novels she has published previous to Blonde. Why was it necessary for Oates to write this novel now? A partial answer may lie in her disclaimer at the beginning of the novel that clearly defines the work as fiction and that it should not in any way be understood to be a biographical account of the actress. To mark her novel as a work of the imagination is to distance Blonde from interpretations of it as a faithful historical recreation. It insists that the novel intends to deal more with ideas rather than fact. Then, why choose to base the characters and events upon historical occurrences? For Oates purposes, recognizing the historical basis of a subject in a novel links the ideas presented with real concerns and issues rather than letting them flounder in an abstract space. That is not to say that fiction which recognizes itself to be purely fictional cannot discuss "real" ideas, but Oates novelistic method uses these historical bases as points for ideological engagement. The novel represents and explores many of the essential themes with which Oates has concerned herself in her previous works of fiction. Marilyn Monroe, being the focus of tremendous public attention, has been turned into a mythic and still mysterious figure in American culture. Oates chose her as a subject specifically because so much emphasis has been placed upon "Marilyn Monroe," the public image and not on "Norma Jean," the historic person. From this base Oates engages with some of her primary motivations as a novelist which are to mingle social commentary with an emotional reimagination of American images in a highly formed literary novel. Oates attraction to the subject of alter-egos and split identities suffuses into her fiction and forms one of the primary subjects of Blonde. There is a recurrent tone Oates uses with many of her female characters when trying to create what she calls psychological realism. Within this literary style she creates a characters who reveals a hypersensitive awareness of her or his own being and a special attentiveness to the perspective of the other characters. The characters establish a delicate relationship to themselves where they are a viewer watching themselves. In her early years, Oates describes from Norma Jean's perspective how this relationship to her Norma Jean self is created: "There was a Friend-in-the-Mirror. As soon as I was big enough to see. My Magic Friend. There was a purity in this. Never did I experience my face and body from the inside (where there was numbness like sleep), only through the mirror, where there was sharpness and clarity. In that way I could see myself." The "Magic Friend" is an ontological observer of the character. It is an objective perspective of the self but is a part of the self at the same time. This is a useful tool for the character to use within her survival of the fictional world as it allows her to manipulate other characters around her by understanding the way they perceive her. However, it is also a dangerous way to condition her place in relation to the world because it divides her sense of reality. As the novel continues the "Magic Friend" becomes an addictive sedative to Norma Jean leading her further into the realm of the fictitious which serves as an inescapable hall of mirrors where she is unable to distinguish one constructed identity from another. In this divided sense of the self, Oates reveals some of her most powerful literary influences for Blonde. Norma Jean is cited as reading Dostoevsky several times throughout Blonde. Her involvement with his novels betrays not only her intellectual vigor, but a reference to how an individual can contain multiple perspectives in a single consciousness or Bahktin's theory of the dialogic. Oates incorporates this theme into the structure of the novel. She has described the novel as a posthumous account from Norma Jean's perspective. The narrative logic traces her memories in a chronological order interspersed with her self-destructive desire and fated sense of being. Within this perspective is an existential crisis of trying to construct a secure sense of being that is unimpeded by the labels of others. In this overly conscious, split sense of self, Norma Jean parallels the Underground man. This intense consciousness draws the individual into hopeless conundrums concerning the reality of being. Oates portrays this overly conscious self as a division between the inner, spiritual being and outer, materialistic being. The division is irreconcilable because the different interpretations of being are desirous of different consequences. They represent an ideological divide particularly relevant to the American sensibility as Oates more fully discusses in her novel Bellefluer whose central family plays out these dualities through the generations and to tragic consequences. However, as they are contained within the individual of Norma Jean she is led into believing that only by selling the superficial side of her being can she gain the love and recognition she needs. Her original name has been lost to this profession as a blonde actress and this identity can only prove to temporarily solve her unfulfilled sense of being. This need to sell the self to others makes up the central subject of Blonde. It is a powerful and emotionally moving read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the Idol Worshipping
Review: A very good book, this story is a fictional meditation on the life of Norma Jean Baker, the person behind the persona, Marilyn Monroe. Incredibly well written, this book is not a joy ride, but a very sad story about a young woman who had no resources to overcome her dysfunctional circumstances. It also paints a good portrait of Hollywood in an era that was riddled with hypocrisy and political witch hunts. This book is not for worshippers or fans of Marilyn Monroe. It has very little to do with restoring or upholding her legendary image. Instead it serves to tell a good story, which is dark, and ultimately tragic.
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