One of the author's ten best Hollywood novels, as shared at Publishers Weekly:Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion (1970Read about the other books on the list.
The book is for the most part narrated in the first person, but it occasionally shifts to the third. In spare, elliptical chapters and scenes, Didion offers us bits and pieces of the story of Maria Wyeth, a divorced B-list actress, and her dissolute coterie of Hollywood power players and hangers-on. The action moves among LA, Las Vegas and the Mojave Desert. The tale is a not particularly pleasant one involving drugs, drink, one-night stands, illegal abortions, dysfunctional relationships, questionable parenting, institutionalization, joy rides and flameouts.
Play It As It Lays also appears on Becky Ferreira's seven best list of books set in Los Angeles, Janelle Brown's list of five great California novels, and Janet Fitch's book list.
--Marshal Zeringue