Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Five great California novels

Janelle Brown named five great California novels for the Wall Street Journal.

One novel on the list:
Play It As It Lays, by Joan Didion:

Another dark Hollywood novel, about an actress in the late 1960’s, drifting idly through a wasteland of casual sex, pills, abortion and mental illness. Mimicked by many since, Didion’s novel still holds up as an indictment of youthful ennui and the hollow center of the entertainment industry.
Read about the other books on the list.

Play It As It Lays also appears on Janet Fitch's book list.

Also see: The Great California Novel.

--Marshal Zeringue