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Blonde
Pros
very interesting book. I enjoyed it.
Cons
Very long and can be confusing at times
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
If you have patients I recommend the book. It is 700+ pages and a difficult book to read, but I tought it was worth it. Remember that it is fiction.
Blonde, by Joyce Carol Oates is a fictional look at Marilyn Monroe?s life. It is not a biography, it is a fiction novel based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. The book begins with Norma Jean Mortenson?s childhood, her life with her mentally unstable mother, and life in an orphanage, to her life in foster care. Norma Jean is then married off by her foster mother to Bucky Glazer. America is in the middle of a war and Bucky signs up. Norma Jean takes a job in a factory and spotted by photographer shooting pictures for an article. Those photos shot on that day begin the modeling career of sweet shy Norma Jean Mortenson and leads to the movie career of the sexy glamorous Marilyn Monroe. Blonde is not about the happy glamorous life that Marilyn Monroe leads, it is about the sad unglamorous life she led. Norma Jean never knew who her father was and spent her life wanting to know him. She compensated by moving from one father figure relationship to another. The men in her life were always ?Daddy? and she was always ?Baby?. Blonde also goes into the nasty side of Hollywood, drug addiction, abortions, and they way women were treated and demeaned by Hollywood?s head men. Norma Jean cannot believe that the woman one the screen is her, she thinks it is a fake. Towards the end of the book she has a hard time distinguishing between Norma Jean Mortenson and Marilyn Monroe.
This is a very long book, 700+ pages. It tends to be confusing at times. It is hard to follow and hard to tell what really happens and what is Norma Jean?s thoughts. Although I have heard that this is just Joyce Carol Oates style of writing. It does not always make clear who the characters are because their names are not used for them. I think the book is worth the time to sit down and read; it may take a while. Since I know nothing of Marilyn Monroe?s life I was drawn to find a biographical book about her life. I read My Sister Marilyn by Berneice Baker Miracle and Mona Rae Miracle which is also a good book. It is more about Norma Jean Baker than Marilyn Monroe. I wanted to know how much of Blonde is fact and how much is fiction. Blond seems to be fairly accurate on the events that happened in Marilyn?s life, but the thoughts and feelings is where the fiction part comes in.
This is a very long book, 700+ pages. It tends to be confusing at times. It is hard to follow and hard to tell what really happens and what is Norma Jean?s thoughts. Although I have heard that this is just Joyce Carol Oates style of writing. It does not always make clear who the characters are because their names are not used for them. I think the book is worth the time to sit down and read; it may take a while. Since I know nothing of Marilyn Monroe?s life I was drawn to find a biographical book about her life. I read My Sister Marilyn by Berneice Baker Miracle and Mona Rae Miracle which is also a good book. It is more about Norma Jean Baker than Marilyn Monroe. I wanted to know how much of Blonde is fact and how much is fiction. Blond seems to be fairly accurate on the events that happened in Marilyn?s life, but the thoughts and feelings is where the fiction part comes in.
