What a way for me to start off my 20 Books Journey!! It was worth the effort and all 939 pages were a masterpiece!!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Who was Norma Jeane Baker?
In ‘Blonde’ we are given an intimate, unsparing vision of the woman who became Marilyn Monroe like no other: the child who visits the cinema with her mother; the orphan whose mother is declared mad; the woman who changes her name to become an actress; the fated celebrity, lover, comedienne, muse and icon. Joyce Carol Oates tells an epic American story of how a fragile, gifted young woman makes and remakes her identity, surviving against crushing odds, perpetually in conflict and intensely driven. Here is the very essence of the individual hungry and needy for love: from an elusive mother; from a mysterious, distant father and from a succession of lovers and husbands. Joyce Carol Oates sympathetically explores the inner life of the woman destined to become Hollywood’s most compelling legend. ‘Blonde’ is a brilliant and deeply moving portrait of a culture hypnotised by its own myths and the shattering reality of the personal effects it had on the woman who became Marilyn Monroe.
MY REVIEW
This is book 1 of my 20 Books of Summer 2022.
Wow! Wow! Wow!! I knew I was in for an epic read but I didn’t think it was going to consume me in the way that it did! I love Marilyn, and have read numerous non fiction books about it, so was unsure how to feel about this ‘novel’, but Joyce Carol Oates has worked her magic in an extraordinary way! Blending fact with fiction and taking you behind the legend that Marilyn became, and showing you the real person – the sadness and the tragedy behind this woman who was always searching for a feeling of contentment and peace, even from an early age, but finding herself being used.
The novel portrays her as extremely fragile, looking for happiness from her childhood through to adulthood and how her career gave her momentary glimpses of how wonderful life could be, alongside the dismal reality of how men in her life couldn’t cope with her fame and wanted control over her. I just wanted to time travel and go back and give her a big hug!! She craved stability and acceptance and over the 900+ pages we saw how that need was there throughout her life.
If I could give this book 6 stars I would! Just amazing!!
★★★★★
Books and Me! 
Wow sounds amazing even though it’s a massive book! xx
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I thought it was going to be too big to enjoy -but now I wish it was even longer lol! xx
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Wow, that is the way to kick off a reading challenge!
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