Will I love Play It as It Lays?

Written in Joan Didion's unique, razor-sharp style, Play It as It Lays snapshots 1960's Hollywood and explores the nihilistic, uncaring and frankly depressing illusion that was and probably still is much of tinseltown. Centred around Maria Wyeth, who some say was at least partly autobiographical, the cast of characters are beautifully depicted, their vicious interactions and intentions carefully laid bare.

I knew little about the author and her work before picking up this slim volume, but polished it off in an afternoon and was left wanting more, much more.

I read this by a pool while on vacation, which feels fitting, since that's what the book's protagonist often finds herself doing. Idling by the pool or the beach in the California sunshine. I've read a lot of Joan Didion's nonfiction, but this was my first time reading one of her novels. Like most of her writing, Play It as It Lays is a master class in how to tell a story with the most sparing yet evocative language.

I read this book for the first time when I was in high school, and it made me realize that main characters aren’t always good people. Maria Wyeth is a selfish, broken actress who stumbles through a series of bad decisions. She cares about nothing, not even herself, but the language is so beautiful and evocative of a 1960s Los Angeles that you can’t help wondering what happens.

If nothing else, pick it up for the laissez-faire attitude of the extremely wealthy and beautiful before the age of social media.

It’s a little bit of a cliche to list St. Joan as your favorite LA writer, but believe me when I tell you she has more than earned her reputation. While she’s better known for her essays, this novel might be my favorite thing she wrote. I think of this book every time I have to make the terrible multi-lane change entering downtown on the 101 freeway, every time I meet an aspiring actor with something seedy in his past, or drink Coca-Cola from a glass bottle. It’s such a dark, twisted space for exploration, and Didion isn’t afraid to… show more.