Facing a daunting month of boredom in ‘Bama over Christmas break, I picked up a copy of Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. Once I did, time flew by as I read the finest book ever written.
Oh Shakespeare was a mighty fine writer, I grant you, but Susann leaves Hamlet in the dust.
First published in 1966, Valley of the Dolls is a raw account of the lives of three aspiring actresses. Characters Anne Welles, Neely O’ Hara, and Jennifer North go to New York City with nothing more than a dream to rise to the top of Broadway and Hollywood in the mid 1940’s.
These women become unlikely friends as they rise, little by little, up the ladders, with the help of those beautiful red, yellow and blue pills, or “dolls.” And just when everything comes together, everything falls apart.
Susann’s record-breaking, blockbuster classic was years ahead of its time, providing a jolting account of the underbelly of show business, with its drugs, alcohol, sex, betrayal, drama, raunchy love, and obsession. And with characters so real, you have to stop and think, “now who does that remind me of?”
Anne thinks about her life one day and finally decides, “this is not enough.” So she leaves her hometown of Lawrenceville, a place where people go to die. Then she meets Lyon Burke in New York, and nothing is ever the same.
Neely is a showgirl raised in vaudeville. When she is given a chance to star in a Broadway show with stage legend Helen Lawson, her climb up Mount Everest has begun.
Jennifer’s lack of talent is made for by a warm heart, a flawless face, and a pair of breasts that make men melt like butter on a sizzling skillet. Her body is her greatest strength but ultimately proves to be her greatest weakness,
And mixed in with the high drama and sensational plot are those beautiful, beautiful dolls, the pills that start as escape and end in destructive addiction.
Jackie Susann pours all of her creative talent and passion into this cult classic, and it is sure to leave even the heartiest reader aching with pleasure in this naughty and scintillating epic.
As Susann writes in the prologue, “You have to climb to the top of Mount Everest to reach the Valley of the Dolls.”
Let’s go.