Valley of the Dolls

By Jacqueline Susann

Book Overview

Story concerns three women in show business

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0937858021
• ISBN13: 9780937858028
• Release Date: January 1981
• Publisher: Newmarket Pr
• Length: 442 Pages
• Weight: 1.29 lbs.

Customer Reviews

My favorite book of all time

As a kid, my first experience with "Valley of the Dolls" was watching the film, after watching something else entirely on Sharon Tate. Unlike (what I believe is) popular opinion, I loved the film. So, when I realized it was an adaptation of a novel, I was interested in reading. I normally "pace" myself with books, trying to keep myself entertained by a story, or I end up shelving it...but Jacqueline Susann made characters I was invested in from the get-go, and I couldn't put the book down. To me, it's a classic. A classic worth re-reading over and over when the itch strikes. I think it's a difficult thing to do to tell a story from three different perspectives (three different main characters) without it feeling choppy. This is one of those things where I can't explain why I think it's so important and incredible, because you really do have to dive in for yourself.

like a SOAP OPERA... only better

This book was entertaining from the first few pages... it's long, but it doesn't seem tooooo long and doesn't drag on. It tracks the lives of three girls... and has ups and downs that the reader feels and experiences. Incredibly well written with not a slow moment. It seems timeless to me... of course, show business has changed, and drugs are easier to come by and more common.... this book appeals to people of all generations. ENJOY it over and over.

A Real Camp Powerhouse

As wonderful and satisfying as the film version of "Valley of the Dolls" is, nothing can compare to the dizzying rise and utter destruction of Susann's three heroines found in this, the original source material. Here are all the delicious cat-fights, the bleary eyed, drug-induced bitchiness we have grown to love and expect from Jacki's novels. Here, too, is MORE MORE MORE of the tough-as-nails Helen Lawson, a portrait only glimpsed at in the cimematic version. When Helen gives the demure Anne a tour of her penthouse pad uttering the imortal line, "See that bed? It's eight feet wide," Suzann knows she's hooked us for the long haul.A classic and necessary primer for all lovers of pure camp! Politically Correct? Suzann never heard the phrase in her life. Thank God.

AMAZING...the best book that I've ever read!

VALLEY OF THE DOLLS is more addictive than the pills that its heroines take. Sure, its trashy, but trash is by far the most entertaining form of literature. The story of three women's fame and descent into a miserable state of drug use and alchohol is entertaining all the way through. You learn to get to know the characters. You also get to love them, hate them, sympathize for them...its completely spellbinding. I looked forward to picking it up every night, and each night it was practically impossible to put it down ("COME ON..stop reading! You have to go to school tomorrow!") But I got to sleep easily, because each night after I reluctantly put the book down I would fondly recall what I had read. Its just fantastic...maybe I'll read it again. If you're a fan of the movie, I reccomend it even more. Its MUCH better than the film (which I LOVE). Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy, NOW!!!