Blonde

Hello fellow readers! As promised, I am back with another blog entry as I have just finished Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates. As readers, I am sure you will understand what I mean when I say I need to recover after reading this book. Blonde is an intense 700-page journey into the life and thoughts of Marilyn Monroe. Although fictionalized, it is not a far stretch from reality because, as Margaret Culkin Banning once said, “Fiction is not a dream, nor is it guesswork. It is imagining based on facts, and the facts must be accurate or the work of imagining will not stand up.” 

The book follows a fictionalized version of Marilyn Monroe’s life, based mostly on her diary entries as well as interviews with friends and family. While the story is fiction, it does draw heavily on fact and gives an accurate portrayal of her life. However, it doesn’t start with her first big movie. Instead, it starts with her first marriage and quickly transitions into how she was discovered while working at a factory. The book then goes on to discuss her family history, her rise to fame, her various love affairs, and her slow decline into madness which resulted in her death. The book, while long, was gripping and easy to read. Even when I finished the 700 pages, I was left wanting more.

Now, I admit to having very little knowledge about Marilyn Monroe before reading this book. I had seen Some Like It Hot and knew that she had a reputation for sleeping around. Honestly, like many, I thought of her as the all-American, ditzy, blonde sex icon. But reading this book changed all that. The life of Marilyn Monroe was truly a tragic one, full of heartbreak, drugs, and usury. Never again will I be able to view her the same way. It is no mystery why this book is on the list and I highly recommend it. While it is a long book, it is worth the time and effort of reading it. The story is very detailed and doesn’t hold back on anything. Also, to enhance your experience of the book, I suggest watching the movies mentioned in the book; it is truly a life-changing experience. Again, this takes quite some time and means you will have to pause in your reading to watch the movie but it truly is worth it. Seeing Marilyn Monroe in movies and then reading about what was going on with her behind the scenes adds more to both the movies and book. It is definitely worth taking the time to do.

I hope you give this marvelous book a chance. And I would love to hear your thoughts on it if you do. It is definitely deserving of a place on this list. Until next time, happy reading!