History Literature / PlayItAsItLays

* ArcWords: "Maria said Nothing". The word "nothing" pops up a lot throughout, especially near the climax of the book where [[spoiler:BZ kills himself]]. The nothingness is even apparent in the book's structure; pages usually have a lot of empty space on them. Taken UpToEleven whenever a chapter consists of nothing more than a single tiny paragraph.

''Play It as It Lays'' is a classic 1970 novel by Joan Didion, centering around a former actress and model named Maria Wyeth, her feelings [[EmotionlessGirl (or lack thereof)]], her complicated family history, and her relationships with the many actors, directors, producers, and other celebrity wannabes who surround her.

''Play It as It Lays'' is a classic 1970 novel by Joan Didion, centering around an aging Hollywood actress named Maria Wyeth, her feelings [[EmotionlessGirl (or lack thereof)]], her complicated family history, and her relationships with the many actors, directors, producers, and other celebrity wannabes who surround her.

This is not a happy novel, nor is it a pleasant one. And that's also the point. Reading it sometimes feels like getting heatstroke injected directly into your brain (the desert is, incidentally, a prominent location in the story). Nevertheless, it is also a brilliant dissection of Hollywood in the late sixties.

''Play It As It Lays'' is a classic 1970 novel by Joan Didion, centering around an aging Hollywood actress named Maria Wyeth, her feelings [[EmotionlessGirl (or lack thereof)]], her complicated family history, and her relationships with the many actors, directors, producers, and other celebrity wannabes who surround her.

This is not a happy novel. It's also not pleasant. And that's also the point. Reading this book sometimes feels like getting heatstroke injected directly into your brain (the desert is, incidentally, a prominent location in the story). Nevertheless, it is also a brilliant dissection of Hollywood in the late sixties.

In 1972, it was adapted into a movie of the same name. The screenplay was produced by Didion and her husband.

''Play It as It Lays'' is a classic 1970 novel by Joan Didion, centering around an aging Hollywood actress named Maria Wyeth, her feelings [[EmotionlessGirl (or lack thereof)]], her complicated family history, and her relationships with the many actors, directors, producers, and other celebrity wannabes who surround her.

''Play It as It Lays'' is a 1970 classic novel by Joan Didion. It focuses on a struggling Hollywood actress named Maria Wyeth, her feelings [[EmotionlessGirl (or lack thereof)]], her complicated family history, along with the many actors, directors, producers and other celebrity wannabes that surround her.

The book begins with three short first-person monologues, each one given their own chapter and showcasing the thoughts and feelings of a different character. These set [[EstablishingSeriesMoment the tone of the story]] and the plot that follows. Maria is currently in a Los Angeles neuropsychiatric hospital [[AmbiguousSituation for reasons that are not quite clear]] and she apparently thinks that this is fine. Her ex-husband Carter Lang's and her friend Helene's respective chapters reveal that they are both extremely upset and disappointed in her after an incident involving the death of someone named BZ. [[HowWeGotHere The book then goes back in time to before all of this, and we slowly learn how the situation played out.]]

This is not a happy book. It's also not pleasant. And that's also the point. Reading this book sometimes feels like getting heatstroke injected directly into your brain (the desert is, incidentally, a prominent location in the story). Nevertheless, it is also a brilliant dissection of Hollywood in the late sixties.

* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: It's pronounced "Mar-EYE-ah".

* YourCheatingHeart: Maria's ex, Carter, is fooling around with BZ's wife, Helene.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Maria ends up on the receiving end of these multiple times, usually because others are frustrated that she's become so emotionless. Carter seems to go back and forth between insulting her and pleading her to open up to him.

* UsefulNotes/NewHollywood: Set and published during this era.

* ShoutOut:
** The first line of the book is [[{{Theatre/Othello}} "What makes Iago evil?"]]
** Someone hums [[Music/ColePorter "I Get a Kick Out of You"]] at one point. [[spoiler: [[MoodDissonance That point being the car ride on the way to the doctor that would shortly perform Maria's abortion.]]]]
** Numerous brands are namedropped throughout, likely as part of the story's satire of American life.

''Play It as It Lays'' is a 1970 classic novel by Jaon Didion. It focuses on a struggling Hollywood actress named Maria Wyeth, her feelings [[EmotionlessGirl (or lack thereof)]], her complicated family history, along with the many actors, directors, producers and other celebrity wannabes that surround her.

* Sliding Scale of Cynicism and Idealism: Very cynical in both tone and content, [[spoiler:though the lead's revelation near the end can come off as surprisingly uplifting, depending on how you see it.]]

'Play It as It Lays' is a 1970 classic novel by Jaon Didion. It focuses on a struggling Hollywood actress named Maria Wyeth, her feelings [[EmotionlessGirl (or lack thereof)]], her complicated family history, along with the many actors, directors, producers and other celebrity wannabes that surround her.

-->'''Jeanelle:''' I'm Jeanelle.
-->''[Janelle leaves]''