First of all, is this one of the greatest book jackets of all time? I think so. Love it.
This book is not at all what I imagined. For some reason I thought the plot was all about Stepford wives – women almost robotic in their ability to be the perfect image of femininity and motherhood. I pictured it set in Los Angeles (AKA the Valley) and thought the word ‘doll’ referred to the women.
Not at all. Actually it is the story of three young women who are brought together in Manhattan as they each come up in the world of showbiz. Then, thanks to poor decisions, being used by every man that comes across them, and a steadily increasing dependence on red pills to get them to sleep and green pills to perk them up again and help maintain their thin, svelte physiques, they start the descent back down to the bottom again. It was written in the late 60s, but still feels incredibly relevant today. It is well written, funny at times, but also overwhelmingly tragic. There is a quote at the back saying that ‘Susann didn’t become the queen of girl trash for nothing’. I don’t know what the rest of her books are like, but this is not just some trashy chick fic novel. It is absolutely addictive and I think men would enjoy it as much as women.
Next, I have been told I have to read some Jilly Cooper. I can’t be a woman working in publishing until I have, apparently. This is the first book I have been tasked with. Seriously. I know it has 26 5 star reviews on Amazon, but can I actually ride the tube reading a book with that cover? I’m not 100% sure about this…
Katie Sadler 