She is sad and tortured, used by picture companies and tossed aside in her late twenties as “too fat” and no longer with it.Īt first, I felt sympathetic for Neely- ruined by fame and the exploitation of male producers. But this fame soon starts to affect her mental health. She moves to Hollywood, acting in pictures and slowly losing touch with reality.įor someone like Neely, this glamorous world is so tempting. After getting a big break at a young age, she is catapulted into fame and stardom. Neely comes from nothing, and she is best friends with Anne when she first moves to the city.
The final viewpoint focuses on Neely O’Hara. Because that’s all she’s got, and when that goes… that’ll be the end of Jennifer.” “I don’t think she’s much of an actress, but she has one hell of a face and body. In fact, she is the first to start popping pills (or “dolls”, as the women call them). Throughout the book she never manages to maintain a happy, healthy lifestyle. I found her story incredibly sad, particularly as it drew to a close. Men constantly take advantage of her, and she is used and abused for her beautiful body. Her struggles reflect women’s attempts to stay young. When the book starts, she is 25 years old but pretending she’s 19, and she constantly takes part in ritualistic beauty routines and exercises to convince people she is younger than she is. ‘Valley of the Dolls’ also focuses on the story of Jennifer North, a typical rising star who is hiding her true identity and age. She holds on longer than the other women, but just like them she ends up in the Valley of the Dolls. I was really sympathetic about Anne’s story, as she just wanted to escape small-town life and she never had the intention to become famous. I want things to happen to me.”Īnne is beautiful and straight-talking, but even she is brought into the world of fame and fortune as a television actress. They married, had children, and that was it. Giving up before it begins… nothing ever happened to anyone in my family. “My identity, maybe my future, my whole life. But Anne doesn’t know who he is, and she is soon swept up in a world of parties and outings, finding herself engaged to Allen despite her loud protests. Not long after arrival in New York, Anne meets Allen Cooper- he’s rich and famous in New York. All she wants is to build a life away from her family town and away from a loveless marriage. She is desperate to escape small town life, getting a new job as a secretary for an agent in New York. The book starts from Anne’s point of view.
This book focuses on three women in their search for a new life.
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