Valley of the Dolls follows the lives of three women in the entertainment industry in post WWII America. We rotate POVs from our three heroines as they become embroiled in situations we erroneously tend to think were taboo in the media from the past—infidelity, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, abortion, sexual violence, marriage traps, drugs, et al—all while scarfing pills, which they refer to as "dolls." This novel is high-level soap opera. Think Ryan-Murphy-does-Mad-Men with the entertainment industry as the back drop instead of advertising. In fact, it's sort of suspicious that Murphy hasn't adapted this yet, given that his entire career could be viewed as a reaction to reading this novel as a youngster.

"Any downside?" - Just whatever the usual knocks are against soapy melodramas from people who really ought to have known better before reading or watching them. There is also a kind of subtextual conservatism to the book. Our libertine, modern-women, main character all get their comeuppance for the sin of trying to have it all. But fortunately the high-camp fun of the book drowns that out.

"Worth my time?" - 100%. Two divas get in a fight in a club bathroom in this book and one throws the other's wig in the toilet and flushes until it overflows and floods the ladies room. You should know from that description alone if this book ticks your boxes.

RPC Episode: https://rss.com/podcasts/readingpopclassics/1309369/