--- product_id: 7542073 title: "Blonde: A Novel Paperback – September 15, 2009" brand: "joyce carol oates" price: "€ 47.97" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 12 url: https://www.desertcart.sk/products/7542073-blonde-a-novel-paperback-september-15-2009 store_origin: SK region: Slovakia --- # Blonde: A Novel Paperback – September 15, 2009 **Brand:** joyce carol oates **Price:** € 47.97 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Blonde: A Novel Paperback – September 15, 2009 by joyce carol oates - **How much does it cost?** € 47.97 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sk](https://www.desertcart.sk/products/7542073-blonde-a-novel-paperback-september-15-2009) ## Best For - joyce carol oates enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted joyce carol oates brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![Blonde: A Novel Paperback – September 15, 2009 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51djZfR7P9L.jpg) ![Blonde: A Novel Paperback – September 15, 2009 - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51+0WyXj-7L.jpg) ![Blonde: A Novel Paperback – September 15, 2009 - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31gIaSS6gjL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Blonde Ambition *by J***S on Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2021* Americans have long had a love affair with our original sexy blonde icon, Marilyn Monroe. Even Billie Eilish these days is channeling Marilyn. After her untimely death in 1962, interest in Marilyn's story peaked again in 1974 when her unfinished autobiography, My Story, was published. The book is an easy, straightforward read from beginning to end, and it details her constant battles with the studio bigshots who unsuccessfully kept trying to get her into bed with them. She called them all “wolves.”Joyce Carol Oates writes the fictional biography, Blonde (2000), in which JCO exhaustively researches the person Norma Jean Baker and the icon that was 'Marilyn Monroe,' and then tells her story with great imagination and psychological insight. The underlying question in Blonde, and on all the minds of those of us who are obsessed with 'Marilyn Monroe,' is why do Americans still love this busty, flirty woman with the breathy voice and voluptuous hips? Norma Jean as 'Marilyn' created her own style of stardom, and her movies showcased her casually flaunted sexuality with her seeming inattention to the uproar she created simply by walking onto the movie set. Bus Stop (1956), Some Like It Hot (1958), Let’s Make Love (1960), with Yves Montand, her co-star and apparently at the time her lover, and her last movie The Misfits (1961), filmed while her marriage to Arthur Miller was breaking up, are probably her most famous. She was ambitious and her movie characters prominently displayed that ambition. Michelle Williams was great as Marilyn opposite Kenneth Branaugh in My Week with Marilyn (2011). I'm looking forward to Ana de Armas as Marilyn in the screenplay of JCO's Blonde (not out yet as I write this.) (P.S. It's out now on Netflix, and Ana de Armas is spectacular as Norma Jean's 'Marilyn Monroe').JCO masterfully reveals the innate skill Norma Jean brought to each of "Marilyn Monroe's" movie characters, showing how she inhabited her specific role as an archetypical character, each different, each easily recognizable as a living personality. JCO also reveals the inner character of each of Norma Jean's three husbands, the clueless young buck, the brutal ex-athlete, and the self-conscious intellectual. All eventually mistreated her.Norma Jean's slow descent into grave abuse of prescription drugs (amphetamines, barbiturates, tranquilizers) and alcohol didn't help matters any, as she began to suffer from insomnia, memory loss, lethargy, lack of mental focus. Indeed, the Studio provided easy access to their Dr. FeelGood for prescriptions, which Norma Jean (and other Studio actors) relied upon to manage the stress and anxiety they experienced when filming. Our pop icons of the 1950's paid a heavy price with eventual loss of their health from addiction to pills and alcohol: Elvis, Brando, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, and others in addition to Norma Jean's 'Marilyn Monroe.'In her Author's Note introduction to Blonde written just before 2000, JCO characterizes her monumental work of fiction as 'synecdoche'--the specific for the general--clearly meant among other things to reference the experience Norma Jean had with the Studio system and its horrible sexual exploitation of the young, pretty women who aspired to be in the movies by the men holding absolute power over them. JCO anticipates the MeToo Movement and the Harvey Weinstein revelations by well more than a decade. There are very graphic scenes in the novel of such exploitation (among others, a particular scene with "Mr. Z," and we all know who she is referencing) and the acquiescence of others, including older women, who have positions in the Studio system. They all knew, but no one blew the whistle. At the time, the only way to overcome this institutional exploitation was to become such a popular star in her own right that the Studio had to bend to her will. That, indeed, was what Norma Jean accomplished. She paved the way for generations of talented, beautiful actresses to practice their craft without having to sacrifice themselves to the creepy, pathetic lust of the powerful Studio executives. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Terrifying and wonderful *by A***4 on Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2023* I have read most of the MM books and by far the best of them is this whirlwind of fiction as fact (or fact as fiction) and remarkably seductive tale of this tragic heroine. You cannot help but feel absolutely compassion and admiration and sorrow for this force of nature that became a goddess. She has become as important and as relevant as any historical character and has defined what America is actually all about, the grandeur the wonder and the emptiness and the tragedy of fame. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A good read *by Y***4 on Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2023* The novel was good for what it was. If you read it with the understanding that this is fictional story loosely based on Marilyn's life, it is very interesting and enjoyable. If you expect an accurate biography of Marilyn, it will be disappointing.The stream-of-consciousness writing takes some getting used to, and there are places where the timeline is incongruent which is jarring, but all in all, it was a very good book. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sk/products/7542073-blonde-a-novel-paperback-september-15-2009](https://www.desertcart.sk/products/7542073-blonde-a-novel-paperback-september-15-2009) --- *Product available on Desertcart Slovakia* *Store origin: SK* *Last updated: 2026-05-24*