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Blonde  By  cover art

Blonde

By: Joyce Carol Oates
Narrated by: Jayne Atkinson
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Publisher's summary

She was an all-American girl who became a legend of unparalleled stature. She inspired the adoration of millions, and her life has beguiled generations of fans and fellow artists. The story of Norma Jeane Baker, better known by her studio name, Marilyn Monroe, has been dissected for more than three decades, but never has it been captured in a narrative as breathtaking and transforming as Blonde.

In her most ambitious work to date, Joyce Carol Oates, one of America's most distinguished writers, reimagines the inner, poetic, and spiritual life of Norma Jeane Baker, the child, the woman, the fated celebrity, and tells the story in Norma Jeane's own voice: startling, rich, and shattering.

Drawing on biographical and historical sources, Joyce Carol Oates evokes the distinct consciousness of the woman and the unsparing reflection of the myth, writing as she has never written before, ecstatic, completely absorbed, inhabited as if by the spirit of her extraordinary subject. Rich with psychological insight and disturbing irony, this mesmerizing narrative illumines Norma Jeane's lonely childhood, wrenching adolescence, and the creation of Marilyn Monroe.

With fresh insights into the heart of a celebrity culture hypnotized by its own myths, Blonde is a sweeping novel about the elusive magic of a woman, the lasting legacy of a star, and the heartbreak behind the creation of the most evocative icon of the 20th century.

©2001 Joyce Carol Oates (P)2001 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Atkinson narrates Oates's fictional biography of Marilyn Monroe in an intense, slightly husky voice that immediately grabs and holds the listener's attention." (Publishers Weekly)

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What listeners say about Blonde

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    5 out of 5 stars

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? NO UNABRIDGED VERSION?

What would have made Blonde better?

If I could have listened to the entire darned thing, instead of quitting 1/10 of the way through to read the REAL book. The narration was fantastic, and this is an incredible work of literature. WHY it had to be ruined...I have no idea.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved everything about it...too bad I was missing a HUGE part of the point.

Which scene was your favorite?

The one that I read afterwards when I had to RE READ THE BOOK to get the whole story. Possibly the one with Norma in the car, since THAT WAS COMPLETELY LEFT OUT AND CHANGED THE MEANING OF EVERYTHING.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I absolutely adore this book. It's just too bad that it has been decided for us that we aren't intelligent or patient or deep enough to listen to the entire thing. JCO, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING????

Any additional comments?

I am so disappointed. I'd love a refund since I had to stop listening and buy the book anyway, once I realized all that I was missing out on.

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65 people found this helpful

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Why not "unabridged"

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I hate when publishers only support a summary of the book or an "abridged" version. It's offensive to people with reading disorders who will not receive the full benefit of the book.

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48 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Seriously need to redo the audio!!!

The narrations jumps all over the fucking place, skips some chapters and hundreds of paragraphs!? This seriously annoying and horrible, the book is great though the audible narration is a hot fucking mess omg!!!

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18 people found this helpful

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My Own Fault for Not Noticing

I finished this audiobook thinking, "man, that book could have been awesome, but it felt like the skeleton of an amazing book." It was only then that I saw the word, "abridged," on the file. Curse me for being stupid and curse the monster who invented abridgments and curse the punk who thought this book should abridged.

As it stands, this abridgement was fine. JCO makes a few speculative leaps about the inner workings of Norma Jean cum Marilyn, that feel spot-on. It was the first book I've read where someone really tried to understand the mechanisms of Marilyn's genius. ...and she as a genius at what she did, unquestionably. She was just so good; so talented; so funny.

When JCO comes to Marilyn's sing-song at JFK's birthday I stopped listening and watched the footage on Youtube. She's clearly a little tipsy, and perhaps out of her league in that den of Ivy League privilege, but they were only more educated than Marilyn. They were not smarter, and they might scorn her, but they absolutely bowed to her genius too. All she does is take off a coat and take a breath, and the room is hers. It's incredible.

Anyway, I don't know if I'll go back and read the unabridged version now. Marilyn had a hard life, and this is an equally hard book. It's brilliant, but not pretty.

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9 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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I didn't know it was abridged

I read this book a long time ago in book club and we all loved it. Although I had trouble dealing with the strange way the narrator broke up phrases and paused for odd breaths mid sentence, I tried to stay with it as I recalled really enjoying the book. When it ended I didn't understand why I liked it so much back then. Out of curiosity, I looked in the reviews to see if anyone else was a bothered by the delivery as I was, and saw that it is abridged. Now it all makes sense. One long waste of time in my opinion. Read the book.

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8 people found this helpful

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  • PJ
  • 10-09-18

Great but wish it wasn’t abridged

This is an amazing book and very well done but it was abridged and I didn’t know that

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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This bombshell keeps making her way into my heart!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely! the author of this book and narrator really brought you close to Marilyn. It was a pleasure to listen to. I couldn't put it down.

What did you like best about this story?

The intimacy you got to share with marilyn from her fist moments to her last.

If you could rename Blonde, what would you call it?

i Wouldn't i think this title was perfectly chosen. it really is a metaphor for the story.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Couldn't stop listening

Rarely write a review, but the melding of prose and reader was so perfect. I don't care about the historical accuracy ... it was psychologically convincing and mesmerizing.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Conflicted points of view

While lending credibility to the possibility that Marilyn Monroe was misused and misunderstood, reports of her talent are over stated by the author. The voice of the narrator tells us of her lovers, while secondary reports tell us of her depravity. If you accept only the narrator's perspective, then you will be sympathetic to Marilyn's plight. If you believe the narrator's voice telling you how brilliantly she did in "Misfits," then you'll wonder why her name isn't mentioned today with the same reverence as, say, Katherine Hepburn.

What you do gain is insight into the early Hollywood heydays where the studio controlled all and starlets were merely chattel. If this interests you, you will enjoy "Blonde." As a fictionalized biography, Blonde covers most aspects of Marilyn's life yet she still comes off as vacuous in the book as she did in the movies. As with any novel, the key is in having a charater you care about. It's hard to care for Marilyn. I even listened to the interview with the author regarding her character development, but while I could see Oates' craft in the novel, "Blonde" was only fair.

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5 people found this helpful

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5 stars

The narrator's smoky, Peggy Lee voice pairs perfectly with JCO's emotional, sinister, always real take on Marilyn's life. A must read.

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4 people found this helpful