Book Review: The World of Dystopia

For our third book project I decided to read books within the genre of realistic dystopian fiction. Keeping within the limits of this genre I read Valley of the Dolls and The Virgin Suicides to learn more about this unconventional genre. Normally , dystopian fiction takes place in fantastical scenes that could never be measured into existence, however, these two novels illustrate several girls’ plunge into human misery.

The first book I read was Valley of the Dolls, which takes place over the span of about 15 years. It showcases the rise and , unfortunately, the fall of three girls in the entertainment industry. The book describes this process as “climbing mount Everest” in the prologue:

You’ve got to climb to the top of Mount Everest
to reach the Valley of the Dolls.
It’s a brutal climb to reach that peak,
which so few have seen.
You never knew what was really up there,
but the last thing you expected to find
was the Valley of the Dolls.
You stand there, waiting for
the rush of exhilaration
you’d thought you’d feel - but
it doesn’t come.
You’re too far away to hear the applause
and take your bows.
And there’s no place left to climb.
You’re alone, and
the feeling of loneliness is overpowering.
The air is so thin you can scarcely breathe.
You’ve made it - and the world says
you’re a hero.
But it was more fun at the bottom
when you started,
with nothing more than hope and
the dream of fulfillment.
All you saw was the top of that mountain -
there was no one to tell you
about the Valley of the Dolls.
But it’s different
when you reach the summit.
The elements have left you battered,
deafened, sightless - and too weary
to enjoy your victory.

After all three stars make it to the top, one by one they begin to make their descent. This stumble to the bottom incorporates heartbreak, betrayal, addiction, and eventually suicide.

Although, the book may be depressing, it has served as an influential part in modern and classic pop culture. In 1967 the book was adapted into a film, which in itself has left a lasting imprint into the film industry. In 1999, American band – Bright Eyes – released a song, called Neely O’Hara, featuring one of the three main characters in the book, discussing her struggle with the oppressive industry of Hollywood.

And like Neely O'Hara you swallow your sleep
And wake up in the morning
To find out you are not who you used to be.

Lastly, Valley of the Dolls was part of the inspiration for the album Electra Heart by Marina and the Diamonds. Her album touches on the underlying sadness and oppressive forces that fill the cracks of American culture. Specifically, she released a song directly called Valley of the Dolls, where she sings about self-identity, heartbreak, and finally compares the struggle to that of a shooting star. In the night sky they look bright and beautiful, but they are fleeting, and all the while – decaying.

The intricate nature of the book and the small, hidden society surrounding it gives it an energy different from most books. Yes, it is dark and gloomy, and not for the faint of heart, but in this way, it leaves you with a resonating feeling that you just read something great.

The second book I read was The Virgin Suicides. This is a haunting tale about a family of five daughters who, over the course of a year, kill themselves, one-by-one. Under the overprotective turned oppressive forces of their mother, Mrs. Lisbon, the girls are trapped in their home, contemplating about the world around them. The first to attempt suicide was Cecilia Lisbon. She was different from the rest, yet still managed to infect the other four girls with a parasitic invasion of depression; especially after her second suicide attempt, which was the attempt that ended her life.

The story is told from the point of view of the neighborhood boys whom obsessed over the Lisbon girls. Years later they still find themselves trying to solve the mystery of the Lisbon suicides, “in the end we had pieces of the puzzle, but no matter how we put them together, gaps remained, oddly shaped emptiness mapped by what surrounded them, like countries we couldn’t name” (page 241). The boys narrate the events through hazy descriptions and an eccentric authenticity that transforms the suburban American life into a mythological dreamscape. They turn the girls into creatures completely disjoint from the sovereignty of society. These girls are people who know everything there is about everything: love, hate, life, and death.

Some people believe the suicides occurred primarily because of their overbearing parents, others believe Cecilia’s suicide was the reason, but most of all, their inability to accept an imperfect world, so full of flaws, is what drove them to the edge of death.

I highly recommend this book be added to everyone’s bucket list for reading material. Even what should be the most ordinary of descriptions peel off the page with dimensional life, “[we wondered if we had ever really known them or if our vigilance had been only the fingerprinting of phantoms” (page 182). In all honesty, I have no idea what that meant, but I really don’t care because it sounds cool so whatever.

After reading both books, I began to draw some similarities and differences between the two. First off, they were both written in completely different styles. The Valley of the Dolls was written in pure dialogue and action, but on the other hand The Virgin Suicides was written in very flowery language/descriptions with dialogue and action dispensed sparingly. This goes to show that dystopian fiction is not in any way restricted to a certain format of writing.

But I did find that both books included depressing aspects such as drugs, suicide, heartbreak, depression itself, and a longing for a world that doesn’t exist. The two books, on a deeper level, illustrate how human beings can change and ways of escape, except with a gloomier feel. Many books contemplate ways for us to escape our lives. For example, Looking for Alaska was based upon one question asked by Alaska Young, “how will we ever escape this labyrinth of suffering?”

We live in a crazy world, built on shambles where people, me included, read to escape the (w)holes of our lives. After reading these dystopian novels, I haven’t found myself submerged in a new world, but instead have come to the realization that we live in one.

Cultures across the world have different ways and forms for escape, but what are they escaping? Possibly the mundane trials of everyday life? Or maybe the horrors recognized in these dystopian novels? Most dystopian books are fantasies, but Valley of the Dolls and the Virgin Suicides have reached a whole new level of dystopia, by bringing it into the rooms of our own homes and cities. Maybe these books are trying to tell us something: are we the ones living in the world of dystopia? Pouring our feelings of our entrapment onto the pages of books, we fill libraries with books of human emotions, new hope, ways to succeed, and stories of adventures we’ll never know firsthand. These authors believe they have discovered answers to our dystopian lives, but have any of them really found any solutions to our problems? We’ll never know, but we continue this cycle because what’s important isn’t the answer itself, but instead the comfort that you found one.