8.6 /10 1 Votes
4.5/5 Barnes & Noble Publication date 2000 ISBN 0-06-019607-6 Country United States of America | 4/5 Goodreads Language English Pages 738 pp Originally published 2000 Publisher HarperCollins Genres Fiction, Novel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (hardback & paperback) Nominations Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, National Book Award for Fiction Similar Works by Joyce Carol Oates, Fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Blonde is a bestselling 2000 historical novel by Joyce Carol Oates that chronicles the inner life of Marilyn Monroe, though Oates insists that the novel is a work of fiction that should not be regarded as a biography. It was a finalist of the Pulitzer Prize (2001) and the National Book Award (2000). Rocky Mountain News and Entertainment Weekly have listed Blonde as one of Joyce Carol Oates's best books, and Oates herself has said that Blonde is one of the two books (along with 1969's them) for which she thinks she will be remembered.
Contents
Length and editing
At over 700 pages, Blonde is Oates' longest work of fiction. In an interview she said, "I intended it to be a novella, somewhere around 175 pages, and the last words would have been 'Marilyn Monroe.' But over time, I got so caught up in her world that I couldn't stop there. The final result was this book. The first draft was, originally, longer than the version that was finally published. Some sections were shortened while others had to be surgically removed from the book. Those sections will be published separately."
Names
Although many notable names are changed, Oates sometimes uses recognisable initials such as "C"- a male co-star of Some Like It Hot (presumably Tony Curtis) and more controversially, "R.F"- the commander of the Sharpshooter sent to eliminate Monroe. Many conspiracy theories have Robert F. Kennedy, United States Attorney General and brother of President John F. Kennedy, involved in Monroe's silencing, following her alleged affairs with both brothers. Only a relationship with the President is explored in the novel.
In Blonde, Monroe's husbands Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller are referred to as the Ex-athlete and the Playwright respectively, with their real names never mentioned. James Dougherty, Monroe's first husband, appears under the pseudonym Bucky Glazer.
Adaptations
In 2001, the novel was adapted into a CBS mini-series of the same name, which followed the novel closely; The New York Times reported that "Often the director read the scene in the novel just before shooting it." The mini-series departed from the novel in that it does not address the idea (which Oates discusses at length) that Monroe may have been assassinated.
A film adaptation of the novel is currently in the talks and will be written and directed by Australian filmmaker Andrew Dominik. Jessica Chastain is in talks to portray Marilyn Monroe.