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Books like Play It as It Lays
A sun-bleached, razor-sharp descent into the hollow core of 1960s Hollywood and the fractured psyche of a woman with nothing left to lose. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Play It as It Lays.
- sun-bleached
- arid
- dread-soaked
- claustrophobic
- hollow
- 01
The White Album
Joan Didion
A restless, mosaic-like exploration of a culture in the throes of dark and bizarre transformations.
- 02
Slow days, fast company
Eve Babitz
A sun-drenched, martini-soaked love letter to the glamorous decay of 1970s Los Angeles.
- 03
The Big Sleep
Raymond Chandler
A rain-slicked descent into a glamorous but rotting city, guided by a cynical knight in a trench coat.
- 04
Valley of the dolls
Jacqueline Susann · 1966
A glittering, pill-popping descent into the glamorous and ruthless underbelly of mid-century show business.
- 05
Hollywood Wives
Jackie Collins · 1983
A deliciously decadent, gossip-fueled romp through the sun-drenched, scandal-ridden mansions of 1980s Los Angeles.
- 06
The Black Dahlia
James Ellroy
A feverish, pitch-black descent into mid-century Los Angeles where obsession rots the soul and justice is just another hustle.
- 07
South and west
Joan Didion
A raw, sun-bleached glimpse into the unvarnished notebooks of a master observer tracing the fault lines of American culture.
- 08
City of Night
John Rechy
An unflinching, neon-lit journey through the gritty margins of mid-century America, pulsing with restless energy and the search for self.
- 09
The Lady in the Lake
Raymond Chandler · 1943
A sun-drenched descent into the moral rot of mid-century California, guided by a cynical but secretly honorable detective.
- 10
The desert of the heart
Jane Rule
A sun-drenched, mid-century awakening where the stark heat of the Nevada desert thaws a lifetime of rigid repression.
- 11
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Horace McCoy · 1977
A relentless, neon-lit descent into the grueling spectacle of American desperation.
- 12
Ask the Dust (P.S.)
John Fante
A feverish, sun-baked hustle through 1930s Los Angeles, fueled by manic ambition and doomed romance.
