51 pages • 1 hour read
Play It As It Lays
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
Play It as It Lays is a novel by Joan Didion published in 1970. It was named one of TIME’s 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923-2005, cementing its status as one of the greatest works of American literature. In 1972, the novel was adapted for film, and Didion and her husband co-wrote the screenplay.
Joan Didion is known for her fiction and nonfiction as well as for screenplays and a memoir entitled The Year of Magical Thinking. She has received numerous awards, including the St. Louis Literary Award, the National Book Award for Nonfiction, the Evelyn F. Burkey Award, and a Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. Didion received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Harvard University in 2009 and another from Yale University in 2011. In 2013, she received the National Medal of Arts. Other works by this author include Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album.
Plot Summary
Maria (pronounced Mar-eye-ah) Wyeth Lang is a 31-year-old actress who lives in Beverly Hills. She has been institutionalized in the University of California, Los Angeles’s Neuropsychiatric ward ever since her friend Unlock all 51 pages of this Study Guide Plus, gain access to 8,850+ more expert-written Study Guides. Including features:
Related Titles
By Joan Didion
