Jacqueline Susann's Shadow of the Dolls

April 23, 2001
This tedious, tame sequel to Valley of the Dolls
arrives 35 years after the original publishing phenomenon. Claiming to be based on a first draft by Susann (1921–1974), it certainly is aptly titled, as it languishes deep in the shadow of the original. Susann capitalized on readers' hunger for gossip by giving her fictional characters aspects of real-life celebrities, creating a thrilling guess-who puzzler featuring composites of Judy Garland, Ethel Merman and Dean Martin. Neither guessing games nor drug use (the other thrill of the original) play much of a role in Lawrence's novel. There's no sex either—not just by Susann standards, but even compared to a Regency romance. Seven times characters venture near a bed only to have the action abruptly skip over the deed with "Afterwards..." ("...he lit a cigarette"/ "...they turned the television back on"/ "...he brought her a fresh glass of water"). Fans of the rough and tumble, blunt but addictive prose and plotting of Susann's original will find this rambling series of episodes (there's not enough drive to pull them into anything resembling a plot) lacking. Neely, Anne and Lyon are all back (burdened with dull teenage kids), but the pseudonymous Lawrence has no idea what to do with them. Most of the notable events take place between chapters (Neely wins an Oscar for playing arch-rival Helen Lawson in a big-screen biopic, Anne and Lyon divorce, Neely aborts Lyon's child). Susann's original (reissued by Grove in 1997) still packs a wallop; the sequel is a pulled punch. (June 26)Forecast:Lawrence and
Valley of the Dolls are both record breakers: the former received a top advance for her 1987 debut,
Satisfaction, and the latter has sold a historical 30 million copies (and still sells 2,000–4,000 copies a month for Grove). Nevertheless, the two aren't going very far together. Susann is still a camp/cult favorites, but two lackluster biopics (
Isn't She Great and TV's
Scandalous Me) haven't heralded a revival. This novel will be get a lot of press coverage, and will be much talked about, but poor word-of-mouth will dampen sales. Expect a hit, but not a major one.

February 15, 2001
Just what you've been waiting for a sequel to Valley of the Dolls. The author of the best-selling Satisfaction has, shall we say, fleshed out the screenplay Susann left at her death. Appropriate beach fiction: it's set in the steamy Hamptons.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2001
\deflang1033\pard\plain\f3\fs24 Those who weren't around when Jackie Susann's \plain\f3\fs24" Valley of the Dolls\plain\f3\fs24 came out may not understand what a publishing phenomenon it was. Yes, it was a runaway best-seller, and, yes, it became the model for thousands of trashy commercial novels that followed in its wake, but \plain\f3\fs24" Valley \plain\f3\fs24 was also fresh, outrageous, and wickedly funny--all the things this paper-cutout version is not. Based on Susann's first-draft screenplay, the story, which features characters from \plain\f3\fs24" Valley\plain\f3\fs24, was fleshed into a novel by Lawrence, herself a best-selling novelist. She does a credible job of following the Susann format, but the problem here is that what was shocking in the 1960s just seems silly now. Speaking of the '60s, Lawrence plays with the original time frame. This book starts in 1987, but the characters are only 10 years older than when last seen. They would be Neely O'Hara, the weight-watching singing legend and pill popper, and Anne Welles, former model, future TV host, and pill popper. A new character is her teenage daughter, Jenn, fashion model and pill popper. There's not much to say about the plot other than everything that happens is expected, and almost nothing happens that isn't. The sex scenes are earnest; an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog is hotter. If Lawrence's version has one thing in common with the original, it's that the flow of dialogue still turns the pages. But this book is finally like a Cher impersonator: no matter how dead-on the trappings may be, you know you're not dealing with the real thing. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)