Reading Response To "Play It As It Lays"

Name: Instructor: Institution: Date: Play It as It Lays The book Play as It Lays by Joan Didion begins with its main character, Maria Wyeth, lying in a neuropsychiatric hospital. The book introduces the readers to the story of this young lady from her childhood while she was living in Silver Wells. She lives a life full of difficulties with her unstable income for survival. Maria Wyeth blames her parent’s inconsistencies as the main cause for her problems. Maria dreams of becoming a star in her future life and as a result, starts acting and modeling so as to earn income. She later meets her boyfriend Ivan Costello, who only becomes interested in her hard earned money. Later on, Maria discovers that both her parents are dead. The realization forces her to withdraw from acting and as a result, her boyfriend Ivan Costello abandons her. Luckily, Maria joins Hollywood, where she meets her husband Carter Lang, with whom they are blessed with a baby girl called Kate. Unfortunately the child is mentally unstable and thus spends most of her life in hospital. Due to her desper...