"What makes Iago evil? some people ask."
-- Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion
Heroine Maria (pronounced Ma-eye-ah) follows this opener with the soul-deadened, "I never ask."
This short, bleak novel about Hollywood shows up on several "must read" lists, including the All-TIME Top 100 and Erica Jong's Top 100 books by women. I'm tearing through it because it is mesmerizing. But what a train wreck!