Postcards from the Edge

Carrie Fisher’s novel, “Postcards from the Edge,” adapts elements from her own life in telling the story of Suzanne Vale, an actress who’s returning to life after a drug overdose. Fisher divides the novel into five sections, with the first section describing rehab from different perspectives through inner monologue and journal exercises. In the second section, Fisher portrays Suzanne meeting with a film producer on a date through monologue and dialogue, without any other description. In the last three sections, Fisher uses third-person narrative to tell how Suzanne begins work on a film while staying with her grandparents, going through a “normal” week, and beginning a relationship with an author.Throughout the story, Fisher grapples with several issues. Drug abuse and overdose forms a through line to the narrative, but Fisher uses the character Suzanne to convey the feeling of not being in control of life or never trusting happiness even when one has it, so that a person keeps looking for the next momentary joy, be it junk food, shopping, or drugs. Fisher writes, “I’ve been up, and I always felt like a trespasser. A transient at the top. I’ve got a visa for happiness, but for sadness I’ve got a lifetime pass. I shot through my twenties like a luminous thread through a dark needle, blasting toward my destination: Nowhere” (pg. 16). Even when Suzanne appears to have found happiness, she doesn’t trust it. Like most of Fisher’s novels, the work is semi-autobiographical and, in light of Fisher’s passing in 2016, seems all the more insightful. Fisher later adapted the novel as a screenplay for a film directed by Mike Nichols in 1990.

I've always LOVED this film!!! Though the film is QUITE different from the book. The format, the storyline, the way the "story" unfolds. It's very, VERY different, but that's okay w/me. I have an open mind. And Mike Nichols (whom I ADORE!!) took artistic liberty & I think he did a great job. He obviously was already friends w/Carrie Fisher & most likely Debbie Reynolds as well and either Carrie talked to him a lot about her funny, dysfunctional relationship w/her mother OR he witnessed it firsthand, or maybe some of both?But I'm not here reviewing the film, am I? Haha, though I'd be happy to!! Love it! Love Mike (as I said), love Meryl & Shirley's performances, so great & it's SO hilarious & TOTALLY my type of sense of humor: dry, witty, sarcastic. So: intelligently funny as I think of it.And the book is like that as well. Dryly funny. So sad (situations), that you have to laugh kind of thing. Then there is outright funny as well.I really relate to Carrie on top of it. Her thoughts, her insecurities, sooo many things.So while I wasn't jumping up & down with joy after or during reading it or telling everyone "omg you HAVE to read this book", I would recommend it to people. It's not for everyone. You have to be a fairly introspective person to enjoy it. She is hilarious though, but many people wouldn't get that. They would find it boring & say "well nothing is happening here? this is stupid!", but those are the ALL surface people that populate this world. Like she says: instant gratification takes too long! I agree w/that, but I also have the patience & intelligence to happily read such a book. Great job Carrie. I myself am writing a book. It too is hilarious & hopefully helpful (to women, and perhaps men?) as well. I have changed the names to protect the stupid and/or the innocent. Anyway.......

It’s not my favorite book by Carrie Fisher (Wishful Drinking or The Princess Diarist would probably be it) but I still loved it. Carrie Fisher and her characters have always been super relatable in their imperfections and I appreciate that. It’s a nice, easy read.

Carrie indeed is more than General Leila! She says it as it is and is (now was) very brave with her own struggles with all her own mental and physical challenges! I have always known that all that gliters is not gold but had never read this humorously pathetic and candid from an insider of the "Hollywoods" - a name which I find so pregnant with sarcasm! I would have loved to know if Suzanne Vale ever got to doing the legs!!! Carrie forever in my heart with gratitude for all the light she shed on mental health and illness and struggles and addiction etc! My recommendation of this book goes without any hesitation but be prepared to laugh so hard

This is a private look into the lives of the Hollywood celebrities,striving actors, actresses and writers. Carrie Fisher spins the tales and adventures of Suzanne Vale with a humorous twist that will surely have you laughing out loud. Suzanne spends time in rehab, has bouts with depression between acting jobs, witnesses the musical chairs of the dating game and indulges herself with high-end shopping sprees. Carrie Fisher gives a peek into the daily lives of those on the Hollywood scene and sheds light on the fact that ‘all that glitters is not gold.'

POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE is a semi-autobiographical novel based on the turbulent life of Carrie Fisher.The first third of the story recounting 30 days of actress Suzanne Vale's life in rehab was pretty intense, and nerve-racking reading (for me), and if you can get through the lives and stories of drug dealers, addicts and rather disgusting Hollywood types in those pages, the rest of the novel will be a breeze.While I loved the movie with its sarcastic and witty dark humor, the novel came across (for me) as kind of a downer, and except for a few similarities here and there, the novel is quite different from the flick.Overall, despite her Hollywood fame and superstar family upbringing, I came away from this read feeling sad and sorry for Carrie Fisher with the difficulties she faced with her health and life.Carrie Fisher 10-21-56 - 12-27-16

Livro de leitura fácil e cativante, difícil largar depois que começa. O livro é narrado em primeira e terceira pessoa, e não é quase nada parecido com o filme, então não compre o livro esperando ser um roteiro do filme, pois não é.

Admittedly I never did finish this book but read enough to know the style didn't suit me.Recommend you "buy" a sample to read before committing any money.It might help if one was a movie buff (I am not) and knew the real life background to this roman-à-clef.

Good book! Love Carrie Fisher. Written from personal experience disguised as fiction. Insight into hollywood life. Read it a couple times. I have read three of her books and they are all quick reads. All of them made me laugh out loud several times throughout!

Carrie Fisher's first novel is absolutely brilliant. I love her writing so much. She captures my imagination in a way that compels me to read and read, until there is no more to read!

Just reading it now. A good insight of the demons an addict has to fight with.