Play It as It Lays is a 1970 novel by American writer Joan Didion. Time magazine included the novel in its list of the "100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005". The novel has been credited for helping define modern American Fiction and has been described as an "instant classic". It is known for depicting the nihilism and the illusory glamor of life in Hollywood, as well as capturing the landscape and culture of 1960s Los Angeles.About the book, Joan Didion said, "I didn't think it was going to make it [...] And suddenly it did make it, in a minor way. And from that time on I had more confidence."The book bears some resemblance to Didion's life, as Didion also had a daughter with a psychological disorder and drove the same car as the protagonist of the book (a yellow Corvette Stingray). Like the protagonist, Didion lived in New York before moving to California. However, Didion asserted that the book was not autobiographical.The book was adapted into a 1972 film starring Tuesday Weld as Maria and Anthony Perkins as BZ. Didion co-wrote the screenplay with her husband, John Gregory Dunne. Source: Wikipedia (en)