I didn’t know I’d love this as much as I did! Eve Babitz is a bit of a legend, a Hollywood muse, and I thought it was really powerful to hear the muse “talk back”. Here’s her flesh and her story and her LA.
The framing of the book is Eve writing this memoir for someone she loves, so it has a beautiful confessional tone. “This is why I am who I am. Can you love me?”.
But it’s also an excellent archival piece of LA and its glitterati in the 60s and 70s. Eve herself spends a lot of time talking about architecture, cityscapes, and spaces. She’s got a great eye for detail, but also for the “energy” of a place.
There’s a lot of wild days and nights, disappointments, some despair, but also a wild wit and intelligence running through. It’s the sort of book with some many moments you just go “yes, that’s what that’s like”.
It’s a very human book that sounds true and honest, yet also remains glamorous and entertaining.
One word to describe this book: confessional.
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