Hollywood’s Eve

Eve Babitz came of age in Los Angeles in the 60s and 70s. She knew all the fun people and best places to go and partied like there was no tomorrow. She was a groupie and there was lots and lots of sex, drugs and rock and roll. As she approached her thirties she began to write autobiographical novels and short stories that were presented as fiction and didn’t receive much recognition. 

Lily Anolik, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, was intrigued by Eve’s story and tracked her down in 2012. By this time Eve was in her 70s and had suffered horrific burns when she dropped a lit cigar and her clothing caught on fire. She was living a reclusive life.

Anolik recently wrote a book about Eve’s relationship with Joan Didion that I wanted to read and someone suggested that I should read Hollywood’s Eve first. So I did and didn’t like it. Eve, as presented, was a narcissist who seems to have had a joyless life despite all the supposedly fun things she got up to. I didn’t get much of a sense of who she was and I lay that at Anolik’s feet. I think I’ll wait for a bit before I read Didion and Babitz.