Black Swans: Stories

To love Eve Babitz is to mourn the fact that each "new" book that comes out -- in reality, mere re-releases of out-of-print earlier editions -- moves us closer to the day when there will be no more work to publish. The only unreprinted book she has left is TWO BY TWO (1999), about her late-stage obsession with dancing the Tango, a subject also covered in some depth here.In the meantime, celebrate the magnificence of this penultimate collection of "stories" (more like "essays" or "autobiographical sketches with the names changed," not that it matters much). There was a decade-plus gap between L.A. WOMAN (1981) and BLACK SWANS (1992), and I had worried the interim might have diminished Babitz's skills. This was, in retrospect, rather stupid of me. If anything her abilities only sharpened, her ways of linking certain self-obsessions with the wider world growing exponentially. Though it's hard to compare anything to the sheer burst of joy and exuberance that was EVE'S HOLLYWOOD, BLACK SWANS is a close second place. Witty, brilliant, self-effacing and profound all at once, it makes you want to track down her agent and beg for another book. Just one more, to let us know how Eve is doing now.

I love Babitz’s stories of LA. She captures the 80s and 90s, especially the riots and the Chateau Marmont. I hope Babitz decides to come out of retirement. Pretty please.

Eve Babitz is an LA writer who writes about LA in beautiful prose to reveal the magic, sadness, and beauty ofboth the city and her relationships.

I learned about Eve Babtiz recently from a Vanity Fair article. I was curious so I purchased this book that is a collection of stories. They are very well written and have a great, easy to read flow about them. I intend to purchase another of her books now.

such a good book and it’s great quality!

Great stories, beautifully written

This is a personal thing, so I want to put it out there.She is a beautiful writer, I just wasn't so enamored of this particular story of this period of LA, but it's her story to tell.

This collection is the last anthology of Babitz's stories to be published, (1993), and is my favorite. Babitz is the person who told Steve Martin to put on a white suit, and who told Jim Morrison that "The Doors of Perception" was too pretentious a name for a band and had to be shortened. So, as far as I'm concerned, she is the ultimate chronicler of 70's and 80's L.A. and every single important thing that ever happened there, then.Babitz is smart and observant and insightful, of course. But she's also generous, good-hearted, forgiving, and very funny. Anyone can puncture L.A., but it really takes one to know one, and Babitz, (the wise Hollywood High grad), is sly, wry and sometimes surprisingly vulnerable. She was always a little bit ahead of the curve, and since the curve seems to be coming back around to money, status, and celebrity, her work is as pertinent today as it was when first published.This time around we cover a generous range of topics. Her piece on jealousy didn't do a lot for me at first, (until I saw where she was going), but I enjoyed every line of her commentary on L.A.'s hundredth birthday. The Tibet piece perfectly captured the cluelessness that first met the advent of AIDS, and "Black Swans" is an exquisitely modulated and restrained recounting of how the struggle between men and women can guarantee everyone's unhappiness. Her takes on conspicuous consumption, marriage for money, self-enchanted stars, and so on are somehow both lacerating and indulgent, which I guess rather suits such topics.Babitz is sometimes portrayed as just a party girl who got lucky, and maybe just a slightly smarter Edie Sedgwick, but that misses the mark by a long shot. Like the Zelig of L.A. at a pivotal point in its history she was everywhere, knew everyone, remembered it all, and, most importantly, understood it all. And, happily, she shares it with us.(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Bought as a gift. Arrived beautifully and brand new. I know my girl friend will love it.