What readers say
4.5/5 ⭐️ i adored this. i picked it up at a bookstore along the beach from a shelf titled ‘hipster fiction’ after it being on the ‘books to buy’ list deep in my iphone notes. my first eve babitz, definitely not my last. sophisticated prose from the pov of a girl-turned-woman, navigating life in california. growing up surrounded by rich,movie star adjacent friends with no passion besides where the next party will be- jacaranda gets chewed up and spit out by LA. she’s innocent at first, with her bruised knees and surfboard scrapes; but when she decides to do what she loves- writing articles for magazines here and there- her friends abandon her in fear of being exposed. she spirals into bleak alcoholism, yet somehow manages to stumble upon an agent from new york who pushes her to write a novel. jacaranda is a muse, someone who people want to know- despite her own insecurities about who she appears to be. i love babitz voice, lyrical and girlish- almost like watching a sofia coppola film. i can visualize the pink-tinged glow of the scenes in my head while reading. as a new yorker who dreams of the west coast, i enjoyed this very much. i enjoyed the retro recaps of it-girl parties in beach towns, the dreamy hustle of corporate manhattan, the gaps in between.