Eve Babitz and Hollywood Culture

It is pure fun to follow Eve Babitz. In her collection of essays, “Slow Days, Fast Company” we trail her life through Los Angeles, experiencing the love affairs, the parties, the rain, and the Dodgers. We taste the sweet excess of Holllywood culture, the almosts of handsome strangers, and most of all the pure seduction of Babitz’s cool and direct prose.

Babitz pins down what makes Los Angeles so ordinary and extraordinary: old landmarks and baseball stadiums shine just as bright as new romances and dreams. The raw, electric power coursing through her language is that of a movie star. No one should whole heartedly believe the Hollywood “it” girl, but you do. She is commanding and persuasive, charming and sexy, and the stories roll over you like the Pacific on a hot day.

Each essay addresses some aspect of Hollywood, even when it takes place elsewhere, such as Palm Springs. Babitz sketches a portrait of herself through the eyes of her lovers, all of whom are ingrained in the volatile world of the hills. And while she sits in that world, and is gazed upon, she is also simultaneously above it. It is her awareness, her sharp critique of the reality she lives in that gives her the stand-alone power. Like any great writer, her eyes are ones that still and zoom out from the present moment, shading over it with reflections and wit so smooth and satisfying you can’t help but fall in love with her as well.