Equally good, if somewhat labored (Babitz's chief stylistic flaw is repetitiousness), is a pair of pieces about learning to tango, being swept up in the dance's 'fearless wrongness': funny, philosophical. Babitz was living proof that rock-and-roll decadence also could be elegant and that muses could be the sharpest tacks in the room.

Growing up with the Hollywoodland sign looming over her backyard and figures like Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo waltzing in and out of the house, she quickly acquired a taste for fast living. If anything her abilities only sharpened, her ways of linking certain self-obsessions with the wider world growing exponentially.According to Babitz's sister, "When I told Eve that The Huntington was very interested in her archive, she said, 'I would love to be with Blue Boy and Pinkie again, like when we were kids. EVE BABITZ is the author of several books of fiction, including Sex and Rage, Eve's Hollywood, and Slow Days, Fast Company. 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.

After the euphoria and idealism of the 1960s and ’70s, Los Angeles in 1992 had fallen short of the mark.Malcolm represents the East and Didion and Babitz represents the West, North West and South West respectively. Although for years Babitz’s writing flew below the radar, its cultural resurgence is now in full effect — her books have been reissued by NYRB Classics and Counterpoint Press, and a television series based on her work is in development with Hulu. really enjoyed this, although not as much as slow days, fast company but i think that's because i have a thing for the vibe of 60s/70s california. Black Swans is a collection of nine stories that look back on the 1980s and early 1990s—decades of dreams, drink, and stoned youth turning Republican. Similar to its author, Babitz's writing is also like the jacaranda tree in glorious bloom--bewitching an entire city, but all too brief.