While Eve sees some people, especially men, men as adventures territory to conquer, her early experiences lead her to keep some restraint, getting as close as possible but not enough to experience the often life and death negative consequences. The desire for reality and truth among nonconformists, not found with the “beautiful people”, had pitfalls requiring some limits to rebellion. She willingly identified with cowards, getting out of town when needed.
Her interaction with the handsome man who drove her from the party (Pg 49) reminded me of the time my “uncle” came for a visit and when I went to give him the traditional kiss on the cheek, he turned and kissed me on the mouth with his tongue out. “See that. Now be careful,” he said and walked pass me while I stood stunned. It is relatable – the multiple emotions that instances like this evoke, and the relief that putting words down outside of yourself brings is real. If you are a writer, you will not stop once you’ve started.
I’ve been told that some of my writing lacks emotion, so I find her style interesting and encouraging. Where I might think she would have strong emotions, her style seems matter of fact, but is supported by how much she chooses to share about them (or it) rather than a description of her feelings. I wondered what happened to Johnny S. We know she started writing in earnest after he died. That is enough. I hope I can do this in my writing.
Eve’s Hollywood, to use my Granny’s phrase, “sweets me”. (Granny would see me giggle while reading and say “Ah, it sweet you, huh.” In her Montserratian. I got lost in Eve’s monologue as though she were right there chatting with me the way my irreverent cousin Daphne did when we were kids.
Some of the people who come and go in her life are like guideposts along the way. There is a sort of destiny, a path that Hollywood provides. She couldn’t save them if she tried. But she can go far with them before jumping off the train.
Love this: Carol was perfect like me, only Black.
I enjoyed meeting her cast of witnesses, including the family of tourists that came to take a photo at Hollywood and Vine, who substantiate her existence along with Hollywood’s.
I loved Babitz’s form – the chapters and their varied shapes, the chronological linearity but without a rigid A then B then C, the blending of memoir with a “biography” (a “geography”?) of Los Angeles. But I was not interested in her or her experience and that surprised me. Part of it, I think, was her tone, what seemed to me like too-cool-for-school posing, masquerading as matter-of-factness. I also had mixed feelings about her use of “callback” (if that’s the right term) – starting a story here, going there, then circling back at the end to where she started. I generally like that, but wasn’t crazy about how often that circling back ended with what felt like a “zinger” at the close of the chapter.
The chapter I found most “successful” was the last (The Rendezvous) because I finally felt her emotions – love, sexual and emotional excitement fueling her days, sadness, that decision to take action to forestall anticipated pain, the script and the shipwrecking of the script. And I liked the self-referential-ness of it, using her “writing” of the conclusion of the relationship with the conclusion of the book.
All to say, I appreciate Avril for flagging the issue of “emotion” in Babitz’s writing because I did miss it! So I am eager to hear more from my classmates and why they enjoyed this book!
I noticed this lack of emotion in the writing as well, but I perceived it as a style that reflected a certain “coolness” of the southern California culture of the time. Or at least how many people who didn’t grow up that there may perceive it. In that case, I think it accurately reflects a crafted persona that Babitz adopted to help give sense of time (her age, being a teen, etc.) and place.