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sabrinames's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use
Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
agnesbebon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
I think Stephanie Danler’s introduction to this book is perfect. She perfectly captured Eve and this novel. I particularly found myself going back to where she wrote, “There are half a dozen moments in Black Swans that feel disturbing in hindsight (Eve’s lack of political consciousness is hard to read in 2018...).”
Eve Babitz has a wonderful writing style. As Danler writes, “her stories often felt like unfinished sketches. Observations never coalescing into an investigation, with each piece skirting any moral footing from first sentence to last.” Her writing is fun, beautiful, and dances around The Point in a way I found delightful.
I choose to look at this book as self-aware satire, which is why I’m rating it at 4 stars. I recommend reading the book through this lens, and I often found myself wondering if she wrote it that way - it’s biographical fiction, after all. I loved how the stories were all connected, yet inconsistent (I love an inconsistent narrator), and floated back and forth through time.
Eve Babitz has a wonderful writing style. As Danler writes, “her stories often felt like unfinished sketches. Observations never coalescing into an investigation, with each piece skirting any moral footing from first sentence to last.” Her writing is fun, beautiful, and dances around The Point in a way I found delightful.
I choose to look at this book as self-aware satire, which is why I’m rating it at 4 stars. I recommend reading the book through this lens, and I often found myself wondering if she wrote it that way - it’s biographical fiction, after all. I loved how the stories were all connected, yet inconsistent (I love an inconsistent narrator), and floated back and forth through time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Alcohol
Moderate: Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Fatphobia, Suicide, Drug abuse, and Death
Minor: Cancer
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