Black Swans: Stories

Eve Babitz is an LA writer who writes about LA in beautiful prose to reveal the magic, sadness, and beauty of both the city and her relationships.

All of her books are terrific

If you're in a reading slump and looking for a captivating short book, I highly recommend Eve Babitz. This book is a collection of nine short stories set in 1980s-90s LA—a love letter to the city and everything that makes it so special.

awesome

a rich LA girl dishing about all her fabulous lovers. Not like Joan Didion at all.

To love Eve Babitz is to mourn the fact that each "new" book that comes out -- in reality, mere re-releases of out-of-print earlier editions -- moves us closer to the day when there will be no more work to publish. The only unreprinted book she has left is TWO BY TWO (1999), about her late-stage obsession with dancing the Tango, a subject also covered in some depth here. In the meantime, celebrate the magnificence of this penultimate collection of "stories" (more like "essays" or "autobiographical sketches with the names changed," not that it matters much). There was a decade-plus gap between L.A. WOMAN (1981) and BLACK SWANS (1992), and I had worried the interim might have diminished Babitz's skills. This was, in retrospect, rather stupid of me. If anything her abilities only sharpened, her ways of linking certain self-obsessions with the wider world growing exponentially. 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. Witty, brilliant, self-effacing and profound all at once, it makes you want to track down her agent and beg for another book. Just one more, to let us know how Eve is doing now.

Great stories, beautifully written

I learned about Eve Babtiz recently from a Vanity Fair article. I was curious so I purchased this book that is a collection of stories. They are very well written and have a great, easy to read flow about them. I intend to purchase another of her books now.

Bought as a gift. Arrived beautifully and brand new. I know my girl friend will love it.

Sehr schönes Buch

A great read

Buen libro y buen servicio de de entrega

Storia bella e avvincente