Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik: nonfiction book review

Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik Overview: Joan Didion and Eve Babitz are defining LA writers, and it turns out, they ran in similar circles and even briefly worked together. Still, Didion and Babitz painted strikingly different pictures of LA, and their careers took vastly different trajectories. While Didion only grew steadily more famous until she became a literary icon in old age, Babitz's career flamed out early and without much note before being revived many decades later, elevating her books and aura back into a Didion-level conversation. This is the story of Didion and Babitz, but if I'm being honest, this is really a book about Babitz and the author's obsession with the writer. Overall: 3 Notes: I didn't think I would have such strong feelings about a book about two people I didn't go in with many feelings about. I'd read an excerpt of Didion in a creative writing workshop in college and listened to an audiobook about her, and I picked up Babitz...