Reading, Writing, and Me

Black Swans  by Eve Babitz Overview: I don't know how to summarize this collection of stories. I don't think I've ever been so at a loss for summary ideas. This is a collection of essays that purport to be short stories that cover Babitz's life in the eighties and into a bit of the nineties. They cover themes of becoming a writer, rollercoaster relationships, tango, and the fallout of the sixties in LA. Also, there's a fair bit of musing about parking. Overall: 4 Notes:  Where to start... I guess my first major point is that I have no clue why this is shelved in the fiction section. I know she changed some names, but having very recently read Didion & Babitz  I know that many of the details are exactly extracted from Eve's life, and not in a veiled way. Also, the voice in every story is the same. Or, more precisely, the main character, the first person narrator is the same person over and over who happens to be undeniably Eve from every indicator I can tell....

Audition  by Katie Kitamura *preface: the way I've seen this book talked about before interviews sees what happens at the second half of the book as a spoiler. I, personally, don't think you can have a meaningful and honest discussion about what this book does without acknowledging the entire second half, so I'm going to talk about it. You've been warned.* Overview: The actress at the center of the novel is in the middle of a career high in middle age, about to open an incredibly successful play. She lives in a nice apartment with her husband and has a fairly settled, if not boring, life. And then she's approached by a 25ish-year-old man named Xavier at the theater. He wants to know if she could possibly be his biological mother. She explains this is impossible, but Xavier remains in her orbit as the director's assistant and intrigues the actress, making her image if her life had played out differently. In the second half of the book, the script flips and sudden...