A Hollywood Tale of the '60s and '70s - Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A.

I was intrigued by this book, not so much by Eve Babitz, whom I'd heard of, but knew little about, but because I was interested in the music scene in L.A. in the 60s and 70s. So many great musicians emerged from that time period, and they are many of the ones with which I most identify, as I grew up with their music and they are still among my favorites today.

It seems Eve Babitz was the premier party girl of those freewheeling times... everybody's groupie, having relationships with a string of musicians and actors. Reading about her sexual exploits, her extreme drug use and freeloading on her lovers and friends became almost distasteful after a while. Too much is ultimately too much.

Babitz was also a writer and album cover artist, though whether or not she was a good one, I don't know. I'll make that judgment once I have read some of her work. The author of this book, Lili Anolik, seems pretty divided in her own assessment of Babitz's writing, though she is clearly obsessed with (and most likely jealous of) her.

Anolik's book is vaguely chronological, but also jumps around so much, it is often difficult to keep track of the events of Babitz's life. Some names appear and reappear so frequently... Jim Morrison, Harrison Ford, Steve Martin, David Crosby, Don Henley, Joan Didion, Michelle Phillips and many others who found their first fame at that time. There are often many references to Marilyn Monroe, whose death seemed to be the divide between the 50s/early 60s and the later years of the 60s/early 70s.

The book drops a lot of names and is peppered with anecdotes, but seems to be without true insight into the period. Some of the outstanding musicians who emerged at the time, Joni Mitchell and Carole King among them, don't even appear, and this seems odd.

The author also inserts herself way too much into the narrative. Is the book about Babitz and the L.A. music scene or is it about Anolik and her compulsion with Babitz? I'm leaning towards the latter, and frankly, that's a bit of a bore.