Hollywood's Eve is a biography of Eve Babitz that knowingly blurs the line between subject and writer. Normally, I am not a fan of biographers inserting themselves into the story, but it works here. 

Lili Anolik’s deep affection for Babitz and her work is obvious, and though this makes for an unabashedly subjective portrait, Anolik is very upfront about it.

The first half mythologises Babitz’s heyday as Los Angeles' ultimate it-girl: sex, drugs, rock and roll, famous lovers, and the iconic naked chess photo. Yet even within the glamour, Babitz remains a carefully crafted mystery. The second half shifts its focus to her complicated family relationships, addictions, eccentricities, and political turn towards the far right in later life. 

Overall, Babitz does not come across as especially likeable, either as a young woman or as she grows older, but that feels entirely the point. Anolik makes space for the idea that women do not need to be likeable or palatable to be interesting.

The only real flaw is the book’s persistent and rather unnecessary comparisons between Babitz and Joan Didion. To me, it felt like pitting two women against one another, with Anolik’s clear preference for Babitz occasionally grating. 

In the end, Hollywood's Eve made me want to revisit Babitz’s writing. My first reading of Slow Days, Fast Company left me unsure, but after this, I am tempted to give it another try.