Lili Anolik Knihy

The goddaughter of Igor Stravinsky and a graduate of Hollywood High, Eve Babitz posed in 1963, at age twenty, playing chess with the French artist Marcel Duchamp. She was naked; he was not. The photograph made her an instant icon of art and sex. Babitz spent the rest of the decade rocking and rolling on the Sunset Strip, honing her notoriety. There were the album covers she designed: for Buffalo Springfield and the Byrds, to name but a few. There were the men she seduced: Jim Morrison, Ed Ruscha, Harrison Ford, to name but a very few. Then, at nearly thirty, her It girl days numbered, Babitz was discovered-as a writer-by Joan Didion. She would go on to produce seven books, usually billed as novels or short story collections, always autobiographies and confessionals. Under-known and under-read during her career, she's since experienced a breakthrough. Now in her mid-seventies, she's on the cusp of literary stardom and recognition as an essential-as the essential-LA writer. Her prose achieves that American ideal: art that stays loose, maintains its cool, and is so simply enjoyable as to be mistaken for simple entertainment

Joan Didion is revealed in this provocative and moving work that explores the complex relationship between Didion and fellow literary figure Eve Babitz. In a letter from 1972, Babitz questions Didion's writing, hinting at the tensions in their dynamic. After Babitz's death in December 2021, her mother discovered sealed boxes in her apartment, containing a lost world from the late sixties and early seventies centered around a Hollywood rental at 7406 Franklin Avenue. This space became a vibrant hub where writers, artists, and celebrities mingled, playing a crucial role in shaping Didion's enigmatic persona and her storied marriage to John Gregory Dunne. Simultaneously, it marked the rise of Babitz, a woman whose fiery spirit and connections with icons like Jim Morrison defined her life. The friendship between Didion and Babitz evolved from camaraderie to conflict, revealing the complexities of their bond. Despite Didion's confessional style, she has remained an enigma. Journalist Lili Anolik skillfully utilizes Babitz's keen observations and intimate letters found in those boxes to illuminate Didion's character, offering insights into her life and work that have long been hidden.