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A review by writtenontheflyleaves
Sex & Rage by Eve Babitz
adventurous
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Sex & Rage: Advice to Young Ladies Eager for a Good Time by Eve Babitz 🏄♀️
🌟🌟🌟✨
🏄♀️ The plot: Jacaranda Leven (pronounced "Jack-a-rand-a") grows up on the beach in LA surrounded by wealth and glamour. She takes her scrappy surfer's mentality with her into this world and, for the most part, manages to maintain her balance - until she meets Max, a cunning, Gatsby-esque figure whose coterie of elites adopt Jacaranda for some local colour when they're in LA. She slips into alcoholism and it will take writing a book and getting sober to get her life back in balance again.
This is a fun book with an even more fun title - even if it is one it doesn't quite live up to. Jacaranda is, to my understanding, pretty much a fictionalisation of Babitz herself, and it is entertaining following her as she flits around 1970s LA. The writing is good, and the way the story is told - in short bursts with witty subtitles, almost like newspaper articles - is fun to flit through.
I think my objection is simply that the glittering surface is nice, but you don't get to dig into much beneath it. Max and Jacaranda's relationship is the most well-drawn part of the book, and the parties she goes to aboard what she calls his "barge" are dreamy and sinister. However, the directness promised by the title isn't there, and I don't think there's much in the way of strong emotion at work here. Sex and rage are referenced but not really split open and explored in any detail, and as a young lady eager for a good time myself, I don't think I learned much about how or where to find one. Overall, 10/10 title, 6/10 book!
🏄♀️ Read it if you like memoirs or Joan Didion as she and Babitz are often pitted against each other, or if you want a nice easy beach read.
🚫 Avoid it if you're looking for something with plot or a more searching, psychological edge. Or if you want advice for how to have a good time!!
🌟🌟🌟✨
🏄♀️ The plot: Jacaranda Leven (pronounced "Jack-a-rand-a") grows up on the beach in LA surrounded by wealth and glamour. She takes her scrappy surfer's mentality with her into this world and, for the most part, manages to maintain her balance - until she meets Max, a cunning, Gatsby-esque figure whose coterie of elites adopt Jacaranda for some local colour when they're in LA. She slips into alcoholism and it will take writing a book and getting sober to get her life back in balance again.
This is a fun book with an even more fun title - even if it is one it doesn't quite live up to. Jacaranda is, to my understanding, pretty much a fictionalisation of Babitz herself, and it is entertaining following her as she flits around 1970s LA. The writing is good, and the way the story is told - in short bursts with witty subtitles, almost like newspaper articles - is fun to flit through.
I think my objection is simply that the glittering surface is nice, but you don't get to dig into much beneath it. Max and Jacaranda's relationship is the most well-drawn part of the book, and the parties she goes to aboard what she calls his "barge" are dreamy and sinister. However, the directness promised by the title isn't there, and I don't think there's much in the way of strong emotion at work here. Sex and rage are referenced but not really split open and explored in any detail, and as a young lady eager for a good time myself, I don't think I learned much about how or where to find one. Overall, 10/10 title, 6/10 book!
🏄♀️ Read it if you like memoirs or Joan Didion as she and Babitz are often pitted against each other, or if you want a nice easy beach read.
🚫 Avoid it if you're looking for something with plot or a more searching, psychological edge. Or if you want advice for how to have a good time!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Moderate: Drug use and Violence