This was always going to have instant impact.
Has been the ultimate goal for both aspiring dedicated writers and those who might be referred to as the "It" girls of the literary scene, with a focus on those who author seriously though you can't categorize oneself in only one genre.
Alternatively, a "It" girl who is now being taken seriously at last.
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Both aspects apply to Joan Didion and Eve Babitz. As described in the book, the two women were connected in ways previously little known before. For instance, it has been revealed that Didion once reviewed one of Babitz's books and that Babitz was alleged to have "fired" her. Arguably, very few were aware of these connections.
Though, as Anolik sets out, the two writers were less like twin flames - both looking at Los Angeles and its people through the lens of their distinct experiences - than opposing sides of their own reflections.
Consider it also as a meditation on style. Regarding how to use it, or why it has importance.
Of course, Philo, the self-proclaimed fashion guru for women with progressive thoughts, is a fan of Didion.
.
You're reading a description of Joan Didion. (Maria doesn't just have Joan's Corvette, Maria has anxieties similar to Joan's!) It was all, I think, deliberate, because she understood that to become a renowned writer, just like her idol Ernest Hemingway, everything had to be coherent and authentic: the tone of her writing and her personal image had to blend together seamlessly.
To put it bluntly, she was as aware of how clothes fit on her as she was of the way words are arranged on a page. She was forever fashionably stylish.
Babitz was something else. In fact, as Anolik - who tracked her down after discovering her books and found her unwell and living almost like a recluse - says, she was truly one-of-a-kind. Not everyone understood this when they met her.
Her life experience, taking it to the extreme, included posing nude for a chess game with surrealist Marcel Duchamp, which was photographed by Julian Wasser for Time magazine in 1963 - as well as an impressive list of rock 'n' roll romantic conquests.
Her writing - much of it, in many cases circulating under thinly veiled names, and a comprehensive list of influential personalities in 1970s Los Angeles, provided you're skilled at making educated guesses - failed to garner significant notice and limited praise upon its initial publication.
Weren't available until Anolik wrote a Vanity Fair profile of Babitz. At that point, Anolik writes, Babitz emerged from obscurity to take center stage.
The woman then informed Anolik that in the past, the fans who liked her were only men, whereas nowadays they are primarily girls.
She was invited to a sophisticated book club, arguably the most fashionable one in the world: Chanel's Les Rendez-vous Litteraires Rue Cambon. Her writing is talkative and lively, with a quirky and exotic style - and then sneakily conveys profound insights. It's no surprise many women - no matter their age - adore her writing.
She also possessed a certain style, which she used in various ways. This included, ironically, not using it in the context of fashion.
"Af nik:\, he enduring image of Eve is of per undressed, playing chess with Marcel Duchamp. Eve didn't need clothes, not even a fig leaf," says Anolik.
Differences between the women include: Babitz was a woman of sensual inclinations, while Didion was known for her preference for Coca-Cola and cigarettes. Babitz openly expressed her emotions and wore her heart on her sleeve, often using glamour and a focus on enjoying life as a defense mechanism. In contrast, Didion tended to keep some aspects of herself private.
A friend of Babitz's tells Anolik in the book that a sense of "style" was important to her from an early age. She also appreciated, the friend continued, women who possessed too much style to ever complain. This is why she chose glamour over a more realistic approach.
There is also the way the women were treated. A passage in the book describes a scene at a party where someone asks Joan Didion why she always wears those "sexy, intriguing dark glasses" and someone else responds with, "Well, don't you think you've just answered your own question?" The person then says that Didion was like an enigmatic figure in Greek mythology: "And when she spoke, everybody listened."
They contrast this comment with how John Gregory Dunne allegedly referred to Norma Jean as "the dowager groupie". Joan Didion's legacy was and will continue to be regarded as untouchable, yet Norma Jean's had to be reevaluated in light of what we now understand about life and living.
In the world of fashion and style, Jacqueline Babbitt was truly a visionary. Her unique and inimitable approach to fashion reflected her distinct personality, which was characterized by its unapologetic originality. This perspective aligns with Joan Didion's famous assertion: "We tell ourselves stories in order to live."
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