rachel’s Reviews > Black Swans > Status Update

Do you have an opinion on the Didion vs. Babitz debate? I’ve only read Didion, so curious to hear your thoughts if you have any!

@EK i'm fans of them both! i'd say currently i'm appreciating babitz more because you can tell she has fun writing, which is delightful to experience as a reader, whereas didion is pretty austere as you know. w/r/t the debate, i've seen some people online say that the way lili anolik presents their friendship is more dramatic than it really was/not as contentious as she made it out to be. i haven't read any of anolik's books about eve though i'm sure i will eventually, but from the articles i've read/skimmed by her, i'm inclined to believe she did play up their friendship & feud. either way both great authors and it's kinda goofy that you can't bring up eve without someone also mentioning joan—like, can we just discuss this author on her own merit and not her ties to another woman author? idk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ probably a longer reply than you wanted hahaha but my 2¢!