Staff Pick: Slow Days, Fast Company

Every summer like clockwork, I get the urge to re-read Eve Babitz. She possesses a level of humor and chicness I will probably never attain, and I like imagining I can understand her on a deeper level than everyone else because we share a birthday. She so effortlessly communicates the beauty in the simplest things, and no matter what book of hers I’m reading, I’m always left with the realization that I should be enjoying myself more.

Originally published in 1977, Slow Days, Fast Company consists of ten semi-autobiographical “sketches” of Babitz having fun and dating around, all with the larger goal of getting a man to read the book and fall for her. Maybe this premise should lead to a wider conversation about the ways in which women are taught to seek out validation from men, but Babitz is so charming that I can’t be compelled to critique her.

My favorite chapter is “Bakersfield,” in which Babitz meets a fan she’s been pen-paling with and accompanies him to his family’s vineyard. She is initially doubtful about leaving her beloved Hollywood for a few days in Bakersfield: “Two other things I didn’t see in Bakersfield were (a) platform shoes…and (b) diet colas.” However, she quickly sees the beauty in the people and culture there and makes me feel it too.  “…There I was, in heaven, only in Bakersfield.” This is one of the things I love most about Babitz’s writing; her lust for life is contagious, and she can find the humor in just about anything: “I had almost bought some grapes earlier in the year, but they cost $1.40 for a tiny bunch, and it occurred to me that I’d probably never eat grapes again. First, I’d abandoned them for Chavez, and now that the unions had won, grapes were out of my income bracket.” 

The book is a little bit hot, a lot of fun, and reads like she’s telling you everything over drinks; so, if that’s your vibe, I’d highly recommend it.