Sex and Rage: A Novel
Product ID: 44185754
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER "This novel is studded with sharp observations . . . Babitz's talent for the brilliant line, honed to a point, never interferes with her feel for languid pleasures." -- The New York Times Book Review The popular rediscovery of Eve Babitz continues with this very special reissue of her novel, originally published in 1979, about a dreamy young girl moving between the planets of Los Angeles and New York City. We first meet Jacaranda in Los Angeles. She's a beach bum, a part-time painter of surfboards, sun-kissed and beautiful. Jacaranda has an on-again, off-again relationship with a married man and glitters among the city's pretty creatures, blithely drinking White Ladies with any number of tycoons, unattached and unworried in the pleasurable mania of California. Yet she lacks a purpose--so at twenty-eight, jobless, she moves to New York to start a new life and career, eager to make it big in the world of New York City. Sex and Rage delights in its sensuous, dreamlike narrative and its spontaneous embrace of fate, and work, and of certain meetings and chances. Jacaranda moves beyond the tango of sex and rage into the open challenge of a defined and more fulfilling expressive life. Sex and Rage further solidifies Eve Babitz's place as a singularly important voice in Los Angeles literature--haunting, alluring, and alive. Review: Every Last Bit! - Ok, I'm one of those women that is hard to please. I still like an actual book, not a kindle which makes no sense as I am always reading at least 7 books. The reason I am always reading 7 books is that I get bored so easily with all these books they tell me are best sellers. A best seller should be based on how many people actually finished the book not how many bought it and left it sitting on a nightstand until it was covered with dust at which time it was wiped off and dropped off in one of those cute little book houses in your neighborhood that you put worthless books that you can't finish into so you don't have to stare at them any longer on your nightstand. How kind of me to share a bad book with someone else. I justify it by thinking of the money I saved them and I anticipate how long it will be before the book is back in the little house. If it takes a long time and returns, then I guess it endured the same fate it had on my nightstand. Anyways just like this tangent I enjoyed the many Character tangents Ms. Babitz went on. Describing a character or situation. I loved the neurotic character of Jacaranda and enjoyed every last word of this book. I didn't really like the ending but I guess it was fitting. And as far as the title Sex and Rage I was disappointed that there was very little sex in the book which left me in a bit of a rage. Maybe that was the point? Fun book that will be read again and never end up in the little book house as I have too many people I'd love to share it with. Review: This book was a good coming of age store - This book was a good coming of age store, but definitely was a bit confusing at times with all the back and forth stories and character references coming in and out of the story.
| Best Sellers Rank | #55,901 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #189 in Biographical & Autofiction #1,115 in Women's Friendship Fiction #3,204 in Literary Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.0 out of 5 stars 868 Reviews |
G**L
Every Last Bit!
Ok, I'm one of those women that is hard to please. I still like an actual book, not a kindle which makes no sense as I am always reading at least 7 books. The reason I am always reading 7 books is that I get bored so easily with all these books they tell me are best sellers. A best seller should be based on how many people actually finished the book not how many bought it and left it sitting on a nightstand until it was covered with dust at which time it was wiped off and dropped off in one of those cute little book houses in your neighborhood that you put worthless books that you can't finish into so you don't have to stare at them any longer on your nightstand. How kind of me to share a bad book with someone else. I justify it by thinking of the money I saved them and I anticipate how long it will be before the book is back in the little house. If it takes a long time and returns, then I guess it endured the same fate it had on my nightstand. Anyways just like this tangent I enjoyed the many Character tangents Ms. Babitz went on. Describing a character or situation. I loved the neurotic character of Jacaranda and enjoyed every last word of this book. I didn't really like the ending but I guess it was fitting. And as far as the title Sex and Rage I was disappointed that there was very little sex in the book which left me in a bit of a rage. Maybe that was the point? Fun book that will be read again and never end up in the little book house as I have too many people I'd love to share it with.
B**4
This book was a good coming of age store
This book was a good coming of age store, but definitely was a bit confusing at times with all the back and forth stories and character references coming in and out of the story.
G**I
Meh
I have read a lot of Eve Babitz and I am accustomed to (and usually adore) her sparkling but sparse prose. However if you like things to be explained to you, this book isn't for you. The details are so sparse and require the reader to fill in SO MANY blanks that reading becomes an exhausting exercise. Get "Slow Days Fast Company" instead and thank me later.
N**D
Great book
The Eve Babitz book
S**B
I read it as a belletrist book club selection and I'm so glad that they chose it
I'm thankful for the resurgence of this book! I read it as a belletrist book club selection and I'm so glad that they chose it. Though a bit sleepy at times and with a central character who you may want to shake aggressively, this book quickly became one of my favorite reads this summer. I live in LA - not far from West Hollywood - and this book often made me feel as though no time had passed since it was first published in 1979. It was magic!
B**N
EVE BABITZ IS A WONDERFUL DISCOVERY, IF YOU DONT ALREADY KNOW ABOUT HER.
This is one of my favorite books from my twenties. The story just draws you in. The author is a captivating writer. I’m so glad this was reissued because I had a first edition in the original version which was lost ha! during a nasty divorce. Old copies of the book, not first editions, were selling for astronomical prices due to the rediscovery of Eve Babitz, the author. So at least I now have a new paperback copy.
M**A
Not that well written
The plot kind of jumps around. I'm reading it because I purchased it, however it jumps around and you are left like "WHAT HAPPENED IN BETWEEN. I DON'T GET IT." Maybe some people enjoy that. However, I don't.
C**M
Pretentious and beautuful
Babitz can write! And Jacaranda is beautifully sculpted. From being a big-headed surf weed into a callused alcoholic and then back. The ride is like surfing. The beauty is almost always sad and a little high society cliché. The proof is in the pudding: I read this novel compulsively, with the ravenous hunger of my teens and twenties.
L**T
Sex not rage
Lots of sex, not so much rage.
B**D
Great holiday read
I read this whilst on holiday and it's a good read. Loved the characters, loved the setting.
A**R
A good book
This was bought as a present and was well received.
L**A
Não canso de Eve Babitz...
Àqueles que disseram não ter sexo e raiva o suficiente, é por que não entendenderam ou não perceberam a magia de Eve com as suas descrições. Ela é muito glamurosa, ama o tango e sex and rage vem de vários episódios no livro e fora dele, pra quem já leu seus outros. A acho fantastica, perfeita e devoro os seus livros, sem parar, sempre que começo. Amo amo amo! Ainda comprarei os que faltam, quando precisar ver a vida de um jeito como Eve o vê.
L**R
Davvero consigliato
Brillante, sarcastica e lucida: l’autrice è davvero fenomenale. La scrittura è snella ma tutt’altro che scarna. Storia davvero graziosa, in questo freddo gennaio in lockdown davvero fa bene leggere di quei caldi e bei posti.
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