11 Best literary fiction books like Black Swans by Eve Babitz

Black Swans

By: Eve Babitz

3.66

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

In nine stories that look back on a decade of dreams, drink, and stoned youth turning Republican, B…

If you liked the literary fiction plot in Black Swans by Eve Babitz , here is a list of 11 books like this:

Cover of Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion, David  Thomson

1. Play It As It Lays

By: Joan Didion , David Thomson

3.92

Format: 231 pages, Paperback

A ruthless dissection of American life in the late 1960s, Play It as It Lays captures the mood of a… read more

Similar categories in Joan Didion's Play It As It Lays book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • literary fiction
  • classics
  • feminism
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"The letter is still in my makeup box but I am careful not to read it unless I am drunk"

-Joan Didion, Play It As It Lays

"Carter and Helene still believe in cause-effect. Carter and Helene also believe that people are either sane or insane."

-Joan Didion, Play It As It Lays

"Carter and Helene still ask questions. I used to ask questions, and I got the answer: nothing. The answer is “nothing."

-Joan Didion, Play It As It Lays

"She could remember it all but none of it seemed to come to anything. She had a sense the dream had ended and she had slept on."

-Joan Didion, Play It As It Lays

Cover of The White Album by Joan Didion

2. The White Album

By: Joan Didion

4.05

Format: 224 pages, Paperback

First published in 1979, Joan Didion's The White Album records indelibly the upheavals and aftermat… read more

Similar categories in Joan Didion's The White Album book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • classics
  • essays
  • short stories
"Somewhere between the Yolo Causeway and Vallejo it occurred to me that during the course of any given week I met too many people who spoke favorably about bombing power stations."

-Joan Didion, The White Album

"I have trouble maintaining the basic notion that keeping promises matters in a world where everything I was taught seems beside the point. The point itself is increasingly obscure."

-Joan Didion, The White Album

"A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest, remembers it most obsessively, wrenches it from itself, shapes it, renders it, loves it so radically that he remakes it in his image..."

-Joan Didion, The White Album

"Making judgments on films is in many ways so peculiarly vaporous an occupation that the only question is why, beyond the obvious opportunities for a few lectures fees and a little careerism at a disp…"

-Joan Didion, The White Album

Cover of Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion

3. Slouching Towards Bethlehem

By: Joan Didion

4.19

Format: 238 pages, Paperback

The first nonfiction work by one of the most distinctive prose stylists of our era, Joan Didion's S… read more

Similar categories in Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • classics
  • essays
  • short stories
"Happiness is,' after all, a consumption ethic."

-Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem

"There is a common superstition that “self-respect"

-Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem

"The ability to think for one's self depends upon one's mastery of the language."

-Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem

"The future always looks good in the golden land, because no one remembers the past."

-Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Cover of South and West: From a Notebook by Joan Didion

4. South and West: From a Notebook

By: Joan Didion

3.69

Format: 160 pages, Hardcover

From the best-selling author of the National Book Award-winning The Year of Magical Thinking two ex… read more

Similar categories in Joan Didion's South and West: From a Notebook book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • short stories
  • essays
"I've never been any place I wanted to go."

-Joan Didion, South and West: From a Notebook

"It was the kind of Sunday to make one ache for Monday morning."

-Joan Didion, South and West: From a Notebook

"The devastation along the Gulf had an inevitability about it: the coast was reverting to its natural state."

-Joan Didion, South and West: From a Notebook

"The time warp: the Civil War was yesterday, but 1960 is spoken of as if it were about three hundred years ago."

-Joan Didion, South and West: From a Notebook

Cover of The Idiot by Elif Batuman

5. The Idiot

By: Elif Batuman

3.66

Format: 423 pages, Hardcover

A portrait of the artist as a young woman. A novel about not just discovering but inventing oneself… read more

Similar categories in Elif Batuman's The Idiot book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"For a while now, I have been conscious of a tension in my relationship with you,"

-Elif Batuman, The Idiot

"Lighting a match felt exciting and a little bit dangerous, and when the flame came into contact with the paper, it made a sound like the needle coming down on a record player—like the music was about…"

-Elif Batuman, The Idiot

"For the first time in my life, I couldn't think of anything I particularly wanted to study or to do. I still had the old idea of being a writer, but that was being, not doing. It didn't say what you …"

-Elif Batuman, The Idiot

"Suddenly it occurred to me that maybe the point of writing wasn't just to record something past but also to prolong the present, like in One Thousand and One Nights, to stretch out the time until the…"

-Elif Batuman, The Idiot

6. Black Swans

By: Eve Babitz

3.66

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

In nine stories that look back on a decade of dreams, drink, and stoned youth turning Republican, B… read more

Similar categories in Eve Babitz's Black Swans book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • literary fiction
  • classics
  • feminism
  • short stories
  • essays
  • fiction
  • contemporary
Cover of The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir, Patrick O'Brian

7. The Woman Destroyed

By: Simone de Beauvoir , Patrick O'Brian

3.75

Format: None pages,

Una crisi coniugale o familiare costringe tre donne a mettere in discussione la propria vita e il p… read more

Similar categories in Simone de Beauvoir's The Woman Destroyed book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • feminism
  • classics
  • short stories
  • fiction

8. Valley of the Dolls

By: Jacqueline Susann

3.42

Format: 8 pages,

read more

Similar categories in Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

9. Eileen

By: Ottessa Moshfegh

3.81

Format: None pages, Hardcover

The Christmas season offers little cheer for Eileen Dunlop, an unassuming yet disturbed young woman… read more

Similar categories in Ottessa Moshfegh's Eileen book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

10. The Year of Magical Thinking

By: Joan Didion

4.44

Format: 212 pages, Paperback

'An act of consummate literary bravery, a writer known for her clarity allowing us to watch her min… read more

Similar categories in Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

Cover of Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh

11. Homesick for Another World

By: Ottessa Moshfegh

3.62

Format: 294 pages, Hardcover

An electrifying first collection from one of the most exciting short story writers of our time Otte… read more

Similar categories in Ottessa Moshfegh's Homesick for Another World book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • literary fiction
  • short stories
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"It's a lonely life."

-Ottessa Moshfegh, Homesick for Another World

"Nothing made me happy."

-Ottessa Moshfegh, Homesick for Another World

"Be careful with women,"

-Ottessa Moshfegh, Homesick for Another World

"I hated my boyfriend but I liked the neighborhood."

-Ottessa Moshfegh, Homesick for Another World

Cover of Just Kids by Patti Smith

12. Just Kids

By: Patti Smith

4.21

Format: 262 pages, Hardcover

In Just Kids, Patti Smith's first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-befor… read more

Similar categories in Patti Smith's Just Kids book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

"There's always new stuff, that's for sure."

-Patti Smith, Just Kids

"Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself?"

-Patti Smith, Just Kids

"I knew he didn't love me, but I adored him anyway."

-Patti Smith, Just Kids

"Christ was a man worthy to rebel against, for he was rebellion itself."

-Patti Smith, Just Kids

Cover of Rouge by Mona Awad

13. Rouge

By: Mona Awad

3.56

Format: 383 pages, Kindle Edition

From the critically acclaimed author of Bunny comes a horror-tinted, gothic fairy tale about a lone… read more

Similar categories in Mona Awad's Rouge book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"If I had beauty, I decided then, I would never throw it away. I would never give it up."

-Mona Awad, Rouge

"I mean, we all have our dark days. Very dark days, sometimes. When our demons come out to play. No one lives entirely in the light, right?"

-Mona Awad, Rouge

"That I can’t protect you from my terrible places that I still go, can’t help but go because no one protected me, no one saved me, no one ever held out their hand and walked me away. But I’m trying to…"

-Mona Awad, Rouge

Cover of Bunny by Mona Awad

14. Bunny

By: Mona Awad

3.50

Format: 305 pages, Paperback

We were just these innocent girls in the night trying to make something beautiful. We nearly died. … read more

Similar categories in Mona Awad's Bunny book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"The pink pony inside me weeps softly."

-Mona Awad, Bunny

"Oh, Bunny, I love you. I love you, Bunny."

-Mona Awad, Bunny

"We think of it as art meets life, Bunny. We’re putting art into the world."

-Mona Awad, Bunny

"Because life is shorter than we are, she says, so why beat around the bush?"

-Mona Awad, Bunny

Cover of My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

15. My Year of Rest and Relaxation

By: Ottessa Moshfegh

3.63

Format: 289 pages, Paperback

From one of our boldest, most celebrated new literary voices, a novel about a young woman’s efforts… read more

Similar categories in Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"What next? I couldn't imagine."

-Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation

"I wasn't an insomniac, but I was miserable."

-Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation

"Life was repetitive, resonated at a low hum."

-Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation

"I just wanted to sleep all the time. I had a plan."

-Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation

Cover of Brutes by Dizz Tate

16. Brutes

By: Dizz Tate

3.18

Format: 304 pages, Hardcover

The Virgin Suicides meets The Florida Project in this wildly original debut—a coming-of-age story a… read more

Similar categories in Dizz Tate's Brutes book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"to be loved, was just to be watched"

-Dizz Tate, Brutes

"We feel chased. It doesn't matter if it's only by our own shadows."

-Dizz Tate, Brutes

"and now I think that to humiliate a woman is the only way some men know how to love one."

-Dizz Tate, Brutes

"To be loved was just to be watched, or in my case, to imagine you are loved is to imagine you are watched all the time."

-Dizz Tate, Brutes

Cover of Down the Drain by Julia   Fox

17. Down the Drain

By: Julia Fox

4.40

Format: 318 pages, Hardcover

Julia Fox is famous for many her captivating acting, such as her breakout role in the film Uncut G… read more

Similar categories in Julia Fox's Down the Drain book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • feminism
  • contemporary
"I want to love him but I often find myself wishing he could just be an asshole all the time. This way I wouldn't have all these inner battles with myself. I learn to navigate my way through shattered…"

-Julia Fox, Down the Drain

Cover of Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados

18. Happy Hour

By: Marlowe Granados

3.50

Format: 280 pages, Paperback

With the verve and bite of My Year of Rest and Relaxation and the whip-smart, wisecracking sensibil… read more

Similar categories in Marlowe Granados's Happy Hour book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"Being unattached is exhausting."

-Marlowe Granados, Happy Hour

"being a muse is not for the weak"

-Marlowe Granados, Happy Hour

"Money was limited, but my taste was not."

-Marlowe Granados, Happy Hour

"isn't a vacation when you forget what day it is?"

-Marlowe Granados, Happy Hour

Cover of Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

19. Cleopatra and Frankenstein

By: Coco Mellors

3.74

Format: 384 pages, Hardcover

For readers of Modern Lovers and Conversations with Friends, an addictive, humorous, and poignant d… read more

Similar categories in Coco Mellors's Cleopatra and Frankenstein book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"And you’re in love?"

-Coco Mellors, Cleopatra and Frankenstein

"People are like this too, you know,"

-Coco Mellors, Cleopatra and Frankenstein

"When the darkest part of you meets the darkest part of me, it creates light."

-Coco Mellors, Cleopatra and Frankenstein

"Cleo and Frank could not make each other happy, no matter how hard they’d tried."

-Coco Mellors, Cleopatra and Frankenstein

Cover of Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A. by Lili Anolik

20. Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A.

By: Lili Anolik

3.58

Format: 288 pages, Hardcover

Los Angeles in the 1960s and 70s was the pop culture capital of the world—a movie factory, a music … read more

Similar categories in Lili Anolik's Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A. book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

Cover of Sirens & Muses by Antonia Angress

21. Sirens & Muses

By: Antonia Angress

3.94

Format: 368 pages, Hardcover

Four artists are drawn into a web of rivalry and desire at an elite art school and on the streets o… read more

Similar categories in Antonia Angress's Sirens & Muses book and Eve Babitz's Black Swans

  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
"It was finally April, and the dogwoods were in bloom, flowerbeds everywhere lurid with color."

-Antonia Angress, Sirens & Muses

"They sat there in silence, each avoiding the other's gaze, and Karina felt the moment slipping away from her. "I think--" she began. "I think that the people we become infatuated with are the ones wh…"

-Antonia Angress, Sirens & Muses

"I think it's easy, when...when you're neglecting your own happiness, to inadvertently neglect the happiness of the people you love. It's sort of like you think you're being selfless or self-sacrifici…"

-Antonia Angress, Sirens & Muses

12 Best fiction books like Black Swans by Eve Babitz

Transform Your Habits

Play It As It Lays

Joan Didion , David Thomson

3.92

Transform Your Habits

The Idiot

Elif Batuman

3.66

Black Swans

Eve Babitz

3.66

Transform Your Habits

The Woman Destroyed

Simone de Beauvoir , Patrick O'Brian

3.75

View all the books

16 Top fiction books like The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir, Patrick O'Brian

Transform Your Habits

Play It As It Lays

Joan Didion , David Thomson

3.92

Transform Your Habits

The Idiot

Elif Batuman

3.66

Transform Your Habits

The Virgin Suicides

Jeffrey Eugenides

3.79

Transform Your Habits

Sex and Rage

Eve Babitz

3.87

View all the books

Never miss a story from us, get weekly updates in your inbox.