L.A. Women - by Ella Berman (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"A breezy retro novel with bite."--L.A. Times

"A 1970s-Laurel Canyon version of My Brilliant Friend."--The Atlantic

An electrifying novel about the complicated friendship between two ambitious writers and the ultimate artistic betrayal: one writes a book based upon the other's life, revealing everything...from the author of Reese's Book Club Pick Before We Were Innocent.

After a steady descent from literary stardom, Lane Warren is back. She's secured a new book deal based on the life of her sometime friend and, more often, rival Gala Margolis. Lane's only problem is that notorious free spirit Gala has been missing for months.

Ten years earlier, Gala was a charming socialite and Lane was a Hollywood outsider amid the glittering 1960s L.A. party scene. Though they were never best friends, Lane found Gala sharp and compelling. Gala liked that Lane took her seriously. They were both writers. They were drawn to each other.

That was until Gala's star began to rise, and Lane grew envious. Then Lane did something that she wouldn't ever be able to take back...changing the trajectories of both their lives.

Bold, dazzling, and crackling with tension, L.A. Women plunges readers into the legendary parties and unparalleled creativity of iconic Laurel Canyon, while exploring the impossible choices women face when ambition collides with intimacy. At what cost does great art emerge? And who pays the price?

Review Quotes

Praise for L.A. Women

"Touching on themes of ambition, ambivalent motherhood, and life in the L.A. fishbowl, Berman's novel is ultimately about the importance of owning your own story--and the possibility of rewriting it."
--Elle

"Berman evokes Eve Babitz, Joan Didion, and the glamour of the 1960s California literary scene in this exciting tale of a friendship and its dissolution.... Readers will surely fall for these two ladies of the canyon."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The interpersonal drama and vivid depictions of the era's social scene make for compelling reading... Berman's razor-sharp exploration of women's friendships and rivalries is likely to resonate with fans of Anna Quindlen, Elizabeth Berg, and Jodi Picoult."
--Library Journal

"Loosely inspired by the real-life L.A. lives of writers Joan Didion and Eve Babitz, this glamorous book delves into 1960s Laurel Canyon and the betrayal between two young women."
--Betches.com

"A deliciously voyeuristic dive into the glittering world of Old Hollywood, L.A. Women by Ella Berman unravels the complex bond between two women in their dance of passion, betrayal, and ambition. Set against a backdrop of lust and excess, readers will be captivated by the turmoil and allure that pull these women together--and tear them apart."
--Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary

"A truly exceptional novel about the vagaries of female friendship and creative ambition, L.A. Women fizzes with energy and intrigue. Berman's Los Angeles is a glittering, ecstatic party, full of fascinating, charismatic figures that made me want to linger even as the lights began to dim. Much like its subject matter, L.A. Women is nothing short of iconic."
--Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters

"Fans of Didion and Babitz and the literary lore of 1960s California will love L.A. Women."
--USA Today

"L.A. Women isn't just about female friendship, the pitfalls of creativity, or the hippest era of Los Angeles history, it's about what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. Gala and Lane, respectively, are both delightfully complicated characters buoyed by sharp, tense, and compelling writing by Ella Berman. Put on some Joni Mitchell and dive right into their world, because you won't want to leave."
--Brian Moylan, New York Times bestselling author of The Housewives

"Ella Berman's writing is transportive, hypnotic, and addictive. I fell wholeheartedly in love with the intensity of these L.A. Women and the way Berman unabashedly explores the deep, glimmering, and turbulent waters of artistic ambition amid the alluring backdrop of 1960's Los Angeles. This novel reads like a spell, a California fever dream, and a risk taking excavation of the moments that most define us. L.A. Women is phenomenal."
--Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman

"An unflinching exploration into the emotional depths of artists, LA Women is as soulful and scintillating as Laurel Canyon itself."
--Rachel Koller Croft, USA Today bestselling author of Stone Cold Fox

"From the very first pages of Ella Berman's L.A. Women, I was hooked. A tantalizing balance of mysterious and eerie, glittering and evocative, this novel skillfully explores the depths and complexity of artistic ambition and female friendship -- all set against the shimmering backdrop of 1960's (and 1970's) Los Angeles. There's something so transportive about Ella's writing, about the way she captures parties in Laurel Canyon as palpably as the emotional push-pull between two writers and friends; it'll have you hanging on every word and turning the pages at record pace. This is a can't-put-down read."
--Genevieve Wheeler, author of Adelaide

"Berman explores how some friendships can be anchored in both toxicity and unshakable respect, and the deep unhappiness that can come with getting everything you'd thought you'd wanted."
--Booklist

"An electrifying story of fame, ambition, creativity and friendship, threaded through with a mystery that compels you to keep reading, L.A. Women is an utterly all-consuming novel."
--Katie Bishop, author of The Girls of Summer

"My Brilliant Friend meets Daisy Jones and the Six in this immersive story of the friendship (and rivalry) between two female writers in '60s/'70s Los Angeles. Berman is at her finest in this novel; these characters will live on in my imagination for years to come."
--T. Greenwood, author of Keeping Lucy

"The characters in L.A. Women are as dazzling as they are messy, as poised as they are insecure, as relatable as they are mysterious, and as downright maddening as only the most fascinating, memorable women can be. I am utterly enchanted by them, and will be raving about this book at parties for years to come."
--Paige Harbison, author of The Other Side of Now

"Riveting and erudite in the most energetic way."
--Charlotte Fox Weber, author of Tell Me What You Want

Praise for Ella Berman

"Berman's an expert at the small moment, the Austen-esque tragicomedy of unspoken human desire that compounds into something too big to name, too awful to ignore."
--Sarah Langan, author of Good Neighbors

"Berman expertly weaves together the past and the present to create a suspenseful, spellbinding story about lies, betrayal, and what happens when the truth catches up with you."
--Elissa R. Sloan, author of The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes

"Berman's novel of a young woman recruited far too early in her life into the Hollywood machine may be the smartest book I've read in the past few years..."
--Lithub

"Beautifully written and compulsively readable...At its core, this book is about redemption, grace, and pain."
--Jenna Bush Hager

"Ella Berman's debut novel is a Hollywood tale that packs a wallop...the reader is taken on a journey of self-discovery and redemption...Grace Turner dreams big, suffers and soars. A stunning debut."
--Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Shoemaker's Wife

"A novel so full-blooded, so humane, that the pages feel almost warm to the touch. A clarifying, purifying chronicle of a promising young woman gone astray and the story of her comeback. Grace Turner can do it. You can do it, too."
--A.J. Finn

About the Author

Ella Berman grew up in both Los Angeles and London, where she studied psychology before working at Sony Music. Her debut novel, The Comeback, was selected as a Read with Jenna Book Club pick, and her follow-up, Before We Were Innocent, was a Reese's Book Club pick. Raised by two former hippies on the music and art of the 1960s and 70s, she lives in London with her husband, their senior dog, and their daughter.