‘Los Angeles’ tells the story of Alice, a young woman who has moved to the city to follow her dream of becoming an actor. She spends her days working in a clothing store, taking acting classes and running on the beach, until one day a younger colleague tells her about a new way to make money – and perhaps reclaim a sense of control over her own life. I must have read this story hundreds of times – carefully examining the way Emma Cline builds heart-pounding tension, writes in spare, precise prose, and considers femininity as a source of currency and power.
First published in Granta’s Best Young American Novelists 2017, and available for subscribers to read here; collected in Daddy, Chatto & Windus, 2020
A Personal Anthology 