Volume 2, Issue 18 August 17 - August 30, 2000

She calls herself Kitty Litter, and she's known how to walk like a prostitute ever since she was twelve. She's wanted by the law for every crime you can think of, but the cops are too scared of her and her gang to even attempt an arrest. At night, she roams the streets of Los Angeles in the body of a goddess, stealing cars and turning tricks. Her powers as a sex machine and gang leader are strong. She's got just one prob-lem thoughÑ her face is ugly. Not just unattractive but freakishly, frighteningly grotesque. With a paper sack over her head, however, no man can resist her. They fall to their knees, overcome with desire, and bend to the will of this omnipotent little girl.

Kitty Litter is just one of the characters you'll meet in Mary Woronov's beautiful-ly illustrated collection of short stories Wake for the Angels. With paintings and flash fictions (nothing over 2,000 words), Woronov takes us on a journey through the dark side of L. A. Don't expect to meet any movie stars or multi-millionaires here. Woronov's L. A. is strictly underbel-ly, and the stories she tells will make you wonder at just how desperate, sad, and cruel the average person can be.

Like Kitty Litter, I went out to the City of Angels with dreams of a better life. Instead of stardom (I wanted to be a screenwriter and an actress), I found the cold city streets that Woronov describes and a wealth of people who didn't give a shit who I was or how much I'd sacrificed

to move out west. The high-powered pro-ducers were no where to be found, and so I hung out with the homeless guys behind the gas station, smoking cigarettes and reading them bits of my screenplay. After six months of Hollywood rejections, I left L. A. with my tail between my legs, eager to forget the whole experience. Four years later, I can't remember the names of the people who refused to take a look at my screenplay, but I remember the faces of those homeless guys. I remember the way they shared their GPC's and always took the time to listen to me.

Woronov also listens to the stories no one else will listen to. Here you will find the tale of the unsuccessful model who holds an abortion party instead of a baby show-er. Here you will find the once beautiful stripper turned tired hooker who struggles to make the best of a bad situation. Here you will find a desperate wife who learns to love her adulterous husband only after they get divorced.

We see it all not only through Woronov's twisted tales but through her sensual and haunting paintings. Her bright colors and voluptuous shapes mix together to form works of art that tell stories even without the accompanying words.

If you're looking for Melrose Place, don't stop here. If you're looking for glamour, stay inside your house and watch TV. If you're looking for love, happy endings, and bright Hollywood stars, don't read Wake for the Angels and definitely, what-ever you do, don't go to L. A. A+

Where to get it cheap: Barnes and Noble, downtown, Bargain Section, $7.

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