How the ’60s and ’70s Los Angeles scene inspired Ella Berman’s ‘LA Women’

Ella Berman gets why some people are obsessed with the 1960s and ‘70s — because she is, too.

“The aesthetics are still relevant today,” Berman, the author of the novel “L.A. Women,” says. “I walked down the aisle to a Lovin’ Spoonful song. It was such a great time for art, and I think that it felt like a party after a depression.”

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Berman brings that era to glimmering life in “L.A. Women.” Set in both the ‘60s and ‘70s, her third novel follows two writers — Lane Warren, in the midst of a successful literary career, and Gala Margolis, who seems to be present at every hip party in the Laurel Canyon era .

The two become something like friends, which is a surprise — Lane is cautious and shy, while Gala wants no