Reviewed: Squat: A Week Squatting at Kanye’s Mansion, John Safran, Penguin

For a week in 2023, John Safran lived in Kanye West’s house. Squat, which came out in October of last year, is the story of how he ended up in the house and why he went there in the first place.

The ‘how’ is easy enough to follow. With a plan to track down the notorious rapper, Safran turns up in Los Angeles with his then-girlfriend, Sydney actor and artist Antoinette Barboutis—to whom the book is dedicated—and spends two weeks following leads and interviewing minor characters in the extended Ye cinematic universe. When the two discover that the rapper had been spending very little time in his mansion in the suburban wealth vacuum of Calabasas, Safran decides to move in. Barboutis is deputised to continue the research and provide emotional support from the sidelines.