Emma Cline, whose new short story collection is titled “Daddy,” near her home in Silver Lake. Still, I wanted to write about this historical novel–set in late ’60s California, loosely based on the Manson Family and their infamous murders–because it stirred up such a complex array of emotions in me. But first, ketchup. The story is told from Evie's perspective in two timelines -- at age 14 when she collided with the group and in her later adult years as she thinks back on that part of her life. I waited a little over a week to write this review and I can add forgettable to the list of adjectives I would use to describe this. I was bored and pretty grossed out. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for THE GIRLS at Amazon.com. Muc. A middle-aged Evie Boyd flashes back on her young tumultuous life in the late 1960's as this story commences. Evie was 14, I was 11, and I had a lot of the same stuff going on at home as she did. Great book. The hubbub around “The Girls” threatens to trample what’s so deeply affecting about it.. Having read Vincent Bugliosi's HELTER SKELTER a year ago, I found THE GIRLS to be a knock-off version based on one teen's life, her time spent with the free-spirited group and a recounting of the horror that evolved. By excluding that, Cline also excludes some of the most troubling social history around Manson, and one of the clearest signs that the hippies of Haight Ashbury could be deeply reactionary at heart. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Buy the Hardcover Book The Girls: A Novel by Emma Cline at Indigo.ca, Canada's largest bookstore. Not knowing to be wary of these misguided people and so hungry for affection and attention, Evie quickly becomes obsessed with the dark-haired Suzanne, a new way of life, and begins to worship both her and the leader of the cult, Russell learning his version of freedom, truth and love. I had a difficult time believing this was a debut novel as it was so well written; I can see why Random House has pegged this as one of their top books of Summer 2016. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy. Both father and daughter make demands of the mother, but only the father gets his met. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99. I need reviews of this book because the plot seems amazing and I haven't read a good book in a long time now. In the present, Cline’s protagonist and narrator, Evie, is an outsider, invisible. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Seductive from the start...mesmerizing writing and storytelling!!!! Intimate coercions … Squeaky Fromme, left, and other members of the Manson Family. Emma Cline's thoroughly seductive debut novel, The Girls, re-imagines the world of Charles Manson's female followers, and does so with a particularly effective literary device… NPR and The New York Times also reviewed the work, the former of which wrote that "Emma Cline's thoroughly seductive debut novel, The Girls, re-imagines the world of Charles Manson's female followers, and does so with a particularly effective literary device." For some reason I was thinking this would be a thriller or mystery of sorts, and I guess it was in some aspects, but it was so much more than that and I’m really glad I was wrong about this one. June 2016. Cline's THE GIRLS is well written, descriptive of the time and kept my attention throughout, but is not an original story by any means. ), My "Girls Girls Girls" jag continues with, A very solid 4 stars. Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We have all been there so we understand her motives. The first time she ever felt loved and accepted, it was in the company of violent sociopaths. Implicate yourself in the joke even if the joke was always on you.”, “I waited to be told what was good about me. I get it; it put me off a bit in the beginning as well, but I’m glad I stuck with it as that tapered off mostly once I got about 15-20% into the book. EV-ERY-BO-DY...except me, apparently. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Forty or so years later she is out of work, staying in her friend Dan’s vacation house, doing nothing and seeing no one. Book Review: The Girls by Emma Cline Drawing on the events of the late sixties, author Emma Cline reimagines the summer of 1969 in a coming-of-age novel that bumps up against the ideals of the time and a young girl’s involvement in a deadly California commune. Book Review: THE GIRLS by Emma Cline The Girls was a massive critical and commercial success upon its release in 2016, and it hardly needs my voice chiming in on its behalf. Amazon. Should I give it three? “Hatred was easy,” says Evie. She recalls how easy it seemed for her, a lonely, naive and vulnerable 14 year old to leave her divorced parents behind (off and on) and join up with the amorphous group on "the ranch". 11. Evie isn't even there! We’d love your help. Finding Suzanne seems like the answer to all this. So I went ahead and finished. 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