Title: The Girls
Author: Emma Cline
Summary: The Girls follows Evie, an impressionable teenager living in 1960s California, as she encounters a mysterious group of girls and is drawn up in their seemingly glamorous lives. The closer she grows to the group, the more unpleasant it becomes, veering towards drugs, sex, and terrible violence.
Rating: ★★★★★
Review:
Like most of you I'm sure, I heard a lot of hype about The Girls when it was released last summer, but I didn't get around to reading it until I borrowed a copy from my mum. The story revolves around a cult based on the Manson Family - which I'd not really heard of before beginning the book.
Well. I devoured it. It took me a little under three days to get through The Girls (which is pretty speedy for me) and I found it to be one of those books that you actually miss when you have to put it down. The plot progressed at just the right speed to compel you to keep reading, without feeling rushed.
I know the writing style has divided people somewhat, and it's certainly unusual in its choice of metaphors and descriptions. Personally, I think this added to the tone, creating a vivid, almost tangible aura of the book's setting: the hazy, drug-fuelled summer of 1969.
One major theme of the book is Evie's need to perform and fit in with the Girls; she is desperate to be one of the crowd. To me, Emma Cline's elaborate language partly represents the way Evie wants to convince other people (including the reader) that she is glamorous, dramatic, and worthy of belonging to this exclusive group.
The Girls makes you wonder what you would have done in Evie's situation. She's a relatable character, not because of the decisions she ultimately makes, but because of why she makes them. The book speaks to the insecure teen in all of us and reminds us how easy it is to be seduced by something dangerous. Would all of us have the potential to do terrible things if we were in the same circumstances as Evie?
Cline has created a brilliant study of the relationships young girls form and why. Russell might be at the centre of the cult and he and the other male characters have a lot of power over the girls, but they are not the focus of the book. The portrayal of teenage obsession and idolisation of other girls is immensely effective - who hasn't felt that kind of obsessive draw to someone?*
Although most of the book is set in 1960s California, there is something timeless about Evie's experience, a commonality in the lives of teenage girls, the way they feel attraction and obsession, which transcends the decades. This is shown into sharp relief in the sections narrated by adult Evie, and her interactions with Sasha, a girl of a similar age to 'past' Evie. Although separated by generational differences in technology and etiquette, Evie recognises some of her own youthful behaviour in Sasha but is powerless to change anything.
Parts of The Girls reminded me of William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Emma Cline shines a spotlight on privileged white girls (rather than boys), exactly what they are capable of and why they might be drawn to such awful violence.
It's an intense read, packed with emotion and shrouded in hot summer haze from start to finish. To keep reading is like craning your neck to star at a car crash as you drive past - you see Evie's path to disaster but you can't help getting pulled along with her, seduced by the mystery and glamour and decay of the Girls.
Have you read The Girls, or is it on your to-read shelf? Maybe you're not interested at all! Let me know why or why not in the comments.
Katy xo
*Just to clarify, being obsessively drawn to murderers is not normal. Murder is not cool.
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