Emma Cline's first novel, is a loosely veiled fictional account of the Manson Family as seen through the eyes of a naive needy 14 year old. I have previously reviewed Jeff Guinn's excellent biography of Manson and I recommend that as reading for the real story of San Francisco in the Summer of Love.
The novel opens with the narrator, Evie Boyd, now an adult, living in a friend's isolated cabin. When a young relative and his very young girlfriend show up and stay for several days, it forces Evie to confront not only her own past, but the naiveté of the young girl, so reflective of herself in that long ago summer. She seems to carry the burden of her past much as Jacob Marley in the "Christmas Carol." Yet, Evie seems strangely passive and unable to help the young girl.
The reader is then taken back to the summer of 1969, leading up to the Tate/LaBianca murders in August of that year. In this novel, the Manson character is Russell Hadrick who preys on adrift young women. His fierce eyes render them helpless and he picks over them like choosing chocolates . Evie becomes involved with the family when they rescue her one day when her bicycle has broken down. The Girls of the title had been out on a dumpster dipping run and stopped their psychedelic bus to "help." There was no turning back for Evie, and she began making daily trips to the ranch. But, Evie's attraction to the ranch and it's grungy squalor had more to do with Suzanne Parker (the stand-in for Susan Atkins), who gave Evie the attention she so desperately craved. Evie's sad clueless mother and absent father hardly figure in her life. There is one horrifying scene when Russell pimps out Evie to an aging rock star (read /Denis Wilson of the Beach Boys) whom he is trying to get a record contract from. We sense Evie's fear even as she needs to belong. There is another scene when the girls break into the home of a neighbor of Evie's mother. It is a practice run for the final horrific event of the summer. Evie is shocked at the casualness of their destruction and Suzanne senses that Evie is not able to completely buy into the depth of their evil.
The book is well written and the characters, setting and time frame are all realistic. The sociopathic egomaniac Hadrick is especially horrifying. The characters are all well drawn and complete. I recommend the book for its fine writing, though the subject matter is difficult, it is presented as a study of the neediness of young girls who have been left behind and how quickly they can succumb to the crumbs of the attention they crave.
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