The Girls

A Novel

By: Emma Cline

Narrated by: Cady McClain

Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

The instant best seller

An indelible portrait of girls, the women they become, and that moment in life when everything can go horribly wrong

Named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post • NPR • The Guardian • Entertainment Weekly • San Francisco Chronicle • Financial Times • Esquire • Newsweek • Vogue • Glamour • People • The Huffington Post • Elle • Harper’s Bazaar • Time Out • BookPage • Publishers Weekly • Slate   

Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. 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. Soon Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Hidden in the hills, their sprawling ranch is eerie and run down, but to Evie it is exotic, thrilling, charged - a place where she feels desperate to be accepted. As she spends more time away from her mother and the rhythms of her daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, Evie does not realize she is coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence.

Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award
Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
The New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
Emma Cline - One of Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists   

Praise for The Girls 

“Spellbinding...a seductive and arresting coming-of-age story.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“Extraordinary... Debut novels like this are rare, indeed.” (The Washington Post)

“Hypnotic.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“Gorgeous.” (Los Angeles Times)

“Savage.” (The Guardian)

“Astonishing.” (The Boston Globe)

“Superbly written.” (James Wood, The New Yorker)

“Intensely consuming.” (Richard Ford)

“A spectacular achievement.” (Lucy Atkins, The Times)

“Thrilling.” (Jennifer Egan)

“Compelling and startling.” (The Economist)

©2016 Emma Cline (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[The Girls reimagines] the American novel... Like Mary Gaitskill’s Veronica or Lorrie Moore’s Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?, The Girls captures a defining friendship in its full humanity with a touch of rock-memoir, tell-it-like-it-really-was attitude.” (Vogue)

“Debut novels like this are rare, indeed.... The most remarkable quality of this novel is Cline’s ability to articulate the anxieties of adolescence in language that’s gorgeously poetic without mangling the authenticity of a teenager’s consciousness. The adult’s melancholy reflection and the girl’s swelling impetuousness are flawlessly braided together.... For a story that traffics in the lurid notoriety of the Manson murders, The Girls is an extraordinary act of restraint. With the maturity of a writer twice her age, Cline has written a wise novel that’s never showy: a quiet, seething confession of yearning and terror.” (The Washington Post)

“Outstanding... Cline’s novel is an astonishing work of imagination - remarkably atmospheric, preternaturally intelligent, and brutally feminist.... Cline painstakingly destroys the separation between art and faithful representation to create something new, wonderful, and disorienting.” (The Boston Globe)

I'm not even through the first chapter

But I have to point out that this is suppose to take place during the 1960's , yet some how the have somehow exchanged numbers on their CELLPHONES. Since I have only heard the first chapter I'm in no way attempting to review this book yet, I will say though , the authors writing style is a bit odd. For example " sweet drone of honey suckle, the glass of water quivering, the swallow of morning orange juice, the unlocking behind the eyes, the stranger at the door, a deer thrashing in the brush, I hear voices , a middle aged woman, " that's how she describes everything. "The green on the lawn, the dead bird in the lawn, the whisper in the breeze". Not going to make it through this I'll be honest.

PG version of what defined Brutality and Evil

This is a peculiar novel, not unlikable, but I'm not sure what the author was going for. Obviously, the story is inspired by the horrific 1969 Manson murders: time, place, cult, drugs, and the manipulative male figure that saw himself as a prophet of sorts. The characters Cline has created to carry her echo of Helter Skelter aren't merely *similar,* they are the Manson family diluted. You know the author is talking about Susan Atkins with her All-American teen good looks, the pig-tailed, crazy-eyed Linda Kasabian, the big meat Tex Watson, and the infamous architect of the murders Charles Manson -- but the author gives you watered down, teenaged angst-filled imitations. Evie, the teen trying to find herself in a life that has just turned upside down; a beautiful bohemian (bi-sexual) Suzanne, a similarly pig-tailed girl, the family's muscle man, even the connection between the cult leader and a famous musician [*Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys and Terry Melcher (music producer and son of Doris Day] are non-dimensional, pastel versions of the real monsters. It is oddly like watching a bad modern-day troupe re-enact the 1969 murders without any knowledge of the actual event or emotional connect, a cast disconnected from a crime so brutal and shocking that it still has its ripples in our culture almost 50 yrs. later.

The result is a story that doesn't emotionally take you from a beginning to the conclusion. There needs to be some heft to the characters to define how they became the pawns of a mad man. I was interested in this book thinking that Cline would lay out the factors that made these followers vulnerable to the manipulations of a predator the level of Manson; what drew young people into this cult. Not every kid that smokes a joint and goes through family and friend problems winds up living in a cult and committing a mass slaughter. Evie would have been a great vehicle to take readers into such a descent, but Cline focuses primarily on what ends up sounding like a privileged teen-aged girl's growing pains. Does the murder weigh on her emotionally as she makes the transitions into adulthood; does she ever tell her parents about her involvement; how does the event shape her life...? I'd love to have had Evie reflect on the events with the hindsight of adulthood...or any kind of wrap up to this My Pretty Pony version of Helter Skelter. (The mention of spaghetti noodles still in the stomach of a young little victim, likely the mimicry of the stabbing of a pregnant Sharon Tate...not so MPP).

There are some wacky inconsistencies that having lived through the 60's myself, I can validate the errors. But Cline writes well at times; she also has some prose that jump in a little heavy and out of place that were confusing.
[Note: If you are interested in the actual events I suggest reading Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry (Bugliosi had served as the prosecutor in the 1970 trial of Charles Manson.)

One of the Most Boring Listens..Ever

I was very excited about the hype with 'The Girls' by Emma Cline. After all, the book was plastered all over the internet and was advertised in my Facebook feed every fourth post. I find stories about people who join cults absolutely fascinating. The 'why' they do it and the psychology behind the leadership of the cult have always been interesting in my opinion. When I found out the Cline's book was about a woman who lived with a cult leader in the seventies, my curiousity was piqued.

Evie is a young impressionable girl who's mother chooses men over her teenage daughter. She is a the prime candidate to get involved with a group of people who pretend to accept her, care for her, and love her- all with ulterior motives. The book starts out fairly well- and I was hooked on Evie's teenage character because I wanted to see what would happen to her once she joined the cult and became lost in the craziness (for lack of a better word).

The problem is two fold. The book tells the story of Evie two ways- before the induction into the cult and far after- so a childhood perspective and then an adult perspective. This in itself is not a problem but it does lead up to something that is very wrong with this novel- which is that while Evie's teenage perspective is somewhat interesting, the adult perspective is not. To be blunt- it's probably one of the most boring stories I've ever heard. I couldn't have cared less about any of the characters, what they did, or what happened to them.

This book is a perfect example of when critics go crazy for verbose writing and hype up a book that is so boring it's almost unreadable. Spare yourself some time and dig into the thousands of pages of 'War and Peace' instead- you might find it a little more interesting. Better yet- skip the book altogether and watch some paint dry...

2 stars

Wendi

Utterly unoriginal and terrible narration

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would not recommend this book in a million years. It's completely unoriginal, clearly written to make a quick buck.

What was most disappointing about Emma Cline’s story?

Lack of anything resembling creativity.

Would you be willing to try another one of Cady McClain’s performances?

No way. She's TERRIBLE. She inserts weird pauses like William Shatner, and does not appear to really understand how to read a sentence.

Did The Girls inspire you to do anything?

Yes. It inspired me to stop listening to it.

Amazingly Similar to a Story I Have Heard Before

In this story Emma Cline has just taken the story of the Manson family, changed it around a bit, and made a new story. The similarities to actual events of the Manson family are too numerous to cite. The protagonist could have been any one of the girls who didn't know about the murders that were to take place that night. I think it's a very lame way to write a book. I also found the narrators inflection annoying. I would not recommend this book to a friend.

Being a girl (reviewers seem to miss point)

What made the experience of listening to The Girls the most enjoyable?

I'm a little surprised the extent to which so many reviewers miss the point of this poignant book. While the story captures the cultural context and events of the Manson family, this primary focus really on the girls (the title is apt). Cline captures the vulnerability, uncertainty, longing, and frustrations of being a girl, in the liminal space between child and adult, and the discomfort of defining a “self” against the “self” impose by others. The tumultuous, ecstatic backdrop of the late sixties may enable the situation that the narrator gravitates toward. But the sensibility of gender and age, and the complicated relationships between girls, and between generations, transcends that cultural context.

What did you like best about this story?

Most of the action of the story takes place during the summer of 1969 (the same year in which the Manson family came to its tragic climax) but the narrator tells the story from the perspective of a woman in middle age. Her narration alternates between the remembered events, and a present-day moment. This shift in context— evoking what changes and what doesn’t as we get older, what leaves us and what haunts us — is a significant aspect of the book. (One reviewer was confused that characters were using cell phones. Those passages in the book take place in present day, when the narrator is in her 50’s. Those are fairly lengthy sections, so I’m not sure how that reader overlooked the context)

What does Cady McClain bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Cady McClain did a lovely job capturing the girls’ voices, heady with pot or hallucingens and performative nonchalance, often straddling the simultaneous currents of longing, self-protection, affection, and hostility.

Any additional comments?

Cline tells a story based on one that is familiar to many of us, but from a more subtle and under-appreciated perspective. She does this with sensitivity and poignancy, as well as evocative prose.

Intriguing & Suspenseful

The story of young Evie is both an intriguing narrative and statement on adolescence as a woman. There were times I found myself cringing at the young character's lack of conviction but found the story all the more relatable because of her short comings. The author is a gifted writer with a beautiful way of describing a scene. I definitely recommend this audio book.

Dark..realistic

I studied the psychology of cult behavior at Michigan State University in the 80s. This book was spot on. It's intriguing. Our vulnerabilities are vulnerable. Our young people are so susceptible.

Absolutely Recommend

Some of the voices were a little silly, but wow did I love this story. I'll have to buy the book too, just to have it.

Loved it

Couldn't stop listening. She really transported me into her world. I want more books from Emma Cline immediately.