On the surface, The Girls, by Emma Cline, appears to be about a Manson-like figure in Northern California in the 1960s. The leader of a small, communal living group, Russell taught his small group of followers “to discover a path to truth, how to free their real selves from where it was coiled inside them.” The group consists mostly of women, and mostly of young women, who felt that being around Russell was “like a natural high… Like the sun or something. That big and […]
A long time ago, being crazy meant something. Now everybody is crazy.
Okay—here’s the thing: This book won all sorts of awards and I think I put it on my audiobook list because I saw it recommended everywhere. But here’s what bothers me: It’s a fictional portrayal of a fictional girl who was a satellite member of a fictional Manson family, but it borrows almost every detail from the real Manson family so…why bother with the fictional names for everyone and everything? Just make it straight up historical fiction at that point. I don’t know, maybe this […]
Ghost Murder story? Or Murder Ghost story?
The beginning of this book pulls you in, because it starts with a letter that the murderer sent to true crime writer Lucas. Jeff (the murderer) tells Lucas that if he moves across the country (from NY to WA) and rents the house where 10 people died in the 80’s, he’ll grant him interviews. It’s a big deal because Jeff never talked about the crimes. We then go to Lucas and his wife fighting about the move. His wife is cheating on him, and basically […]
Break down the self, offer yourself up like dust to the universe.
In the Cannonball Read Facebook group, someone awesome posted an article called “The best books of 2016 list you get when you combine 36 “Best Books of 2016” lists.” The Girls is 6th on that list, appearing in 10 of the 36 “Best Books of 2016” lists combined for the “ultimate list.” It’s okay. Here’s what it has going for it: it’s completely real. Here’s what it has against it: it’s not new. The Girls is the story of an older woman reminiscing about that […]