The Girls was published in June of 2016 by Random House as Emma Cline‘s debut novel, it has had an acceptable welcoming, currently 3.6 stars on Goodreads. I went through this book in about a week or two as I decided to make it my companion on Audible during my bi-daily commutes.
The truth is I was instantly caught by the narrative, even if it got a little confusing as we jumped through the different time lapses of our main character on the audio version, the story manages to take us along for an interesting ride, at least during the first chapters.
Evie Boyd is not a complicated person, it could be said she is rather the opposite of complicated, she is a big blank. I personally believe that this feature (her blankness) is probably what makes her so IMPRESSIONABLE -yes, with capital letters-. I don’t know if I was supposed to relate to her at some level but it was really difficult.
I was not alive during the 60’s and I haven’t talked much with people who were about those days… I am not sure if I am trying to use this as an excuse for my uneasiness with everyone in this book but maybe it is a good reason, not having the right mindset and context to place myself in those years has made me unable to relate with their mentality.
I have felt lonely, but I believe through this book we get to meet the highest degree of loneliness, of the needing to belong and the longing for approval. The sad thing is it all appears to grow exponentially with Evie’s age instead of the other way around.
I understand that personality and character are developed mostly in our teenage years, and that feeling left out could be dangerous and unpleasant. I understand young Evie, I tried to be most patient with her and her many discomforting actions; older Evie though, a grown woman and her need for acknowledgment, acceptance, appraisal… it was truly annoying.
I wish I could say more, I had discontinued this review and decided to rescue it halfway through the black hole of my drafts. This will teach me to finish my ideas right after the book is fresh and sound. Anyway, did you read this book? What are your thoughts?