Reviews

The Girls by Emma Cline

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phoebebrown37's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

dembury's review against another edition

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4.0

Emma Cline's prose and imagery is absolutely wonderful here- she paints such tangible and unique expressions of feelings and people and moments. I think she gave a very strong voice to Evie, the young teenage protagonist. One of the things I enjoyed (and appreciated) most about "The Girls" was Cline's insight on girlhood. She's really captured something special in here, and, having been a hormonal, confused, and curious teenage girl myself, I truly loved reading about Evie. Despite the fact that I've been been in a cult or lived in the 70s, Evie felt remarkably relatable.

I've seen several people compare "The Girls" to Jeffery Eugenides "The Virgin Suicides", and I had the same thought while reading this. Both novels offer up a raw look at the life of girls, and neither shy away from the sexuality, the uncomfortable moments, the desires, or the social issues girls have or encounter. There is a quote near the beginning of the novel that really pulled me in:
“I waited to be told what was good about me. [...] All that time I had spent readying myself, the articles that taught me life was really just a waiting room until someone noticed you- the boys had spent that time becoming themselves.”
Cline mentions again and again, in different ways and without spelling it out, the fact that girls are expected to put on a show of sorts for boys, and are expected to primp themselves for the boys wants and needs. Girls behave and try to get a man, while the men do whatever the heck they feel like doing. And the plot of the novel very much backs this up, in a way that is both horrifying and effective.
Another quote:
“That was part of being a girl--you were resigned to whatever feedback you'd get. If you got mad, you were crazy, and if you didn't react, you were a bitch. The only thing you could do was smile from the corner they'd backed you into. Implicate yourself in the joke even if the joke was always on you.”

I think the only thing that felt a little imbalanced was the focus on the cult. The climax of the cult narrative feels a bit cut short, and I wanted to know more about AFTER that moment. The ending, while still good, just felt a bit incomplete. Another 100-150 pages would have been fantastic!

I would reread this. I WANT to reread this, and explore it again with a pen, marking bits and taking more from it.