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I was born more than a decade after actress Sharon Tate and six others were murdered in 1969 by a few of Charles Manson’s followers. I knew nothing of the horror that followed the deaths nor the fear that gripped the nation until Manson was caught.
The Manson followers fascinated and terrified Americans, many of whom were horrified that hippies – known to be all about love – could commit such violent crimes. The fact that three women were among the murderers was particularly shocking.
Emma Cline’s “The Girls” puts the Manson Family women front and center. The story follows desperately bored Evie Boyd, 14. She lives in the California Bay Area in the home originally purchased by her movie star grandmother who has since died. Her parents are divorced. Her father has run off with his much younger secretary and her mother starts dating, leaving Evie to her own devices all too often.
Evie falls out with her only friend, Connie, early on in the book, leaving her alone and bored over the summer. In September, Evie is sent to boarding school. One day, she spots a trio of women who she is immediately drawn to. Long haired, beautiful women, wearing ratty clothes, Suzanne, in particular fascinates Evie.
Evie encounters Suzanne again after another woman is chased from a store. Evie steals toilet paper for Suzanne and is eventually brought to the ranch, where all the women (and some young men) live with Russell, the enigmatic, magnetic, manipulative leader. The ranch is a decrepit place, but Evie is struck by the sense of belonging that radiates through everyone there.
Suzanne is devoted to Russell; she follows him from place to place, doing his bidding. Evie’s obsession with Suzanne leads her to dive further into life at the ranch. She steals money to help fund Russell’s life, helping provide food and other necessities to the group, who seem to live off the generosity of Mitch, a famous musician who promises Russell a record deal.
Evie gets fully inducted into life at the ranch, abusing drugs, drinking, and engaging in sexual acts with Russell. While all of the women see Russell as the sun around which they orbit, Evie only has eyes for Suzanne. The older woman leads Evie through a series of misadventures, from losing her virginity with an older man to stealing from a neighbor’s house. The latter gets Evie caught and sent to live with her father for two weeks.
During that time, things at the ranch fall apart further. There will be no record deal for Russell and Mitch is blamed. Russell pushes his followers toward horrifying violence without actually ordering them to do anything that could implicate him.
When Evie makes it back to the ranch, she senses something is off, but is too pleased to be back near Suzanne, she doesn’t notice drugs got harder and the living situation is more rotted at the core.
The narrative is interspersed with scenes of a middle-aged Evie, timid and fearful of her past and not sure how to reconcile with the events of that August 1969 night. She hints early on at the violent murders, but the book never dives into gory details.
The end, when the violence occurs, is creepy but had me quickly turning pages. It was not the stomach-churning bloodfest I anticipated.
I knew very little of the Manson Family murders. I had no clue Mitch was modeled after Beach Boy Dennis Wilson who was involved with the bad record deal. I knew nothing about the women who were entranced by and obsessed with Manson.
“The Girls” is a fascinating look into life as one of Manson’s women. It is a chilling portrait of how vulnerable and damaged women can be controlled by manipulative men. The book is spellbinding and creepy. It’s also beautifully written, perceptive and littered with stunning description.
It’s a brilliant and terrifying tale of how a girl on the verge of adulthood can be lead so astray.
