"I looked up because of the laughter, and kept looking because of the girls." Northern California in the late 1960s. Just as that era's initiatives of peace and love were punctuated by brutal violence, so is the group that Evie Boyd stumbles upon one afternoon in the park. Emma Cline's work of upmarket fiction is haunting and well sculpted. She weaves the reader into the drug ridden cult of a wannabe musician. The group is ultimately bad, but the foundation of some of their principles seem positive.
Emma Cline's prose is succinct and rhythmic. Her writing complements the plot and is both easy and enjoyable to read. The type of wording that serves to enhance the story itself, rather than detracting or overcomplicating it. I am a major fan of women centric upmarket/literary fiction, so this book was exactly what I was in the mood for. At the same time, I think it is well written enough to appeal to a broad range of readers.....
