The Girls

Emma Cline

A middle-aged woman reflects on the summer she hung out at a hippie commune in the late 1960s. Inspired by the Manson family murders, this slow-burning book is gripping and thought-provoking stuff, yet infused with a dream-like quality. Evie Boyd's startling voice is still echoing round my head days after turning the final page.

Extract

The sun hit the tin outbuildings and broke up the smoke in the air. Someone had lit a joss stick that kept going out. Russell's eyes moved around each of our faces, the group sitting at his feet, and I flushed when he caught my gaze - he seemed unsurprised by my return. Suzanne's hand touched my back lightly, possessively, and a hush came over me like in a movie theater or church.

Parallels