BookBrowse Reviews California Golden by Melanie Benjamin

BookBrowse:

A dramatic story of passion, glamour, and betrayal, California Golden brings to life the American surfer era of the 1960s through the entangled stories of two complicated and heartbroken sisters.

As in her other work, Melanie Benjamin brings her historical novel California Golden to life through vivid descriptions and sensational twists and turns. She narrates the story of sisters Mindy and Ginger, who, after being neglected by their surfer mother Carol, grow up to lead difficult and lonely lives. Although the sisters try hard to form a bond with their mother, she is occupied with the burdens of her own past. They eventually separate and choose very different paths in life. Through an unexpected journey littered with obstacles, Mindy and Ginger make their way toward what they need most — each other.

California Golden explores the themes of glamour, desire, motherhood, sisterhood, and what it meant to be a woman on the cusp of second-wave feminism. Mindy and Ginger grow up mostly without the help of their mother in the 1960s, as Carol's professional surfing career means she is frequently absent, sometimes for days at a time. In an effort to win her over, they decide to take up surfing as well. However, this happiness is brief, and once they are old enough to do so, the girls leave the house and go their separate ways.

Mindy is determined to make a life of her own in Hollywood. She becomes a local celebrity, starring in commercials, hanging out with other famous people, touring Vietnam, and earning good money. Although she enjoys her new life, her adventures are colored by guilt and regret — because she misses both Ginger and surfing — and insecurity, because she knows that the thrill of her new life will be short-lived. Despite feeling like surfing is her true calling, Mindy forces herself to persist in her new career. Because of the abandonment issues she carries from childhood, she feels revulsion at the notion of a surfing career, even though she enjoys it more than anything else.

Unlike Mindy, Ginger is neither determined nor independent. She has always lived in her sister's shadow and been taken care of by her, so when Mindy leaves, Ginger turns to Tom, her abusive boyfriend. Tom torments Ginger in various ways, and involves her in drug peddling and stealing, among other crimes. However, Ginger doesn't leave him because she is convinced she has nowhere to go. Since she was a child, she has craved the feeling of being wanted by someone, and with her sister and mother gone, only Tom remains.

Benjamin's writing is dynamic and full of life. When she describes the sea's effect on Carol and Mindy, the reader can perfectly envision them getting on their surfboards and riding a wave. The mother and daughter's passion for the sport exudes from the book, and it shapes their personalities and choices. Carol and Mindy both opt for unconventional career paths. They are surfers at a time when there were almost no women competing in the sport. They are both presented as strong female characters actively working against the patriarchal order in the American 1960s by asserting their identities, while Ginger exemplifies more traditional ideas about gender. During her time with Tom, she is homeless and often has nowhere to shower. Even then, Ginger craves the smaller tokens of femininity — dressing up, doing her makeup, and so on. Through the differences between her female characters, Benjamin shows us that there is no singular definition of a woman.

Despite its darker themes and events, California Golden will leave readers feeling hopeful. It offers realistic and multifaceted depictions of complicated parent-child and sibling relationships. Benjamin shows us that motherhood and sisterhood are emotionally complex, and especially difficult in a world where women are taught to think about their relationships with men first and with themselves and other women second.

This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in November 2023, and has been updated for the September 2024 edition. Click here to go to this issue.