Title: Handmaidens of Rock
Author: Linda Gould
Publisher: 2014, iUniverse
ISBN: 9781491745434
Pages: 462, Paperback
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reviewed by: Anita Lock, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
Candy, Hope, and Theda – three different girls coming from three different backgrounds with three different aspirations, yet connected through one driving heartthrob source: a three-piece male rock band from their high school. Spontaneously named Homegrown after their first gig (and then later renamed AMO), the band performs much more than covers. Keyboardist Neal, drummer Brad, and their lead singer Preston also have their own set of originals that reflect the attitudes of the turbulent 1960s. During college a movie is made of the local burgeoning hippie band, and Brad is unexpectedly replaced with Clive, soon after the completion of the film. Certain that they will become famous, the musical troupe and the three groupie gals head out to England in the hope of getting a recording contract with The Beatles’ Apple Records. That event begins a whirlwind journey into psychedelics, sex, and spirituality. When Brad shows up at a music fest in California where AMO play and Candy, Hope, and Theda have an opportunity to prove their musical worth, the musical troupe has no idea what will transpire until it’s too late.Chick lit novelist Linda Gould chronicles the lives of three naive women who desperately seek their identity amid a crazed period in American history. Gould’s third person narrative slowly moves through the lives of Candy, Hope, and Theda as they transition from their senior year of high school into college. Alternating between these three main characters, Gould is careful to capture what life was like for young women growing up in a compliant and patriarchal society. In addition to their stifling environs, the gals react differently as they observe the radical behavioral changes of their generation, many of whom protest via music against an unjust war (Vietnam).
As Candy, Hope, and Theda become more involved with the guys from AMO, especially in their daring trip to England, Gould’s plot shifts into surreal scenes of relationships that are affected by the influence of spiritual cults and psychedelic drugs. Gould uses irony in many of these scenes since many in the tightly knit group believe in pacifism, yet they are usually found bickering about something or other. While Gould focuses the majority of her novel on the gals and their musical encounters, there is a lot to be said about their personal growth. Aside of that, what will be intriguing for readers is Gould’s incorporation of various artists of that period, predominantly references to Bob Dylan, one of the most salient voices of the anti-war movement. But she doesn’t stop there. Of course, the group’s trip to England takes them to Apple Records and the world of The British Invasion – those musical groups, such as The Beatles, who changed the course of musical history. Also iconic is Gould’s mention of the cultish following of The Grateful Dead.
Gould does a great job creating tension in the various relationships, especially when Brad reenters the plot. Interestingly, Gould’s plot closes with not one, but two epilogues that reflect the choices Candy, Hope, and Theda each make months after the music fest and then a few years later. Indeed, their final outcome makes for an interesting coming-of-age story, as well as the next best chicklit for 1960 era enthusiasts!
