"The surf giveth, and the surf taketh away--thus said the Surf God every morning, noon, and night in his church, which was the universe, the planet, California, the beach, the waves." In California Golden, Melanie Benjamin's (The Swans of Fifth Avenue; The Aviator's Wife) euphoric prose transports readers to 1960s Southern California. Carol Donnelly makes a name for herself on the male-dominated waves of the Southern California coastline. As she spends her days at the beach and her nights dreaming about the ocean, her daughters, Mindy and Ginger, are left to figure out how to include themselves in their absent mother's life. Mindy, wanting to avoid things like "wearing the same clothes three days in a row," devises what she calls "the Plan," which involves accumulating absences at school that also give her more time surfing with their mother. Mindy's natural talent on a surfboard and Ginger's desperation to keep her family together push and pull the sisters' relationships with their mother and each other like the tide.
Mindy's and Ginger's alternating perspectives reflect how each copes with the struggles of an unconventional childhood. Mindy's attempt to rise above her past exposes the consequences of relentless ambition, and Ginger's longing for community reveals the dangers of desperate desires. The Donnelly girls' narratives, followed by Carol's, are nuanced, punctuated with raw emotions--justified, unjustified, perhaps unforgivable. The Southern California sun illuminates these deeply flawed characters, who are taking steps toward coming to terms with their past and creating a brighter future. --Clara Newton, freelance reviewer