Review of Handmaidens of Rock

[Sarah Deming]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Handmaidens of Rock" by Linda Gould.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Handmaidens of Rock by Linda Gould is a historical fiction novel set primarily in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. It begins at a Maryland high school and follows the lives of three girls as they take on college, love, and life in the rock scene. They each choose their own course after high school graduation but inadvertently end up together again, tagging along after the band they’ve chosen to bolster.
Each chapter is cleverly divided into three sections, narrated first by Candy, the naive bookworm, then Hope, the forward fashionista, and finally Theda, the no-nonsense thespian. While the story focuses on the rock band initially known as Homegrown, the shift in narration offers different perspectives not only on the characters themselves, but also on the turbulent times against which they are set.
While each “handmaiden” harbors hopes and dreams of her own, they each facilitate the band and its members in their own ways and follow them from their first set in their high school gym to stardom and beyond. The boys’ avoidance of the draft for the Vietnam War is a central driving force for their trajectory, and it fortuitously takes them through several major historical events, orbiting many big-name rockers.
The tale is reminiscent of many tempestuous bands of the era and had me humming many familiar, nostalgic tunes. It reminded me of Winston Groom’s Forrest Gump in a way, but the author brushed against big names and moments without fictionalizing them, instead keeping the characters adjacent to them.
The dialogue often felt stiff and some of the secondary characters could have been more well-developed, but I loved the narration style and the story itself. While it wasn’t the exact dream ending I was hoping for, there was a satisfying denouement and epilogue. Finally, it was impeccably edited and I did not find a single error. I therefore gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Altogether, it is a good read, especially if you’re into peace, love, and rock and roll.

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Handmaidens of Rock
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