The Virgin Suicides: A Novel
by Jeffrey Eugenides
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jeffrey EugenidesEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-04-27
ISBN: 0312428812
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Picador
Book Reviews of The Virgin Suicides: A Novel
Book Review: "You're not even old enough to know how bad life gets."
Summary: 3 Stars
Not only does Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides have an intriguing title, but a movie is based on the provocative tale of the tragic- and unpredictable- suicides of five teenaged sisters in early 1970s Detroit over a period of one year. When the smoke clears, the Lisbon's are left grieving the loss of daughter Cecilia, 13, Bonnie, 15, Lux, 14, Mary, 16, and Therese, 17. The story is told from the perspective of a group of neighborhood boys, themselves trapped in the ambiguity of adolescence, as they observe, transfixed by the shocking events than unfold at the Lisbon home. EMTs that arrive to save Cecilia from her first attempt (slashing her wrists in the bath tub) return once more with no hope of saving the girl who is impaled on a fence after jumping to her death the night of a staid party.
Eugenides' approach is rhythmic and fluid, in sharp contrast to the nightmare that is plaguing the Lisbon home, including the resignation of Mr. Lisbon, a high school math teacher. What kind of teacher is this man who cannot control events in his own household? Certainly, the testosterone-riddled voices of the adolescent narrators contain no more truth than the idle speculations of shocked parents as the suicides continue. Virgins all, save one, only the harsh music of teenaged angst intrudes, a note of disharmony in this surreal landscape, but even that is annihilated by a vigilant mother. This is a family suffering from fatal melancholy, certainly an anomaly, but so bizarre that the teenaged boys can only watch in stupefied fascination. It is the boys' reactions to this year-long drama that create the weight of the story, balanced against the surreal atmosphere in the Lisbon home.
Yet for all the acclaim and the occasional bursts of poetic prose, I found this novel tedious, less involving with each page, regardless of the shocking content. Where others have found a rich reading experience, I have failed to enjoy the enthusiasm of most reviewers. The title is so rich with possibilities and the actual reading of the novel so lackluster, the drone of hearsay, diary entries, interviews and observations. Albeit a paean to the troubled years of adolescence, I cannot appreciate the author's style or content. Luan Gaines/2009.
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