The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Virgin Suicides
Book Review: A Modern Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
Not as bloated and overtly epic as his other novel, Middlesex, Eugenides in his stunning, haunting debut introduces a simple, humble lyricism that speaks of much more experienced writers. I read this book in a single marathon-afternoon sitting and have revisited it time and time again since. No book has quite captured that sense of suburban small-town desolation, the close-minded subtlety of social norms, and the awkward vulgar parlance of adolescence quite like this honest, heart-wrenching piece. Set in an affluent Detroit suburb (perhaps Grosse Pointe? the town remains unnamed, alas)in the 1970s, it evokes the particular feel and texture of that decade without resorting to syrupy predictable cliches and sentimentality. Not only the best fictional novel on teen suicide ever written, this book is also not afraid to tackle tough issues, however obliquely, that still puzzle us and have us hot under the collars thirty years later. Industrial pollution, suburban decay, WASPish snobbery and elitism, the ostracization of a neighborhood, overprotective parenting, and most shattering of all, the enduring quality of memory and the profound effect it has on shaping ALL of our lives.Book Review: A Perfect Look at Childhood Obsession
Summary: 5 Stars
I've heard several people say that the girls in this book don't have any personality...that they are mostly one-dimensional characters. But I think that's the point. "The Virgin Suicides" is a perfect look at the way people romanticize things in their mind. The boys in this book never really know the Lisbon girls. They have ideas about them, but they are more or less just taken in by the way they look and the mystery of their lives.
The boys aren't the only ones. The whole community observes a tragedy and it touches them years later. Everyone has theories, but nobody knows the truth. The book is like real life. We've all spent countless hours snooping and obsessing over pointless things, and they stick with us for years.
The thing that really draws you into this book is the mystery behind it. A mystery that is never solved. The author never gives you any answers...just questions and theories.
Also important is the way he writes. He combines the death of the girls with the death of a community due to strikes, pollution, and disease. The proses is incredibly poetic and witty.
Book Review: A Puzzle With Some Pieces Missing
Summary: 3 Stars
Jeffrey Eugenides has a captivating writing style throughout "The Virgin Suicides", but I came away from the novel thinking that perhaps I had missed some chapters. There are more than a few holes in this story. The Lisbon girls' parents are the biggest mystery. When Mrs. Lisbon took her four teen-aged daughters out of school, and Mr. Lisbon quit his teaching job there, the family began living in isolation as their home fell into disrepair. What was their game plan here? What was the family's source of income? What possible future could the Mr. & Mrs. have in mind for their daughters? WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?? I might have expected some serious adult intervention on the girls' behalf by then, too. A few answers or at least some insight into these issues would have enabled me to give the book higher marks. Also, I thought the character of Trip Fontaine was given a lot of introduction for naught, since he seemed to suddenly disappear altogether.
"Middlesex" is a much longer book, and has received kudos. Maybe Eugenides had matured as a writer by then, and learned to fill in some of the blanks. I haven't yet read it, but think it's worth a try. "Virgin Suicides" was merely his first novel, but readers who enjoy stories involving mysterious and unexplained behavior on the part of most of its characters may like this book.
Book Review: A Rust Belt Peyton Place ... for the nouveaux riche
Summary: 4 Stars
Form wise, I suppose it holds up quite well. Having grown up in Grosse Pointe, I couldn't help but view this work as a sort of chronicle of the CBS (Catholic Bourgoise Suburbanite) set, deftly and courageously making its' way up the ladder of formerly WASP respectability - well most of them, anyway. Amusing how most Grosse Pointers (former and current) still hold to the comical notion that anyone still CARES about what goes on in their neighborhood - how little perspective they have on themselves! It is most definitely not THE place to live so much as just A place to live - cotillions, debutante balls, and junior league aside. Suffice it to say that more than a handful of friends from out of town have been just this side of underwhelmed when they have initially visited. 'Wow',they sardonically exclaim, 'I thought it would be larger, a bit more classical, less plain - Waugh's 'Brideshead' cerainly does NOT come to mind - not even close.' But that's parvenu taste for you.Book Review: A Surprised Reading
Summary: 5 Stars
Well first off I am a very picky reader. I am currently 18 years old and I usally like to read books around people my age. So when I first heard of this book, I was a little turned off. I went to Hawaii and finished it the second day I was there, thinking I would just read it slow and have it all week. It was a interesting book about sisters and their unhappy lives. I enjoyed the book a lot, but wasn't very satisfied with the movie. The book was a lot better. Very good summer read