The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Virgin Suicides
Book Review: A captivating tale that leaves you wondering
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was brilliantly written to keep you wanting to read more. It is written from the perspective of a narrator whose name and identity are never uncovered, and shows an outside view of what happens to this Lisbon girls. There are no views from the girls themselves, which provides the mysteriousness of the book. The story is real; often you do not know the story behind suicides or other tragedies. It allows your imagination to soar, and the brillance of the wording makes your mind race.Book Review: A dull, unrealistic read
Summary: 2 Stars
I do not understand the mountains of praise this book has received. I found it very dull, easy to put down, and quite unrealistic. Okay, it's sort of a cute idea to be told from the perspective of pubescent boys who are obsessesed with these girls, but much of it is just in bad taste. The unrealistic parts also bugged me. If children are taken out of school, someone official will investigate. School is mandatory. Particularly if there is a suicide, there would be an investigation ... even in a small town! The boys as men finally comment on the selfishness of suicide, but it is only after we have endured page after page of their own self-absorption, their own stupidity, and their own lack of initiative. The lack of attention to the mother, in particular, is also maddening. She is obviously imprisoning her children and has an impotent husband. Why is there no comment, no alarm about her mistreatment of the daughters? Suicide is not a comical subject. It could be, if done right, I suppose. But this book does not do it well, not at all. It is a book that you'll be happy to put down and not pick up again. ...If I were you, I'd find something else to read.Book Review: A fantastic story of comeing of age in mental anguish
Summary: 5 Stars
a fantastic story of comeing of age in the turmoil of mental anguish and the disinegration of the so called perfect nuclear family unit.Book Review: A few missing parts
Summary: 4 Stars
Ovearll, I really liked this book. I saw the movie first, which totally captivated me. I was hoping that the book would give me some new insights or fill in a few holes. This wasn't the case -- the book and the movie are very much one in the same. This is good in that nothing was "Lost In [Sofia Copola's] translation" which makes you glad that she didn't totally ruin a good book. On the other hand, she doesn't use the medium of film to tell us things that could not have been adequately explained in the book.
So what are some of the things that the book is missing? Well, during the mysterious months from fall to June when the Lisbon household is in a state of decline, decay, and isolation we just don't get enough clues about the parents. I wish there was more to the boy's interview (25 years later) with the mother and the father. I understand the fact that the reader will never know (although propose many theories) as to why it all happened. But the parents could step in and give us some information as to what was going through their head at the time.
Since I saw the movie first, I can honestly say that I don't know if I would have made it through the book if I'd read it first. It has little dialouge and interjects a lot of the storyteller's idle ramblings within the meaningful plot.
There are so many commentaries in this book. Just think about how after the last suicide, things in the upscale suburb go back to normal. In a way it's like a relief that those backward eye-sore neighbors are gone with all of their dysfunction. The family is so disconnected from everything around it, which is a breeding ground for suicide.
In a nutshell - it makes you think!
Book Review: A great book
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not a very good reviewer of books, but I read this book in one week. I thought it was pretty depressing at times, but funny as well. Yet that made this book wonderful to read and hard to put down. I also have the soundtrack to the movie by Air. It is good to listen to while reading this because it is dark, gloomy music.