Information
Book Title: The Virgin Suicides
Author: Jeffrey Eugenides
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publish Date: 1993
Genres: literary fiction and modern classic
Moods: dark, reflective, sad
Pace: slow-paced
Synopsis
The Virgin Suicides follows the lives of five sisters in a quiet, suburban town, told from the perspective of a group of neighborhood boys who become obsessed with them. As the sisters' lives become more restricted by their parents, the boys try to understand the mysterious and tragic world of the Lisbon family. Their fascination with the girls lingers long after the story ends, haunting them even as adults.
Personal Thoughts
When I first wrote a review for the Virgin Suicides, I was only seeing the positive, because I really wanted this to be a 5 star book, however 7 days later I made a new review. The new review shares my actually feelings without the disillusionment that I had
5 star review
Wow. Wow, wow, wow.
I don't even know where to start...
You know how some people don't give ratings to memoirs because they don't want to rate someone's life? Well, that's how I feel. To me, this book was not a book, but the boy's experience that I was able to read.
This story was alive to me; it was real. The times I read Virgin Suicides were items I was transported to the street where the Lisbon house resides.
There is no reason, to me, why I shouldn't give this book 5 stars; it doesn't deserve anything less. The writing is so good to the point I have no words. This is the first book where I could actually make a literary analysis. I understood why Jeffrey Eugenides started to de-individualize the girls, making them into a group. I understood why Cecelia's suicide was cold and distant, while Bonnie's, Lux's, Therese's, and Mary's attempt was raw and alive. I understood why Mary's suicide was described quickly and factually. With all of this said, I am most proud of myself for actually being able to identify these different moods through writing.
Between Cecelia's suicide and the rest (of the suicides), I was living my annotating dreams. Just like the boy's, I was seeing everything with rose-colored glasses. Annotating all the pretty quotes, writing down my thoughts in the margins, feeling understood as a teenager. The girl's suicide felt something inevitable, like the passing of time.
Finishing this book felt like listening to the breeze on an eerie, quiet afternoon.
4.25 (Current) review
I am doing this because I realize that this book lacked something, something that had made my five star read, five stars: emotion. I felt like this story was told by the boys in a “oh yeah… this happened“ kind of way, carelessly, making me have no connection to anyone. The boys were, this hidden narrator, detached from the story, while the girls were the these goddesses who nobody could understand or talk to. I had no burning desire to read, like all my other favorites. I also, if asked my friend, could not go into a detailed rant about the book.I wanted this book to be a five star read so bad. I ignored anything that didn’t prove that.
I don’t regret reading this book and I’m very glad I did. Me and this book didn’t click, we didn’t have chemistry together. This book that to you, I’m so jealous because I really wish I had done that to me.
Book Rating
★★★☆☆ (4.25/5) stars
The reason that I had to deduct .75 stars was that, while the story was beautifully written, it felt detached and emotionless at times. The boys' narration was almost too distant, like they were observing from far away rather than living through the events, which made it hard to connect with the characters. I enjoyed the book but didn’t feel that magnetic pull to keep reading.
Favorite Quote
...they knew everything about us though we couldn't fathom them at all. We knew finally, that the girls were really women in disguise, that they understood love and even death...
Sources, Credits & Links
Mood, genre and pace via The Storygraph
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