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The Virgin Suicides
 

The Virgin Suicides

by Jeffrey Eugenides

In the tradition of Bright Lights, Big City and The Secret History comes a compelling, highly-acclaimed debut novel of youth and innocence. On the elm-lined streets of a middle-class American city, the lives of a group of teenaged boys are forever changed by their obsession with five mysteriously doomed sisters. (read review)

Top tags: fiction,  contemporary fiction,  suicide,  sisters,  tragedy (all tags)

Discussions

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  • Heather P

    heather p said:

    “Sadly, I read this after the movie, couldn't really connect with the Characters as much b/c I kept seeing Kirstin Dunce-st and Kathleen Turner in my mind...ugh.”

    posted Tuesday, May 20 2008
  • Edgar W

    edgar w said:

    “I cannot wait to buy this book. From all of your posts it sounds amazing! What movie is mocked after it? So i can avoid it!”

    posted Tuesday, May 13 2008 ( | view 1 reply )
  • Raquel P

    raquel p said:

    “¿Qué te está pareciendo?
    ¿Has llegado ya a esa parte en la que... ?
    ”

    posted Saturday, April 12 2008
  • Stefanie G

    stefanie g said:

    “I really enjoyed the imagery of the trees and how, like the sisters, they slowly died. Throughout the book the narrator tells of the attempts by his friends and the rest of the town to understand the suicide of the Lisbon girls but can't really find an answer.

    I read this after Middlesex, so it's interesting to compare the two; they're similar in that they're both narrated, but the narrator here is much more removed than in Middlesex. Also, in the last quarter of the book there are a couple of pages about a Greek grandmother that's almost a sneak peek into Middlesex.

    It's also an interesting story that's well told.
    ”

    posted Sunday, January 20 2008
  • rmg1979

    rmg1979 said:

    “I wish I had read this before seeing the movie - but, I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the movie followed the plot and style of narration from the book. The author explores a world of innocent, adolescent obsession from the vantage point of the boys who admire the Lisbon sisters. Without exploring in depth the lives of the boys, the reader is able to see their lives through their exploration of the grieving sisters. The voice of the narrator was distinctly adolescent and portrayed beautifully.”

    posted Thursday, December 27 2007
  • nola

    nola said:

    “the book was a gift to me. I haven't read it but i have seen the film. and i have been greatly disturbed by the film...so i'm not sure i will be reading the book anytime soon. ”

    posted Wednesday, November 7 2007
  • riogoddess

    riogoddess said:

    “surreal...”

    posted Tuesday, September 4 2007
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