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justaurorahere's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
britneykirtley's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I kind of expected a more mystery to the story. It’s been awhile since i read a book that i really love and it’s been putting me in a slump. Maybe because i kept picking up classics recently. But this book had me so intrigued at first, but then the middle part was so slowww. There are too many names and characters and they’re just there to add some comments about the girls n their family.
I do enjoy certain parts of the story, i also appreciate that we don’t really understand why the girls did what they did because most of the time when things like this happen- is not something we can understand or reason or saw it coming.
I do enjoy certain parts of the story, i also appreciate that we don’t really understand why the girls did what they did because most of the time when things like this happen- is not something we can understand or reason or saw it coming.
applethecompany's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
phelosophical's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
qadstephens's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
toutesleschosesmarguerite's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book truly is everything. Though seemingly a teen-targeted story, it seems to me to be characterised by far more depth and layers than it is being attributed as "just a story about idealized girls who killed themselves for no apparent reason".
For he more invested I was in the book, the more it felt to me like strange crossover of Fitzgerald and Nabokov; a tale of social decay and moral destitute with an artful playfulness and vivid imaginary of a skilled artist. The unique narrative structure, relying on an unfaithful account of a group of grown men reminiscing about their youth, alongside a myriad of quotes and opinions from people they lived and shared those experiences with, created a true vivisection of human life - of its apparent pointlessness, of social dynamics, of childish, teenage infatuations and of the complexities of human psyche.
Such a unique choice led to a creation of a strong sense of grotesque, all to prevalent in our society and rarely mirrored in such a skilled manner in art. Descriptions of the girls slow decay, of their personal tragedies, of ambulances taking away dead bodies and of last moments before a suicide are intersected with outright ridiculous commentary by the people who, as uninvolved witnesses, assisted over the course of a year to the peculiar tragedy of the Lisbons.
Eugenides thus manages to display the full spectrum of the life in a modern American society: the sweet and the nasty, the blatant hypocrisy and the strange detachment that members of a seemingly close community have from themselves and from each other. The narcissism that prevails in us all, the human need to simplify and to instrumentalise; the quickness of the detachment of the Lisbon girls from the society, the symbolism that begun to surround them and, effectively, to further isolate them due to a set of various qualities attributed to them (such as being visionaries and managing to predict the decay of the auto industry, the neighborhood trees and the society as a whole or being a part of some strange cult or religion that led them to take their own lives as some sort of a ritual) perfectly describes the mentality of many people that we are not willing to notice.
The contrast between the heaviness of the main subject (a mass suicide of forcefully locked down and isolated girls) and the peculiar narration style used by Eugenides perfectly highlights multi-layerdness of his work.
Yet what makes this book so appealing is not just the omnipresent, yet subtle grotesque or the witty social commentary. What makes it a truly memorable read is the plasticity of Eugenides' prose, his attention to detail, the languages that he uses in order to properly recreate the world of a group of coming-of-age boys, growing up in the suburbs, still confined to a few streets of their own neighborhood. He is one of the few authors I know that successfully conveyed the one-of-a-kind feeling that comes with the years of teenagehood, of the slow transition from a child to an adult, the way of seeing the world that isn so specific to that exact age and that never comes back again. Eugenides' book is a perfect mix between a witty social commentary and a beautifully written book, vivid and palpable like few other books I know.
For he more invested I was in the book, the more it felt to me like strange crossover of Fitzgerald and Nabokov; a tale of social decay and moral destitute with an artful playfulness and vivid imaginary of a skilled artist. The unique narrative structure, relying on an unfaithful account of a group of grown men reminiscing about their youth, alongside a myriad of quotes and opinions from people they lived and shared those experiences with, created a true vivisection of human life - of its apparent pointlessness, of social dynamics, of childish, teenage infatuations and of the complexities of human psyche.
Such a unique choice led to a creation of a strong sense of grotesque, all to prevalent in our society and rarely mirrored in such a skilled manner in art. Descriptions of the girls slow decay, of their personal tragedies, of ambulances taking away dead bodies and of last moments before a suicide are intersected with outright ridiculous commentary by the people who, as uninvolved witnesses, assisted over the course of a year to the peculiar tragedy of the Lisbons.
Eugenides thus manages to display the full spectrum of the life in a modern American society: the sweet and the nasty, the blatant hypocrisy and the strange detachment that members of a seemingly close community have from themselves and from each other. The narcissism that prevails in us all, the human need to simplify and to instrumentalise; the quickness of the detachment of the Lisbon girls from the society, the symbolism that begun to surround them and, effectively, to further isolate them due to a set of various qualities attributed to them (such as being visionaries and managing to predict the decay of the auto industry, the neighborhood trees and the society as a whole or being a part of some strange cult or religion that led them to take their own lives as some sort of a ritual) perfectly describes the mentality of many people that we are not willing to notice.
The contrast between the heaviness of the main subject (a mass suicide of forcefully locked down and isolated girls) and the peculiar narration style used by Eugenides perfectly highlights multi-layerdness of his work.
Yet what makes this book so appealing is not just the omnipresent, yet subtle grotesque or the witty social commentary. What makes it a truly memorable read is the plasticity of Eugenides' prose, his attention to detail, the languages that he uses in order to properly recreate the world of a group of coming-of-age boys, growing up in the suburbs, still confined to a few streets of their own neighborhood. He is one of the few authors I know that successfully conveyed the one-of-a-kind feeling that comes with the years of teenagehood, of the slow transition from a child to an adult, the way of seeing the world that isn so specific to that exact age and that never comes back again. Eugenides' book is a perfect mix between a witty social commentary and a beautifully written book, vivid and palpable like few other books I know.
indaslicht's review against another edition
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
spooky_snoopy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
A lot of imagery, I would re-read it due to the detailed descriptions adding to the story
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Classism, and Confinement
Minor: Alcohol
jackleopards's review against another edition
4.0
“We went outside with our hair wet in the hopes of catching flu ourselves so that we might share their delirium.” This book has the word ‘bittersweet’ written on all of its pages.
As much as I had some anticipation before delving into this, this book didn’t go the way I was expecting and I don’t mean it in a bad way. ‘The Virgin Suicides’ follows the perspective of boys and their curiosity with the mundane ways of the 4 sisters coping with the bereavement of their sister’s passing in the backdrop of a 1970s suburb. With a tinge of poignancy, it gives light to the aftermath of taking one’s own life to the lives of the people around you — the ones you cherished and the undeserving onlookers. Reading it was, at times, atmospheric, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for what these sisters have to go through especially when suicide is still stigmatized and not a matter worth discussing during their time.
Picking a book on a whim because you just happen to see the cover while scanning in the bookstore might not always be a bad idea (with caution!) because I just discovered this book that wasn’t even up my alley, and I may or may not do it again in the future.
As much as I had some anticipation before delving into this, this book didn’t go the way I was expecting and I don’t mean it in a bad way. ‘The Virgin Suicides’ follows the perspective of boys and their curiosity with the mundane ways of the 4 sisters coping with the bereavement of their sister’s passing in the backdrop of a 1970s suburb. With a tinge of poignancy, it gives light to the aftermath of taking one’s own life to the lives of the people around you — the ones you cherished and the undeserving onlookers. Reading it was, at times, atmospheric, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for what these sisters have to go through especially when suicide is still stigmatized and not a matter worth discussing during their time.
Picking a book on a whim because you just happen to see the cover while scanning in the bookstore might not always be a bad idea (with caution!) because I just discovered this book that wasn’t even up my alley, and I may or may not do it again in the future.
eleanorghunt's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0