Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

149 reviews

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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

This book kept me on the edge of the seat and was very mysterious giving nothing away even at the end. It has a great commentary on American culture including purity culture, religion, and girlhood all experienced through the voyeuristic lens of the male gaze, specifically teenage boys. How they viewed the Lisbon girls and their inability to truly see them or want to actively help them had my skin crawling which  is the point. The Lisbon girls exist on page only as two dimensional characters who, unbeknownst to the boys, are crying out for help. However these nuances play out do subtly on the page that only a true understanding of the Lisbon girls can be understood if you were, at  one point, a Lisbon girl. After reading I scoured the internet for essays, videos, and fanfics that were able to put my scrambled and shocked thoughts into a concise narrative but I have only found small pieces spread throughout it. If you were a big English Literature kid who loves to look for the deeper meanings this book is for you. A point was taken off for unnecessary racism and racial slurs which took me out of the story immensely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Child death, Suicide attempt, Death, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Grief, Toxic relationship, and Confinement

Minor: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Emotional abuse

creatureof_nature's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, Child death, and Suicide

Moderate: Grief, Sexual harassment, and Self harm

srslyconfused's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Very interesting and sad. Seems like a very socially critical and male heavy view on young women and girls and theirs struggles. Don’t know if this was intentional or not, but is sadly a accurate description of the real world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Grief, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child death, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

mjones14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was a really interesting book. The prose mirrors the style of 'on earth we are briefly gorgeous' in being poeticly written. Unfortunately, it is a victim of its time with several outdated stereotypes, however I still enjoyed it overall

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Confinement

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Eating disorder and Religious bigotry

lucym1502's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Maybe I'm not intelligent enough but this did nothing for me until

the final four girls die

. That description was magnetic and harrowing, but I found large parts of the story forgettable, and I was so excited to read it as well. Maybe I lack the nuance to understand its beauty properly...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

alicelalicon's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Child death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

taylorp98's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Grief, and Suicide

ameliayawen's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Child death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse

haleybooks0318's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Sexual content, Death, Grief, and Suicide

_rowan_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death, Suicide, Child abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror