Fourth Grade Journey

A Fourth Grade Teacher's Journey Through the World of Books

Saturday, May 23, 2015

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides...

How I Heard About It:  I am a fan of Jeffrey Eugenides and his novels, but I never read what I think is his first book.  When I saw it on the audio shelves at the library I decided it would be my next story to listen to on my commute to and from work.

What It Is About:  The Lisbon family is living in Michigan during the early 1970's.  They have five daughters.  Something strange is going on in their home and within the family.  After one of the daughters kills herself, the family becomes even more dysfunctional.  The neighbor boys watch closely as they try to figure out what is going on with the remaining four girls and their parents.  There are times when the girls try to streamline into society and school, but these times are far and few between.  As the family becomes more shut into their home, each of the girls tries to take their life one after another.  Each one will choose a different method and the family as they know it will come to an tragic ending.    

What I Thought Of It:  I know this book sounds completely depressing and yes it is a heavy subject matter, but I found the story compelling, touching, and disturbing all at the same time.  Jeffrey's writing style is stunning and quite beautiful.  He certainly knows how to tell a story.  I enjoyed that the narrator was one of the neighbor boys and told from his viewpoint of an outsider.  I listened to this book on audio and the reader was excellent.  All and all I enjoyed the novel even though it is on a quite difficult topic.

Who Should Read It:  Being that this has such a heavy subject matter this is definitely an adult novel. I believe adult readers will be drawn to this book more than other age groups.  If you have read anything else by this author, then I fairly certain you will enjoy this book.  The writing is incredible and there are so many incredibly beautiful words, sentences, and paragraphs.  Don't let the title and subject matter scare you away.  This is a top-notch adult novel.  Happy Reading!

Rating:  4 STARS out of 5 Stars





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