"In the end, the tortures tearing the Lisbon girls pointed to a simple reasoned refusal to accept the world as it was handed down to them, so full of flaws."
Title: The Virgin Suicides
Author: Jeffrey Eugenides
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Format: Ebook
Source: Bought
Genre: YA Contemporary
SPOILER FREE
Blurb:
The shocking thing about the five Lisbon sisters was how nearly normal they seemed when their mother let them out for the one and only date of their lives. Twenty years on, their enigmatic personalities are embalmed in the memories of the boys who worshipped them and who now recall their shared adolescence: the brassiere draped over a crucifix belonging to the promiscuous Lux; the sisters' breathtaking appearance on the night of the dance; and the sultry, sleepy street across which they watched a family disintegrate and fragile lives disappear.
Plot: ★★★.5
I enjoyed the plot quite a bit, it was different from anything else I'd ever read. The book is told from the point of view of a group of guys that are obsessed with the Lisbon sisters, watching them and analyzing everything they do. Even 20 years down the road after the suicides, the boys are still obsessed with these girls, compiling everything they can find that had anything to do with them. This point of view can get creepy at times, especially near the end when you find out that the infatuation never went away. And this POV also results in a sort of disconnect from the characters, making it hard to really relate to the story. The way the story is told is definitely different, and I'm not sure if I liked it or not. Also, there was too much stuff in the story that I didn't care about, and not enough that I did care about.
Characters: ★★★
Like I said, it was hard to connect to any of the characters, it always felt like we were on the outside, unable to break the barrier between us and the Lisbon sisters. I felt I didn't get enough information about them. Cecilia and Lux were the only two sisters that stood out and felt as though they had a personality of their own, the other three just blended in with one another. I often couldn't tell who was who, Also, the guys who were telling the story weirded me out, and I hated the Lisbon parents. They were so useless.
Writing: ★★★★★
This was the best part of the book. Jeffrey Eugenides has such an incredible writing style. It's beautiful and poetic, and he uses analogies that are so out of the ordinary (some of them were a little too weird, but I still could appreciate them). I definitely want to read his other two books, just because I loved the writing style so much.
Ending: ★★★★
The ending was good, it got real and made me think about everything. The middle dragged on so much that the ending was kind of a relief, it was as fast paced and interesting as the beginning was. I may have cried a little bit.
Rereadability: I think so. I think it's one of those books you should read more than once.
Final Rating: ★★★★
[Note: This was the Better Read Than Dead Book Club (x) read of the month! We will be doing a live show on Saturday, January 31st at 3pm EST discussing this book in great detail. Check it out if you're interested.]
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