The Virgin Suicides in Read the Movie

Nov 17, 2012 W rated it really liked it

Shelves: drama, classics, adult

This is really an unusual, but surprisingly good book. I enjoyed the descriptions, the story and the mystery. It did creep me out, as it seems the boys were obsessed with the girls, but the point of view from the community and them made the story, as nobody actually knew why the girls all killed themselves.

Was it the over protective mother who drove them to it? Was there something more sinister happening? We never really get the answers, but from the start the girls were troubled. I found it to This is really an unusual, but surprisingly good book. I enjoyed the descriptions, the story and the mystery. It did creep me out, as it seems the boys were obsessed with the girls, but the point of view from the community and them made the story, as nobody actually knew why the girls all killed themselves.

Was it the over protective mother who drove them to it? Was there something more sinister happening? We never really get the answers, but from the start the girls were troubled. I found it to be depressing, but ironically there were some funny moments as well. The book focused a lot on Lux, the more rebellious one. Obviously from the start of the book, we know they all kill themselves, but if one had chosen to live, i believe it would have been her. She was doing all the things a rebellious teenager would do, smoking, drinking, casual boyfriends, etc.

From the view point of the boys, each girl had their own personality, and somehow made them out to be goddesses, something very special that only they shared.

My view of this is, is that they created characters out of the girls, we never see it from their point, so we can never really know what they were like. We only get a glimpse of them from the outside world, looking in. The dad, who does his duty each day. The mother, with her strict, religious rules. What pushed them to do this? And after the first suicide, the girls kill themselves on the anniversary of Cecelia's attempted suicide, not on the date of her succeeding. It is also mentioned in the book. There are more questions then answers, and that is what makes this novel so unique.

Also, we see how things go bad in the book, and everyone is witness to it, but strangely nobody does anything, as there was a year that someone could have helped them, but did nothing. That says a lot about the society we live in. Everyone is just minding their own business, and going along in life, and when something bad happens to someone, we feel sympathy, but yet, no action is taken to help. In this situation, someone could definitely have prevented this tragedy.

The book almost reads like a detective novel, where exhibits are displayed and interviews done about 20 years later. Including the mother and father, although i am not clear if they are still together, though evidence suggests they are no longer married, or they are separated.

I loved the book, it's sense of mystery and tragedy. We never know the true answers, but we can just guess as to why. And that is what the book leaves you with. ...more

Like · see review

Mar 06, 2013 Sarah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: outside-of-top-100

Whew, talk about dark and dreary novels, Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides takes the cake! In the same strain of writing as The Silver Linings Playbook, The Virgin Suicides is the tragic story of the five Lisbon sisters of Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

The Lisbon sisters are the desire of every teenage boy in their neighborhood. The constant focus of gossip, these sisters have insufferable parents, including a micromanaging father who refuses to let them out of the house. The youngest sister atte ...more

Like · see review