Rating: Summary: Absolutely fascinating! Review: I've read the German Edition of "The Virgin Suicides" and I'm really amazed about it. It's one of the most touching novels I've ever read. The way Jeffrey Eugenides describes the life and death of the sisters has it's very own kind. It's very disturbing but also funny at the same time. I think that the Movie catches the mood of the Novel perfectly well! You should definitely read it. It's one of the best Books I've ever read!
Rating: Summary: See the movie instead Review: Frankly, I almost missed the movie because I'd already read the book. This book's cleverness is in its voice, but the story is truly empty and its characters unmotivated . There are never any revelations about the reasons these "virgins" commit suicide, but from the tone of the narrative and its annoying voyeurism, one can guess the author's inference is that the real tragedy is that the Lisbon sisters died virgins. I'm just kidding, but really, this novel is ridiculous, and offers no more than a hackneyed and stereotypical portrayal of adolescence. Critics have compared it to Birdy which is far superior. I had to laugh at myself for even entertaining the idea of reading this book. See the movie instead. It's not a masterpiece either, but for a first work, it's far more artistic than this silly screed. Eugenides was a lucky scribbler to have sold it. There's not a shred of plausibilty in this story. I should have taken my cue from the title: VIRGIN Suicides. They're not girls, not women, not even people; they're virgins! And Eugenides kills them off for no reason at all. Please! It should be subtitled: Misogynist Gets Even With Words. Curiously, I suspect that the writer has talent, but this product is not solid evidence.
Rating: Summary: What's wrong with American Society? Review: What's wrong with American Society? This book with ask that question and attempt to find an answer. This book is for readers who like questions but very few answers. After reading this book I can't help be constantly think of the ideas and images it places before you. It's an awesome journey through the lives of a small suburb where 5 sisters all commit suicide and total destroy the whole suburb and alter the lives the boys who live in that suburb. It's a beautifully written story that takes you into the lives a people who should have it all, people who look like they are happy, who are living the American dream. This book will challenge you to think and to find answers to what is truly wrong with our society. This is one of the best books I have ever read and one of the best books of 90s.
Rating: Summary: A Haunting and Sad Tale Review: First, I must commend Jeffrey Eugenides for the way he uses a chorus of young boys to narrate the novel. We never know who exactly the "I" of the story is, if indeed there is an "I." But we see not only the pain of five girls subjected to an extremely strict mother, but the pain of the boys whose adolescence -- whose entire view of women -- are forever marked by the fate of the Lisbon girls. Just don't read this book if you are seriously depressed!
Rating: Summary: excellent Review: First of All, in the first review of this book was wrong. Cecilia was the youngest Libson girl. However, this was a wonderfully written novel with black humor about the difficulties of the teenage years and about the loss of innocence.
Rating: Summary: A great story, which touches you. Review: As you go through this story, you find it intriguing and touching. I am only 13 years old, and I couldn't put it down, it was great and thrilling. The story takes you through the lives of the remaining four Lisbon girls. It is told by their neighbors, who are recollecting the girl's lives. The book starts out with the suicide of the youngest Lisbon girl, Cecilia. The book tells how this suicide slowly deteriorates the Lisbon house, along with the people inside. The Lisbon girls enigmatic, shrouded personalities are embaled in the memories of the boys who once worshipped them. It is told as a recollection of the past, with hardly and dialogue. It i s a great book for the older audience, showing the depth of despair as the famly's lives slowly disentegrate, and their fragile lives disappear. This book is sad, and at parts depressing, but it gives you the outlook on life, of how it is so fragile, and something, as one suicide, can change it. It can change you, and the people around you. It makes you think alot, which decisions to make, and which to not.
Rating: Summary: the Virgin Suicides Review: To sum up the Virgin Suicides in one word is WOW. I've never read a book like this... Jeffrey Eugenides has this way of writing that's just like wow! Everyone has to read this book!
Rating: Summary: Uh, What? Review: I think I'm missing something. After reading some of the headlines of reviews here, I think I'm missing about 300 more pages worth of actual plot, indepth characters, or at least well-crafted, interesting words. Maybe my book came lacking some important pages, because this book was an utter waste of time. It's nothing. How this even got printed and swirled up in hype is beyond me. If you want to read the book, read the first chapter and stop there. It does not progress beyond that.
Rating: Summary: Suprisingly Different, a worthy book Review: I was honestly suprised by how much I liked the book. It came highly recommended and I was between books and thought "oh what the hell" I'll take a look. Boy am I glad I did. This story was one of the most tragic I have ever read, but at the same time strangely beautiful. The imagery was so vivid that this is one of those books where your imagination runs away with you. Reading this book, you can see and feel these poor girls suffer, and although the ending is given away a few times during the book, it doesn't make it any less enjoyable. I haven't seen the movie so I can't compare but if you're looking for an excellent page turner look no further.
Rating: Summary: worth reading Review: I bought this book because I was in between books and just needed something to read, I really wasn't expecting much. Boy was I suprised. This isn't the greatest book I've ever read,(Basic Eight), but it is well worth reading.
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