Rating: 
Summary: Powerful story- overkill on details = 3 1/2 stars
Review: Before reading The Virgin Suicides, i saw the movie which i felt was wonderful. The fact that the story of these five mysterious sisters was told through the point of view of a neigborhood boy, as opposed to an unknown narrarator, made it that much more interesting because it added an element most stories don't have and i thought that it probably carried over well from the book to the film. I was not let down. This book tells the story of the five Lisbon sisters, ages ranging from 13 to 17, whose lives are sheltered by their parents. It is told from the point of view of the grown-up version of a neighborhood boy, who along with his friends are fascinated by these girls who seem to almost be living in a different world. They watched the demise of the Lisbon family after the youngest daughter takes her own life. From that point on, the man reflects about what led up to the events that take place in the end of the story. The one down side to this story is that the author will go off on a tangent about little things in the book which have no significance the story, or the lives of the characters. But even so, it is worth it to read this story. It shows suicide in a unique light, and will move anybody who takes the time to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: other reviews seemed a bias responce to the movie
Review: If you really are interested watch the movie don't read the book. Lyrical? yes. Easy read? yes. if you have lots of time to just sit and read i would say read it but if your not so blessed with time don't. It is a Ophra book type book that is easy pleasure read, but not even given the depressing tone of the work.
The situation itself is not a very viable i would say in this day and age. Of parents of girls being ridiculously overprotective of their children and driving them to suicide, although that is not the only factor which caused the girls demise. Also the guys fasicination at the girls seems to be highly unrealistic. As a nonsensical work it can be enjoyable but to gain any real application no.
The other reviews seem to have been biasly written, mostly i would guess by the fans of the movie and such. not highly recommended. make your own decision.
Rating: 
Summary: you can almost reach out and touch them...
Review: this book has to be a classic. im only 13..but i can still relate. this book is sad but is beautiffly written and ultimatly unforgettablem, you wont be disapointed. youll be up at night thinking about them, like the boys in the story, just trying to put the pieces together.
Rating:
Summary: better than the movie, great stormy day novel
Review: don't let the dissapointing movie decieve you. this book is full of details, more exciting scenes, better dialogue, and just a more capturing atmosphere to swallow the reader into the text. the first chapter tells straight off how all of the mysterious Lisbon girls commited suicide and how it affected all of the boys that lived in their neighborhood, the same boys who narrate the story. the boys describe how the Lisbon girls mezmerized everyone who looked at them and especially knew them. this book is witty, dramatic, and just plain awesome. definately check it out!
Rating:
Summary: Elaborate, Deep, Gorgeous
Review: "The Virgin Suicides" begins fittingly with a suicide; that of the youngest daughter of the Lisbon house, names Cecelia. After a failed attempt by slitting her wrists in the bath tub, she jumps out a window in a wedding dress (her favorite outfit) and impales herself on the iron fence guarding the Lisbon family from the rest of the world. One year later, all the other daughters (Mary, Therese, Bonnie, and Lux) had killed themselves. The story here is the investigation by their young, male neighbors as to why they killed themselves, a mystery no one could solve.Eugenides' tale is one of the best literary examples of showing rather than telling I have ever read. Not only in the subtle ways he describes the narrators many years after the suicides as the book was written, but as the narrators describe the Lisbon girls through the various recovered trinkets they owned. One of the most interesting aspects of this book is how it resembles an episode of C.S.I. that would never air on TV, because the ending would not satisfy viewers. The narrators frequently refer to exhibits #1 through #97, various artifacts they've scavenged from the Lisbon house that help to define who the girls were. They have Cecelia's journal, Mary's make-up, Lux's tube-top, and many other pieces, that don't really complete the puzzle. I found it alarming how much I could relate to the Lisbon girls, coming from parents who are also much more overly-protective than necessary. This is a book any young parents should read, as a "what-not-to-do" guide. Or, better yet, a book for both parent and child to read together and discuss. It's truly honest, not overly shocking, but not to tender and loving. As an aside, for those who'd rather not invest the time in the book, the film "The Virgin Suicides" is an excellent adaptation, altering only minute details, and even giving you a taste of Eugenides' lovely writing, as narrated throughout the film. It's well acted (unless you're one of the Kirsten Dunst haters) and skillfully written-for-screen and directed by Sofia Coppola (Francis' sister).
Rating: 
Summary: Despite the theme, it was forgettable.
Review: Right off the back, I hate when an author chooses to reveal what is going to happen at the end, in the beginning. It's incredibly frustrating and succeeds in making me lose some interest in the story. Other than that important factor, the book was good. Eugenides chose an interesting way of narrating, by using a group of adolescent boys who obsess over the suicidal Lisbon sisters. Every step of the way, it seems like you are actually hanging out with these men who have been overcome by a boyhood crush. The men (narrators) are all mid-life, balding with alcoholism, as they recount the experiences and events having to do with the Lisbon girls. We are taken from the youngest sister's suicide to the decline of the Lisbon family's hygiene to the rest of the untimely deaths. The setting of the book was not just a prop, but a factor in the entirity of the book. As you read, you had a constant reminder that what you were reading wasn't modern day. Most of all, the book dealt with psychology. Everybody tried to figure out what caused the girls to take their own lives. The mystery of their deaths seems so obvious at times, but is quickly shadowed with another introduced fact or viewpoint. It is frustrating (but an important part of the story) how incredibly strict the girl's mother is. Sometimes I wonder if it was partly her fault that her daughters were depressed. Hmm... Little parts of the end were somewhat boring because it seemed that the doctors were just discovering chemical imbalances that cause depression, and this was being worked into the story of the girls. A good read, nevertheless.
Rating:
Summary: If you like Indie movies, you'll love this
Review: I was drawn to this book because of the title. It's strangely put together to create a story about the Lisbon girls through the eyes of their classmates and neighbours. Keep an open mind when reading it because some of the story tends to run on and on and some of it abruptly stops. Read this book, then rent the movie and the book will make a lot more sense to you.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing....but good
Review: This book is about a family with 5 daughters, and how the suicide of a daughter (Cecilia) effects the family and the entire neighborhood. I don't want to be misleading though, this book is not the tale of them overcoming the tragedy, but dwelling in it. Do NOT read this book if you don't want to be depressed, because it is a very sad story, and parts of it are very disturbing.
One thing that bothered me was i could never decide the narrators exact place in the story, but i did enjoy the descriptions, they created wonderful imagery.
this book will definitely teach you to appreciate the life you live
Rating:
Summary: classic
Review: Eugenides first novel turns out to be a great accomplishment! It's a story about the Lisbon sisters and how they leave earth one by one. Why? Maybe their wacko parents? Their sheltered lives? The story is told by a teenage, girl obsessed neighbor boy and his friends and how they interact with the sisters. It is a very odd and strange novel that is not for everyone...it has a slight black humor around the edges yet very delicate. It a true work of fiction and very different which sets it apart from other great works of fiction. A must read for any true outside the ordinary (or box!) fiction reader!
Rating:
Summary: A surreal and strange commentary on the teenage years
Review: In many ways this is a difficult novel to review. There are so many social commentaries going on here its hard to know where to begin. The central theme of course is the suicides of the five beautiful, remote Lisbon sisters. The why of their deaths is not really relevant to the storyline, in fact a satisfying answer is never obtained. The novel is more a reflection on the alienation and angst of those teenage years. The unrequited longing that teenagers feel for one another, the need to rebel, the need to conform, the desperate urgency that permeates every emotion. The narrator's observations and "investigation" of the deaths takes on an almost creepy voyueristic tone, yet still maintains an almost childlike innocence. This novel is well worth your time to read, just be prepared to be a bit "creeped out" now and then.
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