- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Warner Books; Reprint edition (Jun 1994)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0446670251
- ISBN-13: 978-0446670258
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 13.2 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 319,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Guardian
"the term "first novel" has connotations of apprenticeship that are out of place here"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Independent
"The Virgin Suicides is wonderfully original. It could prove to be the start of an important writing career."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
On the morning the last Lisbon daughter took her turn at suicide-it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese-the two paramedics arrived at the house knowing exactly where the knife drawer was, and the gas oven, and the beam in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
On the morning the last Lisbon daughter took her turn at suicide-it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese-the two paramedics arrived at the house knowing exactly where the knife drawer was, and the gas oven, and the beam in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I saw the film and wanted to read the book to understand the concept more. I wasn't disappointed and was sucked in by the world the boys inhabit and the intensity of their feelings. The girls are indeed mystical creatures and fascinated me from beginning to end. This is a must for all who have seen the film and should not be missed!!!!!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book was one of the best I have ever read. The first and last paragraphs are written beautifully, the last paragraph making me cry with the poignancy of the book.
This tale is of the five beautiful Lisbon sisters, who, by boys in their neighbourhood, are observed with wonder and sadness.
The girls change when the youngest, Cecilia, commits suicide during a party held for her by her parents. Later on, the boys watch as the girls go on their first, and last, date at the prom and wonder how the girls feel when they are mysteriously withdrawn from school. The emotionsranges from the delight the girls feel at being at the prom, to the lonely sadness they must feel as the boys play records down the phone to them. Overall, this book is a fantastic read and will make you feel as though you are in that neighbourhood at that time. A beautiful, poignant book.
This tale is of the five beautiful Lisbon sisters, who, by boys in their neighbourhood, are observed with wonder and sadness.
The girls change when the youngest, Cecilia, commits suicide during a party held for her by her parents. Later on, the boys watch as the girls go on their first, and last, date at the prom and wonder how the girls feel when they are mysteriously withdrawn from school. The emotionsranges from the delight the girls feel at being at the prom, to the lonely sadness they must feel as the boys play records down the phone to them. Overall, this book is a fantastic read and will make you feel as though you are in that neighbourhood at that time. A beautiful, poignant book.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After reading Eugenides masterful Middlesex, I decided to go back and read his much slimmer debut novel in the hopes it was at least partially as good. While it's not quite as amazing as Middlesex, it is quite good in its own peculiar way. However, those who like their novels to answer the questions they raise should be forewarned, as they will likely find it a rather unsatisfying experience.
Set in the early '70s in the tony Detroit suburb of Grosse Point, the story's premise is outlined in the very first paragraph: over the course of a year, all five of the teenaged Lisbon sisters commit suicide. This year is described in an unusual second-person plural voice which is that of a group of neighborhood boys (now men) who, some twenty years later, are reviewing the results of their "investigation" into the suicides. (There doesn't seem be any particular point to laying this out as an investigation, as opposed to a memoir, and this framework is a little shaky in that various "exhibits" and "attachments" are referred to in the narrative, but unavailable to the reader.)
So while the reader is aware from the start that this is a tragedy, the expectation is that the story will go on to explain why this occurred, what drove the girls to do this. And while the story beautifully details that dismal year, and reports on all the speculation by the neighborhood adults who project their own worldviews onto the tragedy, it concludes: "We were certain only of the insufficiency of explanations." And that is presumably the main point of the book --that suicide cannot ever be explained because we can never have access to the person's thoughts and emotions. This also explains the use of the second-person perspective, as Eugenides implicitly rejects the notion of the omniscient narrator. The boys' obsession with the sisters is another enigma, and becomes almost as creepy and dark as the suicides, as we learn of their all-night vigils and serial-killeresque hoarding of Lisbon sister-related artifacts.
The writing has a certain dreamy ethereal ambiguity to it--there's definitely the haze of memory and a certain degree of nostalgia, but overlain with the essential mysteriousness of the five girls. We only get to know two of them particularly well: Cecilia, a kind of proto-goth who dyes her underwear black, and Lux, who attempts to find human connection via hedonism. In a sense, the book is kind of gothic horror story, shot through with moments of black humor (such as the when the men of the neighborhood struggle to remove the fence Cecilia impales herself on). The film version is utterly faithful to both this tone and the storyline itself.
Set in the early '70s in the tony Detroit suburb of Grosse Point, the story's premise is outlined in the very first paragraph: over the course of a year, all five of the teenaged Lisbon sisters commit suicide. This year is described in an unusual second-person plural voice which is that of a group of neighborhood boys (now men) who, some twenty years later, are reviewing the results of their "investigation" into the suicides. (There doesn't seem be any particular point to laying this out as an investigation, as opposed to a memoir, and this framework is a little shaky in that various "exhibits" and "attachments" are referred to in the narrative, but unavailable to the reader.)
So while the reader is aware from the start that this is a tragedy, the expectation is that the story will go on to explain why this occurred, what drove the girls to do this. And while the story beautifully details that dismal year, and reports on all the speculation by the neighborhood adults who project their own worldviews onto the tragedy, it concludes: "We were certain only of the insufficiency of explanations." And that is presumably the main point of the book --that suicide cannot ever be explained because we can never have access to the person's thoughts and emotions. This also explains the use of the second-person perspective, as Eugenides implicitly rejects the notion of the omniscient narrator. The boys' obsession with the sisters is another enigma, and becomes almost as creepy and dark as the suicides, as we learn of their all-night vigils and serial-killeresque hoarding of Lisbon sister-related artifacts.
The writing has a certain dreamy ethereal ambiguity to it--there's definitely the haze of memory and a certain degree of nostalgia, but overlain with the essential mysteriousness of the five girls. We only get to know two of them particularly well: Cecilia, a kind of proto-goth who dyes her underwear black, and Lux, who attempts to find human connection via hedonism. In a sense, the book is kind of gothic horror story, shot through with moments of black humor (such as the when the men of the neighborhood struggle to remove the fence Cecilia impales herself on). The film version is utterly faithful to both this tone and the storyline itself.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great novel
I really adore this poetic, mysterious and decadent story of the Lisbon sisters. Eugenides knows how to write and how to make the tragic adorable.
Published 3 months ago by Anna
Compelling
I found this book compelling - well written even though the subject matter was difficult. The style of writing was so descriptive and at times I felt that I was there - have passed... Read more
Published 5 months ago by ambridgemassive
Calm and boring
On about page 50 I thought "why am I reading this?" I was not enjoying it, it was not interesting, and the style with first personal plural seemed designed to put the reader to... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ransen Owen
So tragic but beautiful
I read this book and then watched the film. I was very disappointed with the film as they leave some things out but then isn't that what is expected of a film that is a product of... Read more
Published 7 months ago by serenitylopez
Quirky
A very different and intriguing book. This book was not quite what I expected, but I'd like to think of that in a good way. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Stepping Out of the Page
A fantastic read.
As soon as I started reading this all I wanted to do was read it, whenever I was doing something else my mind was on the book. Read more
Published 7 months ago by GThain
Truly Wonderful
I didn't buy this book for myself. I bought it for someone else; yet what makes it special? The sheer beautiful book it is makes it amazing. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Ala
Jeffrey Eugenides - The Virgin Suicides
This book is about the Lisbon sisters who in a space of a year all committed suicide. It is told from the perspective of a group of boys who went to school with thie girls, now... Read more
Published 10 months ago by molko
A great read
Its a great book and quite small which meant it fit in my bag very well so I could keep reading it wherever I went. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Daisie
so, it's good and ...
... you haven't read this yet!? what have you been doing? you'll be carrying this around at parties after you've read this, waving it in front of complete strangers, giving copies... Read more
Published 11 months ago by P.J.C. Mallone
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