Old Blog Posts Saturday- The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Once Upon A Time...

Cassie used to do another blog, as "Optimistic Reader". 

These are those reviews:

 

The Virgin Suicides

By

Jeffrey Eugenides

“She held herself very straight, like Audrey Hepburn, whom all women idolize and men never think about.” 

For much of this book it felt like we were just muddling through a story that had little to no real plot points. In some lesser books that I have read this would have caused me to end the novel prematurely and think that it was the worst book I have ever read, but for some reason this book enticed me enough to stay. It never really, in my opinion, got a point to it overall. This being said though the book is still a worthwhile read. 

The book heavily showcases what it is like to grow up in a family that is best described as dysfunctional. The seclusion that is placed on these young girls is similar to what numerous parents put their children through when they are severely abused. I was shocked that this aspect did not come up more within the confine of the pages, but it would have detracted from the overall story so I understand the author's choice not to include it as an element. The boys do little to pinpoint that the girls are suffering from a form of abuse either, since they are our primary source of information in this book as the narrator.

One element of this book that went right over my head was the fact that there is supposedly dark humor contained within it, but this element never seemed to present itself to me. The book instead seemed to be about a group of young girls forced to live away from the world and what can happen as a result. There was nothing contained within the pages that made me laugh in any context (dark or not), but this could be due to my previous history studying the field of social work.

The book was sad and depressing, but sometimes we need a book like this. I appreciated it for what Eugenides was creating here because the overall story has a very "Stand by Me" or also what I like to call the "growing up" type of storyline where a group of kids from a neighborhood have a moment in time or a summer that they always will remember. He weaves this aspect into the story seamlessly even when it is not really about a group of kids like others in this type of genre. He creates an underlying feeling though of this and it creates a masterfully woven tale because of it. >>>>>>

I did enjoy the book, but I would not place it in my top ten favorite reads ever. I give it a solid three faerie points and would say spend time reading it for yourself. You may get the humor that was allegedly contained within because all people view the world differently.

Until Next Time... Stay OPTIMISTIC!!!