Search - The Marriage Plot

Mechanically well-written but ultimately unsatisfying tale of a romantic triangle between an upper-class young woman fascinated by Victorian writers, an erratic biologist from the wrong side of the tracks, and a young man with a religious obsession. Ultimately, the reader can't invest in any of them and the whole story just sort of piddles off to an undetermined ending.

I have loved the other two books of Jeffrey Eugenides and this one is no exception. It's an odd, uncomfortable story but beautifully written with well defined characters. It was an engaging read from beginning to end. If you've liked his other books or if you just enjoy a really good novel that isn't exactly "happy", you will like this book.

"The Marriage Plot" by Jeffrey Eugenides was an interesting book to read, but it left me with a very unsatisfied feeling and I didn't like the characters all that much, feeling that some were very immature and made bad choices. I also think the book is very elitist.

Throwing in the section on English grammar and the theory of deconstruction was of interest to me, but there were a lot of things I had to look up in order to make sure I understood them. Since my degree isn't in English, I either had to ask my daughter whose degrees are in English or look things up, but I must say that I learned a thing or two.

I was a bit disappointed with it. Others may like it very much, but it depends on your taste in literary fiction.

I was disapointed in this book after liking Middlesex so much.

This book was fine and ultimately readable but it felt as though the action took place within a few weeks (although it didn't) and none of the characters really gained anything. Also, for a thread that disappeared shortly after the beginning of the book and was only resurrected on the final page, titling the book "The Marriage Plot" seems a bit of a stretch. Overall I was underwhelmed, especially after enjoying Middlesex.