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Book Review of The Virgin Suicides

The Virgin Suicides
bran-flakes14 avatar reviewed on + 72 more book reviews


"The Virgin Suicides" is hard to classify in a specific genre, but it needn't have one to be a great book. Detailing the mysterious and claustrophobic lives of a group of sisters in the 1970s, told from the point-of-view of a group of neighbor boys fascinated with the girls, the story is well-written and is both funny and tragic. Eugenides casts a certain moody magic over his prose, and manages to explore themes of sheltering, societal expectations, adolescence, and, yes, depression and suicide, in a haunting story filled with intriguing characters. This is a highly recommended book, and the film version by acclaimed director Sofia Coppola is unmissable, too.