The Virgin Suicides

Jeffrey Eugenides

Genre

Recommended By

Book Synopsis

"The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides is a haunting and atmospheric novel that tells the story of the Lisbon sisters, five beautiful and enigmatic teenage girls who captivate the entire neighborhood with their mysterious allure. Set in 1970s suburban Michigan, the book unfolds through the eyes of a group of boys who are obsessed with the sisters and try to understand the tragic events that lead to their untimely deaths.

As the story progresses, the sisters' oppressive and overprotective parents isolate them from the outside world, exacerbating their sense of desperate longing for freedom. Their lives are further cloaked in secrecy and tragedy when the youngest sister, Cecilia, attempts suicide, sparking a chain reaction that will forever change the lives of those around them.

The boys chronicle their observations, collecting snippets of information and assembling an image of the sisters that is both seductive and elusive. They are captivated by the sisters' beauty, mystique, and the sense of unattainability that surrounds them. Yet, despite their relentless attempts to connect with the girls, the boys remain on the periphery, filled with a mix of desire, fascination, and frustration.

Through his evocative prose, Eugenides explores themes of adolescence, desire, obsession, and the blurred line between reality and imagination. He crafts a narrative that is both melancholic and deeply affecting, delving into the complexities of human connection and the weight of unfulfilled desires. "The Virgin Suicides" is a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of the human condition, leaving readers haunted and questioning the fragility of life itself.

Explore More Books

See All
The Varieties of Religious Experience
Art of the Living Dead
Open
In Praise of Shadows
How The Mind Works
Shattered
The Story of the Human Body
King of Capital
The Song of the Cell
Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It
Brave New Words
Behave
As I Lay Dying
The Ten Golden Rules of Leadership
QED
Where Do School Funds Go?
Evolving Ourselves
Schulz and Peanuts
The Little Liar
The Humanure Handbook
Where The Wild Things Are
The Emperor of All Maladies
The Singularity Is Near
Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers
Freedom from the Known
Iacocca
Statistical Consequences of Fat Tails
The Method Method
When To Jump
The Art of Living and Dying
Crucial Conversations
Marc's Mission
Daughter of the Heartland
The Odyssey
The DevOps Handbook
How to Make Millions with Your Ideas
The Energy World Is Flat
The Deficit Myth
I'd Like To Play Alone, Please
Physics from Finance
Heretics of Dune
Save The Cat!
Models of My Life
Prosperity
Philosophy and Scientific Realism
Destined For War
More Heat Than Light
Superintelligence
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
The Meaning of It All
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Lincoln In The Bardo
Lincoln
The Evolution of Cooperation
The Demon Under The Microscope
My Inventions
Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air
The Origin of Species
Friday Forward
An Apology for the Builder
Permanent Record
Anti Americanism
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
Howard Hughes
America's Cultural Revolution
Sea Flight
The Quest
The Law
Forged in Crisis
Rational Decisions
On Trails
Calculus Made Easy
Quality Investing
Sex at Dawn
Just Mercy
The Hockey Stick Illusion
Secrets of Closing the Sale
The Plot Against the President
Liberating Learning
Toussaint Louverture
The Museum of Other People
Winners Take All
The Tipping Point
Positioning
Winning The Loser's Game
David Foster Wallace
Treasure Island
Financial Derivatives
Creative Selection
When Reason Goes on Holiday
Greenlights
The Farming Ladder
World War 3.0
The Art of Memoir
Getting It Done
Rock On
I Heard God Laughing
Kill It With Fire
Very Classy