Sunday, February 18, 2007

The Virgin Suicides

Let the discussion begin

First question -- thumbs up or thumbs down, and why?

Please feel free to contribute even if you haven't finished reading -- or if you aren't an official member of the club.

7 comments:

Not From Lapland said...

I have only read up to the end of chapter 3 and I would definitely give it a thumbs up on what I have read so far. the story is engaging and keeps you asking questions; for example, all through the first chapter and even now to some extent I want to know who the narrator is, what their relationship is to the girls and why they are looking back on this now. Is this in court? If not, why the 'evidence' referred to as exhibit numbers? etc etc

Also I love the fact that the writer hasn't added too much detail when he describes things,it annoys the hell out of me when so many writers feel they need to describe the pattern of the wall paper and the exact shade of pink of the carpet. He gives you just enough for your imagination to fill in the blanks and doesnt bog the story down with needless nonsense.

His writing style is quite playful and clever and keeps you guessing and your mind working. I am really enjoying it and can't wait to carry on (I took a break when I got to chapter 3 becuase I thought we were supposed to but maybe everyone else has finished it now and I am really behind?! Ooops).

Anonymous said...

Thumbs up. I love Eugenides writing style.

I wush he'd hurry up and write more.

Her Bad Mother said...

Thumbs sideways. I love his writing style; I love the ambiance that he's created in drawing the life of the girls; I love the voice of the narrator. But - and I'm still ambivalent about this 'but' - by the end I felt that, beyond the mood and the voice, I was just left with a big fat awkward metaphor about adolescence and sex and death and the adolescent yearning to break free from the trap that is our adolescent physical being. It's a good set of metaphors, don't get me wrong, but the relentless romanticizing of the girls and the suicide by the end - such that it was JUST. ALL. SEX. AND. DEATH. had me a little weary.

I'm still sorting this out for myself, though. How's that for non-committal?

Kemp said...

I;m with her bad mother. Thumb sideways. I havent finished it yet, but as far as the story itself; meh.

Eugenides' writing style is good. He can paint a picture and write a sentence that makes you feel like you are standing beside the ones giving the narrative, but so far I have not been drawn into the story as much as I was hoping I would

Dione said...

I think I am glad I am reading Mayflower, A Story of Courage, Community and War, Nathaniel Philbrick. I will catch up with you people later. I can't put my hands on these two books and I definitely do not want to buy them. Flying Officer Blair

Andie D. said...

I'm ALMOST done. Sorta.

I like the story. I too want to see who the person is that's speaking. Why is he so interested? What's his angle?

And I keep thinking about what Mrs. Big Dubya wrote in the last post: "An entire community witnessed the undoing of these girls, yet nobody stepped in."

I hope to hell if anything like that happens in my neighborhood I will know about it so that I can step in somehow.

Dallas Blue said...

My virgins are lost in Minnesota. Seriously. Amazon's lost it.

They won't just send me a new one.

I'm stuck! Stuck, I say!