Review – Rate – Recommend

The Virgin Suicides
by Jeffrey Eugenides

I do not know how to start this review. I am not sure where this book stands in my heart. It filled me with emotions but not enough for it to overflow. I liked it but there seemed to be no specific point where it picked up pace, gained momentum and finally reached an event where everything just turned beautiful, tragic and unforgettable all at once. Mostly it was just tragic and the thing about ‘mostly being tragic’ is that it stops being one halfway through because you are finally used to it. I’m just glad it’s not like The Lovely Bones. Just the sight of that book makes me wince.

The narration allows us to view the situation as spectators. We are not living the moment and so, a lot of things remain uncertain. We can only make speculations as to why the 5 Lisbon girls decided to kill themselves. I think this is a pretty good way of writing. In fact, I admire the author’s genius for this. It gave way to a realistic feel (because, really, no one will ever really know why a person decides to kill themselves) and in-between reading and resting, a heavy cloud hung upon me. It really did feel like someone just committed suicide in my neighborhood. That’s what makes a good novel, isn’t it? The ability to live the moment, no matter how low the chances are of that ever happening.

The thing that appealed to me the most is the way the Lisbon girls are portrayed. They were so distant and yet so beautiful. They were like creatures wanting to socialize but forbidden to because they were meant to be caged. And what could they do? It was not up to them to decide their fates because someone else was already mapping it out for them. The whole novel gave me a feeling of suffocation. How they could stand it, I cannot even imagine.

The Virgin Suicides was good, beautiful, even. There was just something lacking about it. It left something vital. I wanted to know more about the girls and the reason why they committed suicide. But since we are just spectators, I guess I will never know.

Rated 4/5