This is a startlingly original little masterpiece that delves deep into the themes of loss and first love. The use of the second person in its language and narration is truly unique. Here, a collective "We" serves as the Greek chorus, vividly spelling out the tragedy of the Lisbon sisters.

It presents a truly unnerving narration, encompassing the pangs of sex, the intense yearning, and an America that was in turmoil during the 1970s. The chorus of voices, which is both unnerving and captivating, makes this my favorite novel written in the second person.

Adding to its allure, listening to the eerie soundtrack composed by the band Air, and watching the eternal film directed by Sofia Coppola is just as haunting as the book itself. These additional elements enhance the overall experience and further immerse the reader/viewer in the captivating world of the Lisbon sisters.

The combination of the novel's unique narrative style, the powerful themes it explores, and the complementary soundtrack and film make it a truly unforgettable work of art.

Fuckin hell,

It's truly a heart-wrenching situation. It's so sad in that quietly detached way of spectators who've had years to attempt to understand something so tragic but always failed to.

The description is really well written. It captures the essence of the helplessness and the sense of defeat that comes with trying to make sense of something that is beyond comprehension.

We often find ourselves in such positions, where we witness something terrible and yet are unable to fully grasp its magnitude.

It makes us realize the limitations of our understanding and the power of tragedy to leave us feeling lost and alone.

Despite our best efforts, some things remain a mystery, and all we can do is stand by and watch, hoping that somehow, someday, we will find the answers we seek.

A haunting, yet hauntingly beautiful, ode to the teenage years unfolds. In this stage of life, everything crackles with meaning and importance. However, constantly charged with such intense emotion, any small crack can lead to a complete collapse. It is a moving story of teenage girls who are misunderstood, objectified, and sexualized. They are made to be the objects of daydreams, deprived of the agency to pursue their own dreams. Even within the novel that is ostensibly their story, they are de-centered. Instead, they are reduced to the fantasies of their teenage boy neighbor, more gazed at as a mystery to unpack rather than girls with their own complex inner lives and feelings.

The story reveals how home can become a noose, and society ties the knot then shames you for slipping it over your neck. Yet, it also serves as a reminder that time slips through our fingers. Everything fades and dies, and even memories begin to yellow and curl up at the edges as we sift through them, seeking meaning that always seems just beyond our grasp. It is truly a perfect book.

I recently revisited the film after 20 years, and it continues to be amazing, accompanied by an incredible soundtrack. I would highly recommend it.

‘It didn’t matter in the end how old they had been, or that they were girls, but only that we had loved them, and that they hadn’t heard us calling, still do not hear us, up here in the tree house, with our thinning hair and soft bellies, calling them out of those rooms where they went to be alone for all time, alone in suicide, which is deeper than death, and where we will never find the pieces to put them back together.’

\\"With most people,\\" he said, \\"suicide is like Russian roulette. Only one chamber has a bullet. With the Lisbon girls, the gun was loaded. A bullet for family abuse. A bullet for genetic predisposition. A bullet for historical malaise. A bullet for inevitable momentum. The other two bullets are impossible to name, but that doesn't mean the chambers were empty.\\"

This was a truly strange read for me. It wasn't what I would call enjoyable, perhaps intriguing is a more accurate description. The book filled me with major confusion as I had constant questions popping up. Since the story is told from a third-party, an outside perspective rather than from the point of view of one of the sisters, you don't get the full picture. On top of that, it's actually presented as almost a recollection of those who were affected by these girls and their actions.

I had, of course, heard of this story over the years but had never managed to pick up the book. I also never actually watched the film, so I wasn't completely sure what to expect. Even now, several weeks after finishing the book and writing this review, I'm not certain how to describe my feelings about it. What I remember most vividly is the author's writing style. It was so vivid that I will definitely be interested in reading more from him. This was an interesting and thought-provoking book, yet at the same time, it was a horrible and shocking one. I'm not sure whether or not to recommend it. It was very sad, very heartbreaking, and one that I will certainly not be forgetting anytime soon.

You will need to touch grass after reading.

I was once a chronically emo teenager, and in 2005, this film was a significant part of my life. However, for some reason, I never got around to reading the book. 2023 seemed like a good time to rekindle my obsession with Kirsten Dunst and Josh Hartnett.

It is不言而喻 that the subject matter of The Virgin Suicides is沉重的. But the writing is among the best I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. The prose is stunning, haunting, and poignant from beginning to end. At times, it gives the dreamlike story a misty, ethereal feel, while at others, it leaves it as bleak and brittle as dead flowers. Every word and all of the symbolism have been considered with such care and precision. Framing what unfolds for the Lisbon girls through the male gaze of a group of obsessive teenage boys is an unconventional yet immaculate choice.

Leaving this book lying around will make people wonder if you're okay, and by the end, the answer is probably no.

There have only been a few occasions when I've finished reading a book and felt a sense of disgust. "The Virgin Suicides" is precisely one of those books.

I've never awarded a book a one-star rating because usually, there's some redeeming quality that allows me to bump the rating up. This book had its good aspects, but they weren't sufficient to overshadow the stomach-churning voyeurism that's inherent in the narrative.

Let's start with the positives. The language is truly poetic. It was the beauty of the prose that prevented me from hurling the book at a wall 90% of the time. However, it wasn't all perfect. There were moments when the language became overly dramatic and bombastic, bordering on pretension. Fortunately, these instances were infrequent, and I could still appreciate Eugenides' handling of the narrative style.

Another good point is that the dialogue, when it was present, was well-written. I was surprised that Eugenides used so little of it, considering he has a talent for it. It could have enlivened the many parts where the story dragged.

Most of the negatives, in my opinion, were basic writing errors. There was purple prose that made me scratch my head (e.g., "spilled sleep"? Seriously?). There were sections where the story came to a screeching halt to discuss something inconsequential for a couple of pages (e.g., Trip's entire life story written out when he's not even a central character. Why?). The lack of suspense was also a major drawback. You know the Lisbon girls die in the very first paragraph, and the entire book is build-up, but it's so poorly executed that you're bored rather than anxious. And it doesn't help that for the next 200+ pages, you're left wondering why five teenage girls killed themselves in one year when there's no real answer.

Even with all these flaws, I could have given this book two or even three stars. But there's one huge problem. "The Virgin Suicides" is incredibly dehumanizing. The Lisbon girls are never developed into real human beings. And the excuse that "oh, but that was the point" doesn't hold water when this book was supposed to be an investigative report.

The unnamed protagonists return to their hometown to investigate the suicides of the Lisbon girls fifteen years later. You're stuck with these thirty-year-old men reminiscing about their teenage years when they essentially stalked the Lisbon girls until they killed themselves. At every turn, the girls are objectified, deified, and martyred by boys who barely know them. It's sad to see that the supposed men are still doing the same thing. And it's even worse when they admit to keeping some of the girls' belongings after they die. Because of these stagnating men, the Lisbon girls never have a chance to grow beyond being a homogenous mass.

Cecilia and Lux manage to break away from the group for a few brief moments. Cecilia, the first to kill herself, is described as having a strange nature, but we never really get a look into her mind. She's just a plot device. Lux, ironically, is the most developed character, but only because she's turned into a complete sex object. She's constantly having sex with boys and men she barely knows, and her beauty is emphasized to the point where it's impossible to see her as the vulnerable fourteen-year-old she is.

The other three Lisbon girls - Mary, Bonnie, and Therese - have no outstanding qualities. We know very little about them beyond a few random details. It seems Eugenides didn't think they were interesting enough to develop because they weren't as attractive as Lux, even though they're supposed to be the central characters.

The part that affected me the most was the writing after the girls' deaths. Their suicides are glorified while they're also called selfish. The man-children who are the protagonists claim to have "loved" these girls, but they have no understanding of the girls' true selves. They try to make sense of the suicides by suggesting the girls were prophets who saw the ruin coming to their town, but this doesn't work because the girls have no personalities beyond being "mysterious."

When I finished "The Virgin Suicides," I felt a combination of hollowness, emptiness, and dirtiness. In Eugenides' eyes, these teenage girls were never meant to be human. They were there to be gawked at, lusted after, and worshiped. But no teenage girl, especially a suicidal one, is like that. They're troubled, isolated, and in need of help. This book manages to trivialize teenage suicide and make it seem glamorous, which is unacceptable. As someone who has been a teenage girl, who has seen loved ones struggle with suicidal thoughts, and who values women, I can't in good conscience give this book more than a one-star rating. I wouldn't even recommend it to someone I hate. I'd rather recycle it and have it turned into something less harmful.

The first thing I want to note is that the title and synopsis of this book are not in line with what any reader would expect to read on its pages. In my case, I thought I was going to find a story centered on what happened to the Lisbon sisters and what were the causes of the drastic decision each of them made, but no. While this family is the axis of the narrative, what we will really (and only) know is how the closest members of the community where everything happened perceived these events.

At first, I didn't connect with this "multiple narrator" in the first person (who were "we"?). But as you progress a little, you can deduce that it is a group of boys who are neighbors of the Lisbon sisters, and their narrative responds to a kind of investigation they themselves carry out several years after the events.

So, the story is built through interviews with different people who had some kind of relationship with the sisters or their parents. As a result, the book turns into a series of anecdotes and memories, sometimes insubstantial and often contradictory to each other. This last point is made explicit in the narration itself (for example, by mentioning a specific fact that was perceived in a completely opposite way by different people), and also because everything that is told about the Lisbon family is colored by the gaze that, at the time, this group of boys had as they observed the sisters in an almost obsessive way. It was never clear to me if the author's objective was to leave the doubt about whether everything happened as narrated, and if so, it impacts me that no one did anything for these girls.

All these anecdotes that at first seem interesting because they allow us to characterize the neighborhood community of the Lisbons (and because the narrative style is attractive), towards the middle of the novel already become somewhat repetitive. So, the book, despite its few pages, becomes uphill, and personally, the only thing I wanted was to finish it and then start another reading. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that before starting, you know what will happen and finally, you don't find out why the five Lisbon sisters committed suicide, since they never told their story.

The only part of the reading that I really enjoyed was the end, after the suicides, for the nostalgic and melancholy touch of the disintegration of a neighborhood that begins precisely with the dismantling of the Lisbon family's house.

\\n  Reto #3 PopSugar 2019: A book that makes you feel nostalgic\\n

I picked up this audiobook from the library on a whim. Why not? I wanted to try something different. Besides, listening to someone tell a story can be fun, despite my tendency to zone out.

As I scanned the aisle of worn-out plastic boxes, I found this book stuffed between two other pop-pulp audiobooks. Since most of the shelf was filled with pop-pulp, I thought, "I really should read this one. That Eugenides, he's one of those I really should read." And I'm glad I did. This book was interesting.

The first chapter was completely bizarre, with a religious and magical feel, flavored by Eugenides' somewhat ostentatious prose. It pulled me into the rest of the book, and I spent the entire night and day listening to finish it.

The surrealism kept me intrigued, but the book hit some speed bumps with the more realistic sections. Eugenides loves to write about specific details, which can be taken to an extreme. Especially in some sections where he lists off thousands of details about the houses or the Lisbon girls with long strings of adjectives. I often thought, "What's the point?"

Despite this, the book will stick with me. There's a lot to think about, and it had me checking the dictionary more than once. It perfectly captures the myopic obsessions of male adolescent libido, inhabiting the mindset of infatuated boys.

The book is told through second-hand accounts, functioning as an investigation into the psyches of the Lisbon sisters. It has a touch of Faulknerian-style writing and brilliant usage of first-person plural. I think everyone should read this book, and I should read "Middlesex" before "The Marriage Plot" comes out.

I let out an audible sigh of relief when I finished this last night.

Finally, it's over. It just wasn't my book. The writing was good, that's what the two stars are for. The author had a certain skill in constructing sentences and paragraphs.

However, the story just BORED me to death. It seemed to drag on and on, and it would NOT end. Ugh. I found myself constantly looking at the page number, hoping that it would come to an end soon.

Maybe it's just a matter of personal taste, but for me, this book failed to capture my interest and keep me engaged. I'm glad that I'm done with it and can move on to something else.

**The Virgin Suicides: A Captivating and Heartbreaking Tale**

In June 2018, I found myself once again immersed in "The Virgin Suicides." This time, I listened to the audiobook, and it was an absolute delight. There's a reason this book holds a special place in my heart. I've lost count of how many times I've read it. Each reread, like those in November 2017 and October 2016, reveals new layers and emotions.

The story is a tragic yet beautiful one. It follows the lives of the five Lisbon daughters who all commit suicide, and the boys who live across the street and become obsessed with them. The characters are incredibly well-developed, and the writing is simply amazing. The boys' narration provides an interesting perspective, as they describe the girls and their strange family. The setting in 1970, with its old clothes and records, adds to the atmosphere.

This book deals with difficult topics such as suicide, depression, self-harm, and PTSD, but it does so in a way that is both powerful and thought-provoking. It doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of life, but rather explores them with depth and sensitivity. If you can handle reading about such topics, I would highly recommend this book. It will leave you speechless and transport you into a world you won't soon forget.

Some of the important and interesting scenes in the book include the boys' description of the paramedics' familiarity with the Lisbon home, Cecilia's conversation with Dr. Armonson in the hospital, and the connection the boys make with how girls feel. The quotes from the book are also memorable, such as "Basically what we have here is a dreamer. Somebody out of touch with reality. When she jumped, she probably thought she'd fly." Overall, "The Virgin Suicides" is a solid 4-star read that I will continue to reread and cherish.

Jeffrey Eugenides is an American writer who won the Pulitzer Prize for one of his most famous works, "Middlesex". In 1993, he published "The Virgin Suicides", a work that was adapted a few years later by Sofia Coppola. I had long felt the need to read this book, but it was not until now that I had the courage and shared the reading with my dear and faithful companion @culturaviejoven.

This story presents us with an uncomfortable and painful fact. In the first paragraphs, we will know in advance the horrible fate of the Lisbon sisters. We will learn that these five daughters of an apparently normal couple decide to end their lives. The development of the plot focuses on introducing us to these young women, what they hide and what drives them to abruptly end their short existences.

The singularity of the narration is exquisitely raw, realistic, biting and overwhelming. To achieve this, it uses an external narrator, an adolescent and neighbor of the Lisbon sisters who tells us this story from his point of view, also adding the perspective of the other inhabitants of the town, doctors and psychologists. With a perspective that exudes admiration as well as terror towards the protagonists, it makes the reader complicit in these feelings and emotions.

It is a book that should not be left on the surface as it hides a lot of symbolism and a sharp criticism of American society. The characters define very well different types of behaviors. We should also highlight the sublime parallelism that it offers us between the degradation of the house and the Lisbon sisters. Knowing how to read between the lines will make this a much more interesting reading and if, in addition, you make it a slow reading, it will be ideal to be able to calmly reflect on everything that is related to us.

In conclusion, I will tell you that this work has turned out to be a magnificent surprise, one of those that is impossible to forget or that makes you feel indifferent. It requires a special sensitivity and a willingness to feel and transcend the banal. It contains chilling scenes, those that leave your heart pounding and that, days after being read, you still vividly remember.

You're either gonna think this is really boring, or really solid.

Some might find it uninteresting, perhaps because it lacks the excitement and pizzazz they seek. It could seem too straightforward, too plain. However, others might view it as having a certain charm. It might be seen as reliable, dependable. The simplicity could be its strength, offering a clear and uncomplicated perspective.

It's like a plain white T-shirt. Some might pass it by, looking for something more flashy and trendy. But others will appreciate its basic functionality and timeless appeal.

This thing, whatever it may be, has its own unique qualities that will either attract or repel. It all depends on the individual's perspective and what they value.

So, as you consider this, keep in mind that different people will have different opinions. And that's okay. Because in the end, it's the diversity of views that makes the world an interesting place.