The Virgin Suicides cover art

The Virgin Suicides

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

 This nationally best-selling novel from Pulitzer Prize-winner Jeffrey Eugenides was adapted into an acclaimed film by Academy Award-winner Sofia Coppola. A haunting yet wickedly funny tale, The Virgin Suicides has captivated countless readers with its intoxicating portrait of lost innocence. A brilliant fusion of dark humor and tragedy, it is an atmospheric, allegorical masterpiece about five oppressed, suicidal sisters and the boys who dream of rescuing them.©1993 Jeffrey Eugenides (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC. Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Witty

Critic reviews

"Eugenides' voice is so fresh and compelling, his powers of observation so startling and acute, that most will be mesmerized....This is an auspicious debut from an imaginative and talented writer." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A finely crafted work of literary if slightly macabre imagination....A black, glittering novel that won't be to everyone's taste but must be tried by readers looking for something different." ( Library Journal)
"Mr. Eugenides is blessed with the storyteller's most magical gift, the ability to transform the mundane into the extraordinary." ( The New York Times Book Review)
All stars
Most relevant
i didn’t like that the narrator sounded robot like i did like the different voices he would put on for different characters

the story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A compelling story well written. I liked the matter of fact approach, although the book may lack depth.

A compelling story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved the Marriage Plot so went into this with high hopes. It uses an annoying first person plural narrative voice to recount the macabre observations of a dysfunctional family in a disordered community. All of this makes it hard to engage sympathetically though one should given the subject. Others may like this - he's a good writer but this doesn't do it form.

Disappointing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
obviously doctor you’ve never been a 13 year old girl fr fr fr fr fr

expected it to be more depressing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Eugendies writes with such immediate prose about the claustrophobia and repression experienced by the Lisbon family who’re enduring the dark underbelly of suburban conformity in 1970’s America.
‘The Virgin Suicides’ is one of my favourite books, as it picks at the scab of the way we tend to back away from directly addressing about upsetting experiences in such a compelling and thoughtful way.
This audiobook didn’t disappoint either. The narrator gave a performance of such subtle intensity that I really felt a part of the character’s confused and overwhelmed psyche.

Overall:
*The theme: An outsider’s lack of understanding and fear of addressing suicidal intent is hugely relevant and difficult.
*Wonderfully poetic: Eugenides’ metaphors between the human condition and ‘diseased nature’ vs society’s brutal management of it is SOO strong. And he builds the Lisbon girls into mythical, ethereal presences when it seems that all they want to do is connect.

A devastating and brilliant account of suicide; one we can all learn from.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews