The Virgin Suicides

By: Jeffrey Eugenides

Narrated by: Nick Landrum

Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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)

Makes for good conversation

Beautifully written account of a pivotal time in these young boys lives. Beauty and tragedy! Made for excellent book club discussion!

Excellent!

This is one of my all-time favorites. The narration is spot on. Pure genius.

Not for me

Read it for a book club and it was just aggravating. But after some thought I think I was use my 2023 brain and not putting my self in the game of mind if the character and the time period they were in. But that to say it was not my favorite.

good listen.

This book kept me engaged. While others noted somewhat negatively about the simplicity of the story telling and odd perspective (as told by the neighborhood boys), I thought that hearing about the fascinating albeit tragic story from an outside view added to it's intrigue. I have not seen the movie and I think this added to my ability to let the vague storytelling encourage my imagination.
Beauty, youth, family issues, crime, sex, and mystery... this story has it all and is told in a way that is thought provoking. I look forward to listening to other books from this author.

Annoying narrator

The narrator ruins this story. He is too dramatic and has no variation to his storytelling. Too bad because the story is good, but I can't get past the dry narration

Infinitely sad

But the sadness doesn't necessarily come from what you would think. The suicide aspect functions as a structure to hang this story on. But the book itself is an extended meditation trying to make sense of the teenage years. The narrator(s) are guys in their 30s or possibly even 40s looking back and sorting out all the details of things that happened long ago. There is a dreamlike quality to this book. Time becomes blurred. Assigning a specific date to these events is impossible as various details belong to anywhere from the late 60s to the early 80s. The obsessive attention to detail getting mired in memory's habit of conflating events. It's dreamlike also in that the story of the Lisbon family is normal in so many respects but so bizarre in others. And it's dreamlike in that the 'boys' who are doing all the reminiscing could not possibly have had as many shared experiences and done all the forensic reconstruction of events as are depicted here. And yet it's all true to the way we remember the high school years. Eugenides has done an incredible job of capturing the way things felt as an adolescent and the way we recall them as adults and the way we can never quite put all the pieces together satisfactorily. Young people may get a lot out of this book, but I don't think anyone younger than 30 will properly appreciate all that it has to offer.

Held my interest

First off, some reviews here said the narrator is awful. I don't agree. I think he did a great job. He didn't sound like he's reading, and he conveyed the characters well.

3.5 stars. Interesting concept. I couldn't help being compelled by these young girls committing suicide...why? how? when? where? ...Interesting also is the way the story is told – from the point of view of a neighborhood boy obsessed with the girls. The girls themselves were mysterious and intriguing. But the book has negatives, mainly that there were many times that the author put in far more detail than necessary, such as delving deep into minor characters who have no relevance to the story. I like detail, but much of it was so superfluous that it annoyed me. Sometimes the author would wax poetic, trying to sound profound and deep, but really was just spouting a bunch of b.s. Overall I liked the book, but I didn't love it. It held my attention, and it's worth the read. But not a book I'll gush about to others. His book Middlesex was much better.

So good

Gosh what a beautiful story. I have not connected with a book as much as I have with this one in a long time. Speed the narration up to x1.3 and it’s perfect. I am sad it is over, and am now listening to the movies soundtrack to help prolong this feeling that I got being in this other world.

Excellent

Very well told- perfect style to coney this story . Beautifully written. Nostalgic in the best way possible. Much more enjoyable than movie.

Excellent narration

Depressing. Creative. Five teenage girls, siblings suicide. For their male peers, fascinating, confusing, sorrowful and haunting.