The Marriage Plot

By: Jeffrey Eugenides

Narrated by: David Pittu

Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

A New York Times Notable Book of 2011

A Publisher's Weekly Top 10 Book of 2011

A Kirkus Reviews Top 25 Best Fiction of 2011 Title

One of Library Journal's Best Books of 2011

A Salon Best Fiction of 2011 title

One of The Telegraph's Best Fiction Books of the Year 2011

It's the early 1980s—the country is in a deep recession, and life after college is harder than ever. In the cafés on College Hill, the wised-up kids are inhaling Derrida and listening to Talking Heads. But Madeleine Hanna, dutiful English major, is writing her senior thesis on Jane Austen and George Eliot, purveyors of the marriage plot that lies at the heart of the greatest English novels.

As Madeleine tries to understand why "it became laughable to read writers like Cheever and Updike, who wrote about the suburbia Madeleine and most of her friends had grown up in, in favor of reading the Marquis de Sade, who wrote about deflowering virgins in eighteenth-century France," real life, in the form of two very different guys, intervenes. Leonard Bankhead—charismatic loner, college Darwinist, and lost Portland boy—suddenly turns up in a semiotics seminar, and soon Madeleine finds herself in a highly charged erotic and intellectual relationship with him. At the same time, her old "friend" Mitchell Grammaticus—who's been reading Christian mysticism and generally acting strange—resurfaces, obsessed with the idea that Madeleine is destined to be his mate.

Over the next year, as the members of the triangle in this amazing, spellbinding novel graduate from college and enter the real world, events force them to reevaluate everything they learned in school. Leonard and Madeleine move to a biology Laboratory on Cape Cod, but can't escape the secret responsible for Leonard's seemingly inexhaustible energy and plunging moods. And Mitchell, traveling around the world to get Madeleine out of his mind, finds himself face-to-face with ultimate questions about the meaning of life, the existence of God, and the true nature of love.

Are the great love stories of the nineteenth century dead? Or can there be a new story, written for today and alive to the realities of feminism, sexual freedom, prenups, and divorce? With devastating wit and an abiding understanding of and affection for his characters, Jeffrey Eugenides revives the motivating energies of the Novel, while creating a story so contemporary and fresh that it unfolds like the intimate journal of our own lives.

©2011 Jeffrey Eugenides (P)2011 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“The sound of silk drawn across fine-grain sandpaper best describes David Pittu's voice in THE MARRIAGE PLOT, by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jeffrey Eugenides...The talented Pittu rises to the occasion of this challenging work, rewarding the listener with a sense of satisfaction reserved for great works of literature.”—AudioFile magazine, An Earphones Award Winner

“David Pittu brilliantly narrates this audio version of Eugenides' complex novel, whether he's rattling off quotes from Jacques Derrida and Roland Barthes or creating unique voices for the book's many characters. Among the standouts are his renditions of the slow and reflective Mitchell and Thurston, the star of the semiotics seminar who speaks in a falsely laconic and disinterested fashion to impress his classmates and professor… [Pittu] never runs out of voices for this large, global cast. The result is one of the best audiobooks of the year.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“No one's more adept at channeling teenage angst than Jeffrey Eugenides. Not even J. D. Salinger . . . It's in mapping Mitchell's search for some sort of belief that might fill the spiritual hole in his heart and Madeleine's search for a way to turn her passion for literature into a vocation that this novel is at its most affecting, reminding us with uncommon understanding what it is to be young and idealistic, in pursuit of true love and in love with books and ideas.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“This is a story about being young and bright and lost, a story Americans have been telling since Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. Our exceptionally well-read but largely untested graduates still wonder: How should I live my life? What can I really believe in? Whom should I love? Literature has provided a wide range of answers to those questions—Lose Lady Brett! Give up on Daisy! Go with Team Edward!—but in the end, novels aren't really very good guidebooks. Instead, they're a chance to exercise our moral imagination, and this one provides an exceptionally witty and poignant workout.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

I Liked it

This was an ok story. There were parts of this book that seemed to ramble on, therefore my mind would wander and I would realize I wasn't listening anymore. For the most part the storyline was good and I almost hope for a sequel because I would like to see what happens in the future with these characters.

Good, but not my favorite from Mr. Eugenides

I am a fan of all of Jeffrey Eugenides' past novels. He really probes fascinating topics in his human explorations.

While I found all of the characters thoroughly interesting, something about the book didn't settle with me. I disliked how raw some of his language was around sexual scenarios choosing crass words that I didn't feel matched my sense of the characters thinking them. It was not a matter of taste or propriety, but rather I didn't imagine all the characters to think that way. Some yes, but not all. So that threw off the overall tone for me.

As usual he does an impeccable job of creating a detailed visual of each scene. Being old enough to remember the years in which the book is set his notes of the music or cars, for example, gave me perfect images without belaboring the references and possibly alienating younger readers. Also he covers a numbers of cities throughout the book, almost all of which I've been to myself, and he really nails the environments. His descriptions of India, in particular, matched my own impressions of that other worldly country very closely.

Overall I enjoyed the book, I just didn't love it as I have the others.

Interesting Story; Hard to Care about Characters

A very well performed reading of an interesting plot about young love between a rather privileged, clever girl and a bright boy plagued by schizophrenia, and a much more interesting supporting character. The plot and Eugenides' excellent writing keeps you moving through the book, despite either protagonists' ability to generate a great deal of sympathy. In the end, it's Mitchell, the anti-hero and supporting (almost lead) character that holds the interest the most.

Will try again, but it doesn't pull me into it.

Any additional comments?

This books is not the page-turner that Middlesex was. I am probably a shallow reader! I like easy to understand, fast paced, easy-flowing books. Middlesex was that for me. This one was not. I will try again at some point, but so far, I haven't even gotten to the midpoint. but, hey, I was a late bloomer on Game of Thrones, too!

Well written, but...

... not the kind of story I like at all. Maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance, but I quit listening about a quarter of the way through. College relationship drama does not keep my interest.

good but sad

I found the story to be interesting but a little bit slow moving but not bad. I loved Middlesex and didnt quite enjoy this as much but that could be because of my own reasons. Reading about metal illness is so very difficulat and overall I found the book made me incredibly sad. Sad for all the characters unrequited love and seemingly hopeless romantic situations. However the character development was amazing and the descriptions of every situation and detail most exquisite. I would recommend you get this if you are looking for something to stretch the mind a little linguistically but not if you are feeling a bit melancholy.

Superb reader, master writer.

Eugenides is one who knows how to write delightful, inventive prose. Pittu is an actor who makes the characters alive and gives each one his/her own voice.
The plot takes you back to what it was like being 20 in the eighties, to college, love, trips abroad and the misteries of mind and heart.

I Think I'm in Love

To paraphrase (very loosely) somebody: a story without enlightenment is a "beach read"; enlightenment without a story is a textbook. This book has both.
The plot similarities to Franzen's last book (student love triangle extended beyond college) are certainly present, but the similarities end there.The characters in "Freedom" are viewed with such ironic detachment that, although amusing and interesting for awhile (the first part of the novel made a brilliant short story in the New Yorker) their lives become tedious and, ultimately,because it goes on for too long, I was anxious for the book to end.
On the contrary, Eugenides' characters are much more real and sympathetic (appealing, even) and I don't want their story to end. I'm sure Mr. Eugenides is tired of having his work compared to Mr. Franzen's but I just had to jump in on this.
The performance in this audible production is outstanding. The narrator's rendition of the character of Leonard is so good I'm almost falling in love with him myself. I looked for other Audible offerings by this narrator and find that his talents are being under-utilized. He should be employed for books more like this one.

Surprisingly entertaining

Would you listen to The Marriage Plot again? Why?

I thoroughly enjoyed the story but once was enough. The main characters experiences as a young female english student were enlightening. I could see myself reviewing to grab a few intriguing mentions of books I'd never read. I have no reason to revisit the story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Marriage Plot?

The main characters parents created many memorable moments that were strangely familiar and made me laugh aloud in the car while listening a long ride to New Hampshire.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration good but a bit slow for my taste. In fact, the narrator's energy improved in the 3-4 chapter. I don't know if that was intentionally reflecting the mood of the story, or if he connected with the characters later in the story.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Living and learning from the literary elite.

Any additional comments?

I suppose I'll give Middlesex a lesson now that I've had a taste of Jeffrey Eugenides.

Disappointment After Middlesex

If you loved Middlesex (also by Eugenides), do not read this book. No comparison. The narrator was OK, but the story was blah, and I really didn't care about the characters.