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)

Recommended Listen!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes- for anyone who's watched the film, the book is a great companion with expanded detail and "flavor".

Who was your favorite character and why?

I didn't really have a favorite character, they were all portrayed well by Eugenides. I don't know if it were possible to have a favorite. You feel like you knew them well, and didn't know them at all.

What does Nick Landrum bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I've listened to all of the Dexter books narrated by Nick Landrum and I like his voice. It doesn't "get in the way" of the story.

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

There was a film! Don't know the tagline, but I'm sure it's just as vague as the deep story.

Try reading it instead...

I found that the slow pace of the narration made listening to this audiobook a chore. I am guessing that this could be an interesting quick read, as a character study, but lacks the substance to be consumed as an 8 hour audiobook. I found that I could not keep the girls straight, and I was just waiting for them to kill themselves so the book could be over.

It's a shame, because it's such a compelling concept and I've heard great things about Eugenides. I'm going to try Middlesex even though I did not like this book, that's pretty clearly his masterpiece.

Read the book instead of listening to it

First, I'm a Jeffrey Eugenides fan but clearly not a Nick Landrum fan. It seems that his voices for characters in the book have some life but his voice for the narrator is plodding, measured and dull. It's not that I could do better but that I found listening to his voice un-engaging.

Truth be told, some of the characters were annoying also. The parents would be crushed by the loss of a child, especially the suicide of a child but with 4 other children in the house, one would have to change, to be engaged, to draw together. Difficult of course but to throw away life in the face of 4 daughters seems impossible.

Thankfully, I've no experience with suicide in my family and it's important to consider this issue from many sides so the book is a good experience to have and it's well written, as all his stories are.

little to do about much

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

no, in my sense it is touching on a big subject in a shallow way

Was The Virgin Suicides worth the listening time?

no

I definitely didn’t think it would be as descriptive.

More gory details than expected but good story to learn from and remember. I liked how the narrator was never actually revealed it made for a good hook in my opinion

Heartbreaking - but Wonderful!

Having first listened to the masterpiece, Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides, I thought that I might be disappointed by the initial offering from this author. I needn’t have worried!. The Virgin Suicides is just a terrific novel. Although absolutely heartbreaking, the story provides the listener with hope and a sense of peace. Nick Landrum is superb in his reading of the story and I defy any listener to have dry eyes during the final 5 minutes of his narration. I can’t wait for the next offering from Mr. Eugenides, who is, in my view, the best author out there.

A diffrent kind of story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book because it is so well written. The story was out of my style of stories I gravitate too but this author is a great story teller. It took me along for the ride and I really liked the descriptions of the times the book was set in. The life of the character was sad but that made it more gut wrenching.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The oldest sister was my favorite characters because she was the craziest and most developed character.

Nostalgic Listen

The book left a lot of questions unanswered, but I guess that was the purpose all along. I prefer a story to end perfectly wrapped up where you're not left scratching your head. What I enjoyed about this book was that it brought me back to childhood. Hanging out with friends all day, riding bikes, toilet papering houses. The normal things we did as kids, but when you relive these events they're not always told completely with a "Once upon a time, to the "And they lived happily ever after". They are more told with smells or sounds that bring the memory back. The details we remember which may or may not be correct.

if you like to cuddle up with sorrow

The Virgin Suicides is a beautiful piece of word art. How Jeffrey Eugenides wrote the neighborhood boys narrative is haunting and poetic. The book reads like one of JD Salinger's proses where the meat of the body of work is in the characters and the illusions/feelings others build up around them. (Much to the heartbreak of everyone involved.) Sofia Coppola's film to me is Jeffrey Eugenides' vision. The only reason I rated this version so low is that Giovanni Ribisi's voice wasn't used. Please pay the artist for an unbridged version Audible pretty please with store credits (bought by the customers of course) sprinkled on top?!

I will not be okay.

Every moment in this book is gut-wrenching, wanted to cry by the second chapter. Really good book though.