The Virgin Suicides

De: Jeffrey Eugenides

Narrado por: Nick Landrum

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.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"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.

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

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.

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