The shocking thing about the girls was how nearly normal they seemed when their mother let them out for the one and only date of their lives. Twenty years on, their enigmatic personalities are embalmed in the memories of the boys who worshipped them and who now recall their shared adolescence: the brassiere draped over a crucifix belonging to the promiscuous Lux; the sisters' breathtaking appearance on the night of the dance; and the sultry, sleepy street across which they watched a family disintegrate and fragile lives ...
Read More
The shocking thing about the girls was how nearly normal they seemed when their mother let them out for the one and only date of their lives. Twenty years on, their enigmatic personalities are embalmed in the memories of the boys who worshipped them and who now recall their shared adolescence: the brassiere draped over a crucifix belonging to the promiscuous Lux; the sisters' breathtaking appearance on the night of the dance; and the sultry, sleepy street across which they watched a family disintegrate and fragile lives disappear.
Read Less
A quick, dark read. If you saw the movie the book is even better.
izabelazarow
Jan 29, 2010
An insightful suburban fiction
The novel by Jeffrey Eugenides is a very interesting read. The unique narration, that consist of voices of several men looking back on their childhood neighbourhood, is stylized as an investigation report. The multiple narrator presents the readers with testimonials of eye-witnesses of a tragedy that took place in a suburban neighbourhood. Five teenage girls, "the Lisbon girls"all commited suicides within one year. The narrator tries to find the reasons for their final choice and put the pices of the puzzle together. The novel explores such themes as adolecent depression, dysfuncionality in a family and tennage fascination with the opposite sex. The story is told in a very poetic way with vivid yet subtle imaginery of elusive girls. Definitely worth reading.
skyprincess
Dec 26, 2008
Haunting Story
The suicide death of a young girl throws her parents into a state of panic concerning the lives of their remaining four beautiful daughters. The girls become prisoners in their home as their mother obsesses over their well-being, refusing to allow them to go out. The neighbor boy (narrator) and his friends seek out ways to communicate with the house-bound girls. Meanwhile, they imagination runs wild about what the girls are really like, how they live and how they will rescue them. Haunting and well-written, this story is not only tragic but campy. A mesmerizing read, it is difficult to put down.
Rubycanary
Nov 29, 2007
Don't be afraid, read it.
I waited years to read this book because I had the idea that it would be darkly disturbing. In essence it is disturbing, but not at all hard to read. It went by so quickly I was shocked when I came to the last page.
Five sisters, controlled by a mother who has no idea what kind of harm she is inflicting, kill themselves within a year of each other. The story is told from the neighbors' point of view. A group of young men who go to school with the girls, but because of their own innocence and lack of understanding, the story does not come across as harsh or dark. They don't know what to do to help, and I'm honestly not even sure it occured to the boys to try to help. That is adult territory.
The story is strange, but the writing is superb.
MyUtopia
Jul 9, 2007
I love Eugenides
It is a beautifully written novel that is almost lyrical. The story is told through the eyes of one of the neighbor boys who obsesses over and ?loves? the girls along with all of his buddies. At one point in the novel the narrator connects the deaths of the stately Elms to the deaths of the five sisters. The author paints the picture of summer in Grosse Pointe so vividly you can almost smell the decaying fish flys. The narrator draws the reader in to the point where you feel that you are with them kneeling in the dirt outside the girls house or trying to enter the sewer system in a effort to help the girls. Their desperation and despair becomes your own. I highly recommend this book!
