Tuesday 14 August 2012

The Book Review: The Virgin Suicides

When I first posted that I was reading The Virgin Suicides someone commented and suggested that I tell you guys about it when I was done. Well, what a wonderful idea! So here I am, about a good month after I've finished it, giving you my thoughts.

The Virgin Suicides is set in a suburb of Michigan in the 1970s. The story is told from the point of view of the nieghbourhood boys who are obsessed with the five beautiful Lisbon sisters that live on their street. In the beginning of the book one of the sisters kills herself and over the course of a year we see their lives disinegrate leading up to their untimely demises. The great thing about the book is that we know right from the get go that the girls will kill themselves but we never know when, or how.

My favourite thing about the book is the authors portrayal of life in the suburbs. He takes the mundane everyday world and turns it into something beautiful. I loved reading about the sisters from the eyes of the neighbourhood boys. Their obsession made everything the girls did fascinating. It was also so interesting to read about the breakdown of the girls' lives. I think it's very interesting to show the way that when you are a child things look so shiny and new and as you grow older they begin to become tarnished by what we know.

My favourite character was Lux. In the movie she is played by Kristin Dunst and I think that's the best way to picture her. I thought she was such a cool and complex character that I almost found that I was obsessed with her too. I wish the author would have paid as much attention to developing the other sisters as well as he did with Lux.

While the book seemed a bit slow at times I think it was meant to be that way. It was relaxing, almost lazy at times, just the way life in the suburbs can be. I also love the idea that even though life in suburbia can seem so perfect from the outside, behind every door is a very complex story. I would recommend the book.

I also watched the movie and it seemed to follow the book pretty well. It wasn't able to capture the complexity of the book but movies never do. If anyone is interested in reading the Virgin Suicides it's by Jeffrey Euginides.

I bought a new book last night. It's called Never Let Me Go and it's by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's also been made into a movie. The film was made in 2010 and it stars Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Kiera Knightly. I've heard some good things about the novel and that movie has a seriously awesome cast so I can't wait to see what this book is all about and then graduate on to the movie.
So that my friends was the first installment of The Book Review. Hope you enjoyed and I hope you run out and read The Virgin Suicides! Or maybe just give me some suggestions for books to read later!

xoTaylor

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