Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

244 reviews

k31r's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

lostfoxtrail's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

Absolutely hated this book. The reason it got a rating this high was because I was hooked for the first 30 pages or so. Then it just becomes this long creepy story where really nothing happens for 100 pages. It made me question why this was a novel instead of a short story. The way the girls are described by the main character is actually pretty disturbing, which may be the point, but it seems pretty normalised in the narrative. It’s supposed to be the MC as an adult reflecting on his childhood, but he’s still describing these girls who aren’t much older than 14 in vivid, sexual detail. So, a grown man writing a grown man writing about a horny teenage boy. If the author was going for what I think he was, then it was extremely poorly executed. The book seems to have a nostalgic, vignette description of these events, even though it’s describing the life of five abused and disturbed young women taking their own lives. The hook of the book is only covered in the first 30 pages and then the last 30 pages. I genuinely feel that the pages in the middle did nothing to add to the narrative. Though it’s supposed to be all about these girls, they’re all cardboard cutouts. The same with the male characters. The book is far too long to feel like I didn’t know any of the characters by the end. The whole thing was just in poor taste and I was sick of it by the midway mark. Only reason I finished it was because it had been hyped up so much. Maybe in the future I’d be interested in trying Middlesex, as that’s also recommended even if you don’t like TVS. God this book sucked. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt

milk's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism and Racism

_readrateandrepeat's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

grilledsneeze's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcohol

junglejelly's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

An interesting read given it's considered a classic. But I'm really not sure how I feel about the book, a few weeks on.

I did enjoy that the writing captured the thoughts and feelings of (stereotypical) teenage boys, and how the reader can question

the reliability of the narrator

.

While I did enjoy the writing, the plot and characters fell short in comparison. I do think it's a classic in the context of the publication date and I wonder what the impact would be in today's society.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Emotional abuse and Stalking

zarashilakis's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

honestly loved the book. i dislike that it’s written by a male author but i think it sheds so much light onto how men perceive women, whether by intent or not. the third person narrative (from a boy/man) also further highlights this.

i think you need to have a certain level of empathy to really understand the book. a lot of really complex topics are narrated in detail and makes you think and reflect deeply. it is slow/medium pace so the build up to these (potentially triggering) descriptions is more digestible. 

necessary read for anyone looking to further understand post modern feminism

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

eloise648's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, Blood, and Suicide attempt

sundaybookclub's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Car accident

em_h_ma's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The five Lisbon girls are the treasures of their town. They fascinate young boys and their tale survives even after they killed themselves. I have no idea what I just read or what the conclusion of the book is. It is a strange and mysterious story filled with trauma.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail