mmmbakes's review
2.0
I don't think I understood this, or else I understood it perfectly and fail to see what all the fuss is about.
It had such an overwhelmingly male viewpoint and was 250 pages of grown men making things up about girls (but that's the point!! Don't care, didn't like it!!)
The set up of having a collective voice narrating could have worked but didn't quite hit the mark.
It had such an overwhelmingly male viewpoint and was 250 pages of grown men making things up about girls (but that's the point!! Don't care, didn't like it!!)
The set up of having a collective voice narrating could have worked but didn't quite hit the mark.
solvetheproblrm's review against another edition
3.0
i think it succeeded with some, but not all, of the points it was trying to make. the concept is basically a couple of teenage boys who obsess over these pretty girls who commit suicide(?). it’s not actually only about the girls, but more so a look into the minds of these boys and their feelings and obsession. it’s actually really interesting in that aspect.
so on one hand i also love the aesthetics and the movie adaptation i feel like was done really well. i enjoyed reading it. i don’t know, some things aged badly though. and i feel so conflicted about the entire book.
i have very mixed feelings i’ll come back when i make up my mind lol, but i will admit it was a fascinating read
so on one hand i also love the aesthetics and the movie adaptation i feel like was done really well. i enjoyed reading it. i don’t know, some things aged badly though. and i feel so conflicted about the entire book.
i have very mixed feelings i’ll come back when i make up my mind lol, but i will admit it was a fascinating read
tronella's review
1.0
The plot was compelling, but I found the writing style deeply unpleasant. Not for me.
cbranco's review
4.0
Oh, so disappointing.
It looked so promising, with Cecilia's weirdness, Lux's promiscuity, Therese's nerdiness, and Bonnie and Mary's... Well, Bonnie, Mary and Therese don't get much airtime. And it is a shame.
I wish you would re-write this, Mr Eugenides. I want to know why the house smells. I want to know more about the girls. I don't give a flying fuck over your weird Humbert Humbert-like crush on nymphets like Cecilia or Lux. I want to know more about the parents. And I especially wish a different POV, an all-knowing one. These teenage boys get tiring after a while.
And that is why you don't get my five stars.
It looked so promising, with Cecilia's weirdness, Lux's promiscuity, Therese's nerdiness, and Bonnie and Mary's... Well, Bonnie, Mary and Therese don't get much airtime. And it is a shame.
I wish you would re-write this, Mr Eugenides. I want to know why the house smells. I want to know more about the girls. I don't give a flying fuck over your weird Humbert Humbert-like crush on nymphets like Cecilia or Lux. I want to know more about the parents. And I especially wish a different POV, an all-knowing one. These teenage boys get tiring after a while.
And that is why you don't get my five stars.
sydneyevans__'s review
2.0
3.5 stars. i think i might have enjoyed this story more if i had chosen to just read it and not also listen to the audiobook.
but all in all, this just fell a little flat for me. it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. glad i can finally say i read it though!
but all in all, this just fell a little flat for me. it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. glad i can finally say i read it though!
kaiahbaillie33's review
4.0
wow can jeffrey eugenides write! he has some of the most beautiful prose of anyone i’ve ever read.
this book was a LOT to get through, but the way it touches on the male gaze, objectification of girls, and the way society as a whole shrugs off cries for help until it’s too late was brilliant. i found myself wanting to just yell at the male narrators as they told stories of the Lisbon sisters obvious attempts at garnering real connection whilst the boys couldn’t focus on anything but the ideas of the girls they’d created in their mind.
i finished the book feeling overwhelmingly unsettled. the lisbon sisters all deserved better.
i am stuck between a 4 or 5 as a review let me come back to it later.
this book was a LOT to get through, but the way it touches on the male gaze, objectification of girls, and the way society as a whole shrugs off cries for help until it’s too late was brilliant. i found myself wanting to just yell at the male narrators as they told stories of the Lisbon sisters obvious attempts at garnering real connection whilst the boys couldn’t focus on anything but the ideas of the girls they’d created in their mind.
i finished the book feeling overwhelmingly unsettled. the lisbon sisters all deserved better.
i am stuck between a 4 or 5 as a review let me come back to it later.
greg_giannakis's review
5.0
The most stark, chilling, touching and beautiful writing I've read in a long time. Eugenides creates something wonderful and hauntingly important out of the mundane.