Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

217 reviews

clovetra's review against another edition

sad tense 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? No

1.0

i’ve done it folks. i’ve found the worst fucking book to exist. i think i am an avid Hater of this book.

why did i finish this? it ended up being a hate read. plus i was curious if it would redeem itself (spoiler alert: it didn’t. not even close).

now immediately, away from the actual story. why was this book so fucking racist and ableist and pro-pedophilia. a side character is called “Joe the R[-slur]”. what the fuck. the n-word, HARD R, is used for a description when it could’ve easily been omitted. what the fuck. pedophilia is essentially portrayed as admirable in this story, and most of its pages contain grown men fantasising about girls who died as CHILDREN. why are grown men in-text writing about a minor having sex? why is a grown man as an AUTHOR writing about a minor having sex????? lowkey explicitly???? yes i realise YA is written by adults and sometimes contains sex scenes. but my god it’s like a “flash forward” most of the time. why am i reading about luxx sucking off a guy. hey what the fuck this girl is like 15 years old let’s not. what goes through the authors’ mind where he’s like “mmm i’m gonna write with explicit detail this minor having sex! yeah that’s not odd.” and miss me with that “oh this book came out a long time ago it was a different time.” mf this book came out in fucking 93. you’re telling me racism and pedophilia weren’t a thing in 1993. sure i get the casual ableism (miss me with ur comments im disabled) because it’s still very normalised to this day!!! but you cannot convince me the n-word was needed here. or the 75 different scenes describing how promiscuous lux is. i don’t care.

the actual book was less interesting than paint drying. i thought we’d actually get an interesting story. but no. i read about the horny mc and his friends simping over these girls for 90% of the book, with celia’s suicide tackled decently at the beginning & the rest of the girl’s suicides feeling like an afterthought. you set up a book about how all the girls commit suicide, and have 4/5 of the suicides occur with less than 20% of the book left. are you kidding me. the rest of this book was senseless drivel covering the same exhausting song and dance, where we learn absolutely nothing about the lisbon girls beyond their superficial traits and how fucking horny their classmates are. for fucks sake i couldn’t give two shits about how they were “mesmerised” by the “enigmatic lisbon girls”. hey here’s some quick advice go fuck yourself.

pick a struggle ur book can’t be boring AND ableist, racist, and pedophilic. 
i am actually so angry at this book. i am so angry i don’t think i can properly explain how much i fucking hate this book.

what a waste of time. this book has as much depth as my minecraft fanfiction from grade 3. actually no i take that back my fanfiction was better than this. fuck you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Sexual content, and Stalking

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy

lauralintunen's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Slavery, Xenophobia, Medical content, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism

alsira98's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism, Racism, and Xenophobia

feelincelestial's review against another edition

dark funny reflective 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

3.75

I love the writing and the dark humor in this book. As someone raised in a fairly strict, religious household, Eugenides does a great job depicting that claustrophobic atmosphere. Some of what he has to say about mental illness and suicide in the concluding pages come off a bit un-empathetic for me. Overall, I think The Virgin Suicides is a well done and well written look at the lives of sheltered, suburban teenagers and the perils of a repressive upbringing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Classism

aichaa's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content

Minor: Racial slurs and Self harm

linnau's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• 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, Sexual content, and Suicide

adavis33's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

sophie_hawkey's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed how the book was written and appreciate the story told. I did feel like a voyeur reading this story and felt quite uncomfortable. While I’m glad I read it, I don’t think I will again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

7thirty8's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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

2.5

pov ur a man

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Racial slurs

smallpanini's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

"The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides is a haunting exploration of adolescence, memory, and the enigma of the Lisbon sisters, five mysterious girls who captivate their suburban neighborhood. Eugenides masterfully captures the suffocating atmosphere of 1970s American suburbia, blending melancholy with moments of dark humor. The narrative, told from the collective perspective of the neighborhood boys, offers a unique and distant viewpoint that adds to the novel's eerie, dreamlike quality. However, the detachment of the narration and the ambiguity surrounding the girls' lives left me craving more depth and emotional connection. While the prose is undeniably beautiful and evocative, the novel's elusive nature made it challenging to immerse fully. Overall, it's a poignant, if somewhat distant, meditation on loss and longing, earning a solid 3.75 stars."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, and Sexual content

Minor: Ableism, Racial slurs, and Alcohol