Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Le vergini suicide by Cristina Sella, Jeffrey Eugenides

17 reviews

centrifugepolitics's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Eating disorder

hanpowis's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.75

i’m glad i didn’t read this age 15 because i would have been even more insufferable.
Beautiful prose and commentary on the romanticism of that which we do not understand

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape and Vomit

myfff's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

I found this incredibly bleak. Obviously the title doesn’t set you up for a happy story but what I found jarring is that the style of narration is so detached, like a scientific review or a court case and the deaths of these girls is not only known (due to the plot) but feels inevitable for them. 

It has the energy of an American Classic in the same way Gatsby does and I can see why so many people love it, however I found it much more interesting once I had read some analyses of it after finishing it - so if you’re looking for something with themes and a need for analysis this is definitely for you, if you want a story to enjoy maybe not so much.

The most interesting point (after analysing) is to see these boys who say they loved them actually didn’t know them at all and were just infatuated by the idea of these unknown women who live opposite them but are always  just out of reach. The style is also a brilliant insight to the complexities of teenage girls, as the adult men who are trying to remember the events through the eyes of themselves as teenage boys, think they understand these teenage girls but realise they never could. Interestingly the author being male also raises the question for me of how well could he understand these girls, and with that in mind they do have a slightly ‘manic pixie dreamgirl’ quality to them. 

My highlight of the book was the prom where the reader is able to engage with the girls properly for the first time, not just through the eyes and words of those around them. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Sexual content

laneysix's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? N/A

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual content

alyssapusateri's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

merle98's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

This is a strike of genius that could have been ever so slightly more concise. But what a great critique of the male gaze and suburban society. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

aradeia's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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

2.5

I saw this book at a used book sale months ago, remembered the craze for it when I was a teenager, and thought I'd give it a chance. I wound up really having to push myself to finish this book, even though it's only 250 pages long. Some of the writing is great, but I was grossed out by the narrators.

The book is narrated by an unnamed group of men who, as boys, did a lot of spying on the Lisbon sisters while their lives spiraled after the gruesome suicide of their littlest sister. The boys were obsessed with the Lisbon sisters. Or at least they were obsessed with the so-called "libertine" Lux, the most defined sister of the five. Lux is only fourteen. The sexualization of her body is disgusting. It seems pretty clear to me that the adult men who narrate the story still find Lux as sexy as they did when they were kids. 

The big reveal at the end seems to be that, even though the boys "loved" the Lisbon sisters, it turns out the girls didn't love them back and indeed they were real people the whole time whom the boys didn't actually know, despite all the spying and obsessing. Note that the boys never have real conversations with the Lisbon sisters. They rarely speak at all. The boys-turned-men are not unlike the ineffective, oppressive Lisbon parents. And I suppose this here is the point. I just feel I have heard this point before, and with less graphic description of a fourteen year old kid's sexuality/abuse.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Suicide

kgrace_s's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, and Stalking

kelleykamanda's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely beautiful. Such a thought provoking, lyrical novel. 

Recommend reading this article after finishing: 
“In Defense of the Unsatisfying Ending: The Virgin Suicides” by Janey Tracey 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

pagesoftara's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Rape