Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Le vergini suicide by Cristina Sella, Jeffrey Eugenides

165 reviews

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

sina4books's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Alcohol

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

mollymae7's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

4.75

Great read, really wishing we could have seen the sisters view/ from the inside of the house

they only had each other especially after Cecilia died; the boys were obsessed with the idea of them treating all the sisters like as one shiny, interesting object never really understanding what they were going through or their cry’s for help, I think in the end the girls knew that which is why they invited the boy over for their last night. The parents where no better keeping them isolated from the world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

lizetteg3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicide, and Grief

spooky_snoopy's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

A lot of imagery, I would re-read it due to the detailed descriptions adding to the story

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Confinement, Blood, and Classism

Minor: Alcohol

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book kept me on the edge of the seat and was very mysterious giving nothing away even at the end. It has a great commentary on American culture including purity culture, religion, and girlhood all experienced through the voyeuristic lens of the male gaze, specifically teenage boys. How they viewed the Lisbon girls and their inability to truly see them or want to actively help them had my skin crawling which  is the point. The Lisbon girls exist on page only as two dimensional characters who, unbeknownst to the boys, are crying out for help. However these nuances play out do subtly on the page that only a true understanding of the Lisbon girls can be understood if you were, at  one point, a Lisbon girl. After reading I scoured the internet for essays, videos, and fanfics that were able to put my scrambled and shocked thoughts into a concise narrative but I have only found small pieces spread throughout it. If you were a big English Literature kid who loves to look for the deeper meanings this book is for you. A point was taken off for unnecessary racism and racial slurs which took me out of the story immensely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Religious bigotry

creatureof_nature's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Self harm, Grief, and Sexual harassment