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The Virgin Suicides cover art

The Virgin Suicides

By: Jeffrey Eugenides
Narrated by: Nick Landrum
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Summary

This nationally best-selling novel from Pulitzer Prize-winner Jeffrey Eugenides was adapted into an acclaimed film by Academy Award-winner Sofia Coppola. A haunting yet wickedly funny tale, The Virgin Suicides has captivated countless readers with its intoxicating portrait of lost innocence. A brilliant fusion of dark humor and tragedy, it is an atmospheric, allegorical masterpiece about five oppressed, suicidal sisters and the boys who dream of rescuing them.
©1993 Jeffrey Eugenides (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC.

Critic reviews

"Eugenides' voice is so fresh and compelling, his powers of observation so startling and acute, that most will be mesmerized....This is an auspicious debut from an imaginative and talented writer." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A finely crafted work of literary if slightly macabre imagination....A black, glittering novel that won't be to everyone's taste but must be tried by readers looking for something different." ( Library Journal)
"Mr. Eugenides is blessed with the storyteller's most magical gift, the ability to transform the mundane into the extraordinary." ( The New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about The Virgin Suicides

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Brilliant performance from Nick Landrum

Loved the narrator's understated, yet emotive delivery of this compelling story. I could listen to Nick Landrum's voice all day!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Morbid but beautiful

It's short, I finished it in a few days. The prose is hauntingly beautiful and the narrator's voice makes it even more of a delight. Reading about death is not fun, so leave it if that is what you are looking for.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful

I loved this audio book. It kept me captivated throughout . Despite the obviously disturbing nature of the story, it is written with tenderness and I found the story to be strangely more moving and heartwarming than depressing.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

expected it to be more depressing

obviously doctor you’ve never been a 13 year old girl fr fr fr fr fr

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

great critique on the romanticism of suicide

more fun to analyse than to read. narrator made it enjoyable to get through. nice singing.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

men stay out of women’s business or i’ll kill you

couldn’t wait for the girls to finally kill themselves my god what was the point of this

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

morbid but i loved reading it

it made me feel understood and i loved how in detail it was. i would read again and wld recommendthis to people i know

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A devastating and brilliant account of suicide; one we can all learn from.

Eugendies writes with such immediate prose about the claustrophobia and repression experienced by the Lisbon family who’re enduring the dark underbelly of suburban conformity in 1970’s America.
‘The Virgin Suicides’ is one of my favourite books, as it picks at the scab of the way we tend to back away from directly addressing about upsetting experiences in such a compelling and thoughtful way.
This audiobook didn’t disappoint either. The narrator gave a performance of such subtle intensity that I really felt a part of the character’s confused and overwhelmed psyche.

Overall:
*The theme: An outsider’s lack of understanding and fear of addressing suicidal intent is hugely relevant and difficult.
*Wonderfully poetic: Eugenides’ metaphors between the human condition and ‘diseased nature’ vs society’s brutal management of it is SOO strong. And he builds the Lisbon girls into mythical, ethereal presences when it seems that all they want to do is connect.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

a story that holds up now more than ever

I've seen this book suggested as one to read in your late teens or 20s because of its coming of age theme, but it's just as difficult to "put down" (in an audio sense) at any age. Mental health is the main theme of this book - not just the topic of suicide but also obsession, as we hear loud and clear through the narration of the story told from the boys perspectives. a dreamlike tale of tragedy and snatched innocence as the young people of the story struggle entering the decay of adulthood.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Overhyped

Definitely didn’t love it. Seems like a book that would be studied for English lit at GCSE or a level.
Did like the obsessive perspective of the narrator about a group of girls they didn’t really know. A new take on objectiveness

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