Hi friends. Today,
I’d share about my reading experience with this book called “The Virgin
Suicides” by Jeffrey Eugenides. Eugenides is also the author of acclaimed novel
Middlesex.
For almost a
year my desire to stick with any book dwindled while my to-read list ballooned
to my horror. Piles of books grew beside my pillow with their quiet reproach. Nothing
felt good or worthy enough to dive into for long. I would alternately jump from
a YA bestseller, to a modern classic, to a praised fantasy book; to a couple of
literary fiction but nothing seemed to get to me.
I leafed through thrillers, even reread an old
favourite, checked out non-fiction and poetry books but I was still far from being
continuously absorbed in a story. We know
that even the most avid of readers go through these bouts. But that fact didn’t
help. I was so bummed. In my head I hear
the words: “Book flirt.” Oh yeah I was book flirting too much.
One day while
commuting to work, I opened The Virgin Suicides and decided to finally get past
the first paragraph. The book opens with a straightforward account of the last
suicide in comparison with the first told by an unnamed narrator who was one of
the guys obsessed with the Lisbon sisters.
Teenage girls Mary,
Cecilia, Bonnie, Lux and Therese Lisbon – all committed suicide in different
methods.
The narrator then
seamlessly takes the reader to the dark and humorous workings of adolescent
life, their suburban neighbourhood, the painfully funny but realistic
characters and high school dramas, in conjunction with the inner turmoil in the
Lisbon household.
He let us on
their schemes and voyeuristic indulgences, the tensions and anticipation of
males in the grips of infatuation. One of the first words that came up to me
was visceral.
I could smell the girls’ Jasmine soap, the gloom in the aftermath of the first suicide,
felt the boys’ wonder and ache as they scrutinize Cecilia’s diary; I was filled
with excitement as Trip –the high school heartthrob pursued Lux. I was laughing
out loud and then grieving with them. And the thing is I did not even like any
of the sisters.
Eugenides
painted a time that would very soon end but can’t not be lived. Sheesh High
school. I applaud him for having written
a volume so ridiculous and yet so heart breaking. Heart breaking and yet so grounded. It didn’t
attempt to idealize nor romanticize its themes (suicide, young love, and
rebellion) yet one is moved if not provoked to ruminate, which I dare say is
not easy to achieve given the premise.
It is a
delicious read. There were parts where I just had to pause just because it was
too much. (But maybe it’s just me, oh)
Hey,
have you ever tried
Really
reaching out for the other side
I
may be climbing on rainbows
But
baby, here goes
Dreams,
they're for those who sleep
Life
is for us to keep
And
if you're wondering what this song is leading to
I
want to make it with you
I’ll end this with Bread. :)