“The Virgin Suicides” by Jeffrey Eugenides – The Search for Life Through Death

Coming-of-age stories, it seems to me at least, have been rather similar for the most part in these past couple of decades, in the sense that they almost always have to center on an adolescent being put out of his or her comfort zone and forced to learn about the various pleasures and perils of life.

However, in The Virgin Suicides Jeffrey Eugenides takes a completely different approach to the subject, one that surely won’t please everyone. As you can tell by the name of it, the book is centered on a family where a series of suicides occur.

More precisely, it focuses on the Lisbon family where over the course of a year, all the daughters manage to commit suicide in a number of different ways. We are provided with the perspective of more or less distant spectators, trying to piece together a mystery that seems so nonsensical and enigmatic.

As you can certainly imagine, the suicides of adolescent girls is far from being a humorous subject, but somehow Eugenides manages to weave around it an inspiring and engrossing story that his its fair share of dark humor. The deaths themselves aren’t tackled with too much grim and seriousness, perhaps being an attempt to show the lighter side of what many of us fear the most.

When reading it one has the peculiar feeling of guilt which comes from enjoying this book despite its subject. In other words, it does offer something completely different out there, and that goes double for what it gives in terms of storyline.

Speaking of which, the story itself is a real pleasure to follow and decipher. Though Eugenides feels a bit too straightforward at times for my liking, it takes away nothing from the fact that we are always given just enough evidence to pique our curiosity and force us to turn to the next page.

Also, add to that the fact that it takes place in one of the most detailed and beautifully-described fictional towns out there, and you feel like you are actually standing right there with the curious boys, desperately trying to understand the motivation and purpose behind these deaths.

As the story goes on though, we become less and less concerned with why they are doing this as our priorities shift from understanding them to helping them, and that I believe is the mark of a great author; making you believe you can make a difference in a story that is already set on paper in front of you.

All in all, The Virgin Suicides is one of the most interesting coming-of-age novels out there, exploring the topics of love, sex, pain and death during adolescence through a very unusual medium.

If you are truly looking for something different and are capable of laughing at the darker side of life, then this book is one you must absolutely read.

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Jeffrey Eugenides Jeffrey Eugenides is an American short story writer and novelist, having already many works under his name, including the renowned Middlesex, The Marriage Plot, and The Virgin Suicides. He was the recipient of numerous awards since the mid-1980s, including the Guggeinheim Fellowship and the 2011 Salon Book Award.