A startling, depressing, funny, painful glimpse into teenaged angst, The Virgin Suicides is Eugenides’ first novel and well-written but not a comfortable read. If you expect deep psychological insights into the phenomenon of suicide, you’ll be disappointed. Instead, the author reflects on adolescence, loss, regret, and the all too swift passage of time. One learns right from the beginning that the five teenaged daughters of the Lisbon family have all killed themselves, and with that horrifying fact now out in the open, the author proceeds […]
Striking a Blow for Teenage Geekdom
A cute and well-written teen memoir for those kids—the majority of us, it would seem—who never managed to achieve popularity in school. Maya is a slightly plump, eye-glass wearing smarty to whom celebrity status, beautiful clothes, makeup and jewelry are someone else’s domain. She and her best friend Kenzie occupy the status below the school geeks and goths, according to her list which boasts the volleyball girls and football boys at the top of the heap. She is tired of being on the outs but […]