The Virgin Suicides

Yes, it's a bit of a pop-culture icon these days isn't it? I'm reading the book right now, written by Pulitzer-prize winner Jeffrey Eugenides (he won it for Middlesex, curiously enough, I disliked that book!).

It's a stunning book, both in texture and craft, and in sheer lyricism. It draws you in to this sepia-tinted life, of extreme voyeurism and languid drama. I really enjoyed it, and found the film to be fairly true to the book itself, rare enough as it is. I highly recommend this book-particularly if you liked the film--but even if you didn't, the writing here is so rare, so captivating. It's lazy, powerful and envelopes you. It's not an emotional book, but rather one that keeps a reader at a visible distance, as if you are seeing the events through a haze of fog or fine mosquito netting.

It's a definite mystery, and strangely even though it's a subject matter that people avoid quite strenuously, we can all identify with it.

I also had the craziest dreams after reading it, so perhaps not a book for before-bed reading.

Enjoy!