The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Adapted into a critically acclaimed film by Sofia Coppola, The Virgin Suicides is a modern classic, a lyrical and timeless tale of sex and suicide that transforms and mythologizes suburban middle-American life.

First published in 1993, The Virgin Suicides announced the arrival of a major new American novelist. In a quiet suburb of Detroit, the five Lisbon sisters―beautiful, eccentric, and obsessively watched by the neighborhood boys―commit suicide one by one over the course of a single year. As the boys observe them from afar, transfixed, they piece together the mystery of the family's fatal melancholy, in this hypnotic and unforgettable novel of adolescent love, disquiet, and death.

Jeffrey Eugenides evokes the emotions of youth with haunting sensitivity and dark humor and creates a coming-of-age story unlike any of our time.

REVIEWS

“A piercing first novel . . . lyrical and portentous.”―The New York Times

“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

“Arresting . . . uncannily evokes the wry voice of adolescence and a mixture of curiosity, lust, tenderness, morbidity, cynicism, and the naïveté surrounding these bizarre events.” ―The Wall Street Journal

“Picador's new paperback edition of The Virgin Suicides bears a modest white sleeve with an evocative cover image of lackadaisical teenagers lounging in a field of grass. The understatement of the binding is complemented by the rest of the package: Short of breadth, with larger than average type, it resembles nothing so much as what children refer to as a 'chapter book.' This sparsity of presentation is entirely appropriate, reflecting the marred innocence of the Lisbon girls themselves. The Virgin Suicidesis a precious item, a timeless document of the eternal pangs of youth, a work which deserves to be savored and treasured and shared.” ―Michael Munro

PRODUCT DETAILS
Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate
ISBN: 978-0008485160
Pages: 256