When I first heard about the release of this book, I was delighted. I adored The Virgin Suicides, with its rhapsodic language and the mystic way it portrayed such a dark idea. So after waiting for weeks to get Eugenides' latest novel from the library, I have to admit that this one was quite a disappointment.
The first thing I must say about this novel was that the writing itself didn't disappoint, but its lack of plot did. The story follows three college graduates in the 1980s who are all in love with one another, respectively. First, there is Madeleine Hanna, a charismatic young English major with a soft spot for Jane Austen. Her boyfriend, Leonard Bankhead, is an enigma of sorts who prefers a more scientific than romantic outlook on life. The last side of this triangle is Madeleine's 'friend' Mitchell Grammaticus, a religions enthusiast in love with Madeleine who decides to travel to India to get her out of his head.
The story reads almost like a documentary of these three young peoples' adventures: filled with interesting nuances of their lives, but many of these details end up feeling unnecessary and irritating. The novel is basically a very in-depth character study of these people, and perhaps because of that it's hard to take a liking to them. I personally disliked both Madeleine and Leonard as characters, and the only parts of the book I truly enjoyed were the parts with Mitchell and his spiritual journey. Obviously, it's difficult to like a book when you dislike the main characters, which is probably why I had such a problem getting through reading it.
The book was teeming with references to different authors, philosophers, religious icons and the 1980s. It felt like Eugenides was almost desperately trying to remind the reader that yes, this book is set in the 1980s please don't forget that because of all the references to pop culture. I was honestly surprised that he felt he had to do that for whatever reason, because The Virgin Suicides was an effortless portrayal of the dreamy 1970s. It didn't enhance the story at all.
Despite all that, I did really enjoy the writing, although it got pretentious at times. There were some particularly beautiful parts that make the book worth reading. It takes a lot of time to get into the story, but unfortunately, even then it doesn't pick up too much from there.
Would I recommend it? It depends on the person, really. If you're interested in literature, mental illness, or religion, give it a try.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
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