The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides

Jeffrey Eugenides' first novel, The Virgin Suicides, is unlike any book I've read. It's uniqueness stems from the narration; the reader is outside the action and, just like the boys in the story, must piece together events from the few clues revealed to them along the way. I shared in the narrators' frustration, never truly knowing the enigmas that were the Lisbon girls or the motives behind the suicides. Readers are only allowed brief glimpses of the inner sanctum of their lives and the reader is left yearning for more, to know the girls' version of the story. Although this technique is, at some times, frustrating, it also worked to draw me more thouroughly into his tale. I think that this narrative style is entirely appropriate for this novel and that Eugenides really begs the question: can we every really know the reasons why someone would take their own life?

I found this novel to be a very interesting read. Wonderful descriptions and, as I would expect from Eugenides, excellently written in a simple and poweful style.