The Virgin Suicides: A crossover book with a media tie-in

Talking about crossover books got me thinking about The Virgin Suicides, the subject of my digital booktalk video.  Not only is this adult book enjoyed by teens, but it has also been made into a movie!  The film is written and directed by Sofia Coppolla.  The script uses mostly excerpts from the book which makes it fun to watch if you've already read the book, and makes the book fun to read if you've already seen the movie.  I'm going to copy the link to my booktalk and my write-up for the assignment for those of you who want to know more:

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pV6XdcdbNM


Eugenides, Jeffrey. The Virgin Suicides. New York: Warner Books, 1994. 

Cecilia Lisbon, the thirteen-year-old youngest of five daughters, sends her quiet 1970s suburban neighbourhood reeling when she attempts suicide by slitting her wrists.  Though unsuccessful, her suicide attempt prompts the entire neighbourhood, especially the narrating group of teen boys, to increase their scrutiny of the already somewhat reclusive and mysterious Lisbon family.  Encouraged by Cecilia’s psychiatrist to increase their daughters’ social activity, Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon throw a co-ed party for Cecilia and their other girls (Lux, age 14; Bonnie, 15; Mary, 16; and Therese, 17).  However, this first and only Lisbon party ends in tragedy as Cecilia succeeds at ending her life by jumping from her second-story bedroom window and landing on an iron-spiked fence. 

Though their house begins to fall into disrepair as they deal with their grief, the Lisbons appear to return to a normal, everyday life.  The girls return to school in the fall and Mr. Lisbon continues his position as a high school math teacher. He even agrees to allow Trip Fontaine, teen heart throb, to take Lux to the homecoming dance (on the grounds that Trip finds dates for the remaining three girls).  But when Lux fails to make curfew the Lisbon house goes into a complete lockdown.  The girls are taken out of school and Mr. Lisbon eventually leaves his job.  The narrating boys manage to catch glimpses of the girls through windows and spy on Lux’s midnight trysts with local men on the roof.  After a brief correspondence, the girls invite the boys to their house, supposedly to run away with them.  However, the boys have actually been invited over to be witnesses to the girls’ dramatic final act, as they all commit suicide simultaneously in various ways throughout the house.

Told through the collective voice of a group of middle aged men remembering their days with the girls (the ambiguity of the narrators makes them become almost as mysterious as the Lisbon girls), The Virgin Suicides haunts the reader with a sense of poetic beauty, undying obsession, and the intensity of teenagehood.  The men recall the “year of the suicides” through their own firsthand accounts, interviews conducted with numerous characters, and exhibits of personal belongings collected from the Lisbon house. 

In his debut novel, Eugenides successfully creates the world of a 1970s suburb as it falls victim to the diseases of urban sprawl, environment change, and teen suicide.  He creates real, multi-dimensional characters, and his beautiful prose makes every word interesting and compelling to read.

            Though this book was not necessarily written for young adults, the subject matter and writing style can be appreciated by mature high school readers (age 16 and up).