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The Virgin Suicides
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Plot Summary of The Virgin Suicides
"Four sisters, during the course of one year, all commit suicide, and the neighborhood boys who lusted after them and were fascinated by them, try to find out why. Includes a detailed recounting of events leading up to the suicides."
Amanda Goodwin, Resident Scholar

"This is the story of five adolescent sisters, living and dying by their own hands, in a suburb of Detroit in the 1970's. Their brief and tragic lives are narrated by the men whose lives were forever altered by knowing them and witnessing their demise. Years later, these middle-aged men gather in their boyhood treehouse and struggle to understand who the Lisbon girls really were and why they all killed themselves within the space of a year. They approach their memories in the form of a court presentation, complete with witnesses and exhibits, as they revisit their youthful obsession. "
Jennifer Martin-Romme, Resident Scholar

"This is the account of four sisters' suicides. It all starts with Cecille's suicide attempt. She tries again, and suceeds, and their live go down hill from there. A mother who is afraid of everything controls their every move and eventually pulls them out of school. Their father is a teacher, but also eventually leaves, and is too weak to stand up to his controlling wife for the sake of his remaining daughters. This is set up as a court case, by three boys who grew up near the girls and tried desperately to get to know them about Cecille's suicide attempt. They are drawn, like flies to a light, to these girls' lives. Even years later they return to their tree house and re-examin everything they knew about them, in an effort to bring these amazing girls back to life."
Kara Thomas, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Virgin Suicides
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 1960's-1970's
Internal struggle/realization? Yes
Struggle over - actions leading to death of someone
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - student
Age: - a teen
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Midwest
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - explicit references to deaths
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - descript. of female anat. (the big V)
Amount of dialog - little dialog
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Speak Softly, She Can Hear by Pam Lewis
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The Anvil by Shelagh McKenna
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
Small Steps by Peg Kehret


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Jeffrey Eugenides Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Kara Thomas  

SCHOLARS:
David Loftus  Rebecca Reissman  Christopher J. Stephens  


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