Published: 2002 by: Bloomsbury
Pages: 250
Rating: 0/5 stars
This is the story of the Lisbon sisters, five girls shielded away from society by their over-protective parents. When one of the sisters commits suicide, the girls are never the same, and soon take their own lives in a suicide pact that nobody in the town can explain. Told from the perspective of the neighbourhood boys that were intrigued by the sisters, The Virgin Suicides is a tale of a mysterious family and their rebellious children.
What. The. Fuck. What even was this book? How can I even explain it? Oh, I know! It was a toxic, creepy, stupid book which such poor representation of suicide that I would even consider it dangerous. I don't know what the author was thinking in coming up with this story, because it completely justifies suicide and makes it such a shitty plot point.
I heard such raving reviews of this book, and at first I couldn't understand why, but soon answered my own question. This entire book is one big aesthetic. It's the stuff you would see on an angsty teen's Tumblr profile, all mysterious and haunting, and I can already imagine how many people have posted artsy photos of this book. But the truth is, that this book is neither haunting, nor artsy, nor breathtaking. It uses suicide as an aesthetic, as this graceful thing that these girls do in flowey white dresses, their hair billowing in the wind. It never once shows the dangers and harms of suicide, it, dare I say, shows it as being something good. AND THAT IS SO DANGEROUS.
What really pissed me off about this book is that we never ever learn why the girls did what they did. There is never any signs of mental illness, bullying, and there is no message at the end condemning suicide and being upset over what happened. Instead, the deaths are used as graceful plot points, something that everyone looks at as being chilling, but then just shrug their shoulders and move on with their lives. This book is sick and twisted and I don't even want to talk about it anymore.
If you are depressed or suicidal, please STAY CLEAR OF THIS BOOK and seek help by calling this number: 1 800 668 6868 You're worth more than a fancy aesthetic.
Have you read The Virgin Suicides? What did you think?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
Wow. I've only sort of been aware of this one before, but a lot of people consider it 'literary' or something (I actually deny the existence of literary as a genre, but that's a rant for another time!)
ReplyDeleteStill, I was a bit like, *this book could be so bad,* and, turns out, it is! I'm not saying I'll *never* read it (because she's a rebel, lol!) but I'm not going to bother putting it on my TBR, no matter how many people rec it.
Yup, please be cautious when picking this up. Also, I would love to have that literary rant with you one day, because boy do I have some opinions on that one as well!
DeleteI've never heard about this book before but wow, it sounds terrible and dangerous. Thanks for the important review!
ReplyDeleteAsma @ IceyBooks
Thank you for stopping by, Asma! Happy to share some warnings.
DeleteI've never heard of this, although when I saw your review in my feed, I was very intrigued by the title. Sounds terrible though, I'll definitely be steering clear of this one. Thanks for sharing, Emily!
ReplyDeleteI had heard it around the blogosphere a few times, but I'm happy it wasn't really hyped up. :(
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