Reading Challenge Book Review: The Virgin Suicides

No, I'm not dead, and yes, I'm still blogging.  Apparently I'm just blogging in my head though and no one gets to see what I write.  Although I had some setbacks in the reading challenge (I just couldn't get into Angela's Ashes, I tried, I hated it) I'm reinvigorated and ready to dive in.  My first jump: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides. 

I'm not really sure what to say about this book.  I really enjoyed his other book, Middlesex, but this book sort of left me with a bewildered look on my face and a big question "why?"  The story is told from the perspective of a now-grown man who witnessed the family across the street and the tragedies that struck their teenage daughters.  It sort of left me with an odd taste in my mouth because I kept wanting to know "why".  Were the girls so upset with the suicide of their youngest sibling that they simply went off the deep end?  Were they tired of being repressed by their parents, particularly their mother who allowed them little joy in their lives?  Unfortunately, none of these questions have answers, but I do think the book was very well written, though not a "tender, wickedly funny tale" as advertised on the back.  Funny it was not.  Although I might rent the movie at some point.  I'm guessing that point will be a very dark time in my life. 

Next stop...Tender is the Night, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.