The Virgin Suicides.

1 dead, 2 dead, 3 dead, 4, 5 dead. 5 DEAD SISTERS. MUHAHAHA.

Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon have 5 beautiful, thriving teenage daughters. Cecilia, Mary, Therese, Bonnie and Lux are unknowingly the talk of the town with their homemade baggy clothes and unavailable nature. But when Cecilia inexplicably commits suicide, the obsession rises. A group of men try to piece together the pieces of the puzzle to discover the reasons behind their love for the Lisbon girls, Cecilia's self-destruction, and the events leading up to the the suicides of all 4 remaining sisters on the same night.

The suburbs in the 70's are a messy place. It's not a secret that Cecilia kills herself, the books begins with one suicide attempt, which is thwarted by the ambulance. In the first few pages, it's evident that Eugenides is some kind of master at dark humor. My favorite part? When the doctor is talking to Cecilia after she is rescued. 

" 'What are you doing here, honey? You're not even old enough to know how bad life gets. ' 

'Obviously, doctor...you've never been a thirteen-year-old girl.' " 

Some of my other favorites moments are when the boys are reading through Cecilia's diary and begin to feel like teenage girls themselves. Ahaha. Excellent. 

What I do find somewhat odd is the obsession the boys had with the Lisbon girls in the first place. I think it might have something to do with their unavailability. They obviously wanted to interact with the opposite sex, but their parental units made it impossible. Strict rules were set in place to avoid such a thing from happened. And when they were finally allowed out to a dance, Lux pretty much screwed them over by missing curfew. That's when Mrs. Lisbon decided to lock them all up like hermits. Good parenting on their part. The isolation is what really killed the Lisbon girls. 

What I particularly enjoyed about this book is also something that got tiring. It was plump full of character descriptions, which are my favorite thing in the entire world. I love knowing exactly what the characters look like and the individual characteristics that make them unique. But Eugenides took it a step farther than most and explained every character, even the most minor of them. I don't need to know what Mrs. What's-Her-Face ate for breakfast that morning, thanks. 

All in all, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Thumb's up.

3.5 out of 5 stars.