An interesting book, but not a patch on 'Middlesex' I think

Released as a RABCK to fellow BookCrosser mafarrimond - hope you enjoy!

I'm sure I will enjoy this, thank you so much.

You can't really say you enjoyed a book about suicides - but I did! A compelling read.

Posted on. Hope you enjoy the book.

I have been wanting to read this for ages! Thanks for sending me this.

I agree, excellent book. More thoughts to come.

Picked from the Euro 1001-Library VBB.

I saw the film adaptation years ago, and wanted to see the original material, so grabbed it from a bookbox.

Major events in our childhood have a great impact on our lives, and for the men living in Grosse Pointe, it is the suicides of five sisters that coloured their adholescence. The untimely deaths of their contemparies continues to be a topic of discussion when they meet up, even years later. The collective voice of the narrator tries to reconstruct the events, trying to find out what pushed the girls to do what they did. Why did five young girls, with different personalities, seemingly "normal", take their own lives? The narrator leads us through their last days, through school halls, parties, budding romances and a growing obsession on the part of the boys.

I was a little nervous about opening the book, having seen the film, I knew what was coming. I must say, however, that Eugenides´ narration is what kept me turning the pages. As the girls have a similar fate and are difficult to talk about separately, so too the boys who they intrigued become one as they search for the truth. It is a very human trait to try and make sense of the past, especially of something nonsensical to those outside the Lisbon sisters´ confidence. I found myself theorising along with the narrator, weighing up each new piece of evidence, or conjecture, as well as remembering my own teenage years and the turbulance of feelings that went with it.

A very dark book, one that I know I will come back to. Eugendides´ debut novel is one of the best books I´ve read this year, I look forard to Middlesex.

Sorry for the delay.

Received with thanks and hope to get to it soon. No delay to be sorry for, I feel more and more of a 1001-hearder, but luckily I see more and more ticks on my list each.. week? month? can't say day :) You can always help me out by requesting one of my TBRs :)

Impressive. Neither gory, nor offensive as one would think given the title. Hardly the book to put down once started. The narrative tone speaks more of childhood's demise than of the tragedy surrounding a collective suicide. Easy to bond with, even not totally understanding the girls' decision. A great book overall, and another one ticked off the 1001 list.

Thanks again soffitta1 for sharing, and happy reading everyone! Next stop: grovalskii in Germany :)

On its way to grovalskii as part of the Wishlist Tag Game. Hope you'll find this enjoyable as well :)

received the book today. Thanks so much lamelemon!

I didn't really care for this book. Sad story, yes, but I didn't like the writing style. If I hadn't read Middlesex before, I don't think I would be interested in reading anything by this author again.

I decided to send this book out as a ray. Here is the order:

1. vaga-bonde (Switzerland, ship Europe or back to me)
2. Lamilla (Belarus, ship int)
3. Tchaikovsky (US, ship US only)
4. ZergRush (US, ship US only)
5. Valpete (USA, last on ray)

The book will start travelling tomorrow morning.

Received this morning. Thanks grovalskii for the beautiful stamps and the bookmark!

What I found most interesting about this book, was not the girls, or the reason for the suicides, but the fascination of the boys who are the narrators. This collective "we" of now grown men haunted through their childhood and adulthood by the Lisbon girls, documenting all they can about them, interviewing people, trying to piece together an inexplicable series of events and coming out empty handed (there is no explanation for this drama) is fascinating and masterfully written. Thanks grovalskii for sharing this!
I mailed the book this morning to Lamilla in Belarus.

Thank you for sending the book to me! Looking forward to reading it
Found it today crammed into maibox hole (which is naturally too narrow to put something other than a letter in) - very unusual for our postman, who's a gentle woman.

Captivating story, a sure candidate for my fav. read of 2014.
I asked next participant for the address, the book is going to USA now.

Sent today from the main post office via surface mail. Safe travels!

I received this book today in the mail; thank you to Lamilla for sending it, and to grovalskii for starting the bookray!
I haven't yet read Middlesex, or any other of Eugenides's work for that matter, but am looking forward to reading this all the same.
I will go ahead and PM the next person for their address. Thanks for including me in the ray. Review coming soon, as I'll be starting this one in the next day or so.

Brilliant read! This is my first Eugenides novel, and now one of my favorite books of all time. I definitely recommend reading it if you can.
Sending off ZergRush later this week, who is next in line for grovalskii's international bookray. Enjoy!

The book arrived back at my house last night as a "return to sender." I'm not exactly sure of what happened here, but I'm sincerely sorry if I made a mistake in the shipping of it! The book is already packed up and ready to be shipped off again, but before I do so, I'll contact ZergRush (the next person in line for this bookray) just to confirm the address once more.
I plan on shipping this back out as soon as I receive a confirmation.