The Virgin Suicides
I have just finished reading a very 'powerful' novel. The word 'powerful' being used here only for the lack of a more intelligent-sounding adjective. I am a poor literary critic and will make no attempt to disguise that (not that it is POSSIBLE to disguise that anyway).
The novel is, of course, 'The Virgin Suicides' by Jeffrey Eugenides. A very interesting surname considering that his second novel is titled 'Middlesex' which is about a bisexual (here referring to someone with both male and female reproductive organs) and therefore somewhat related to eugenics, in an ironic sort of way because eugenics is really about the production of better/improved offsprings and bisexuality (born or learnt) hardly counts as an improvement. The point, which I believe was not well-delivered, is that 'eugenides' sounds like 'eugenics' and so on...
Okay let's just forget that.
'The Virgin Suicides' has been made into a movie, directed by Sofia Coppola. It was released in 1999 and starred Kirsten Dunst as the very sexually active (or promiscuous if you would like) Lux Lisbon, the Lisbon girl who was fleshed out the most in the novel. Her displays of promiscuity, as suggested by the narrator and his group of friends, could be her desperate attempt to feel loved and in the process, mistaking physical pleasure with love. Her behaviour got out of hand later in the novel after her youngest sister, Cecilia, committed suicide, leading to her numerous trysts with nameless boys/men on the roof. Despite that, the narrator noted that Lux Lisbon often appeared distracted and bored even at times during sex. That led him to conclude that her sexual acts were performed less out of carnal desires than of 'other plans' which he or the other boys never managed to find out about. It was also suggested that Lux Lisbon might have had a self-destructive streak because she continued having sex on the roof into the coldest of the winter, as if wanting to catch a cold and die of it.
No one could say for sure what drove Cecilia Lisbon to kill herself in the first place. Many saw her as a weirdo, unlike her other sisters. The narrator suggested that it could be their strict upbringing which drove the girls to suicide. Right from the beginning, we were introduced to the mother as a strict Christian who played and forced the whole family to listen to the type of gospel music that even priests found incredulous. She allowed no unsupervised outings with boys and forbade clothes that were too revealing. Cosmetics were forbidden and TV programmes were carefully considered for their suitability before the girls were allowed to watch any.
All in all, the girls probably led a stifling existence under the watchful eyes of the matriarch. On the anniversary of Cecilia Lisbon's first suicide attempt (she only managed to kill herself in her second attempt by jumping onto the pointed fence), the remaining girls committed suicides as well. Lux Lisbon died of carbon monoxide poisoning; Therese Lisbon died of an overdose of sleeping pills; Bonnie Lisbon hanged herself; Mary Lisbon tried unsuccessfully to, literally, cook herself in the oven but eventually succeeded in her second attempt by ingesting more sleeping pills than she should after returning from the hospital.
It was a 'heavy' novel, made more so by the dark humour which it oozed. It was also a very disturbing novel, not least because the readers are left questioning and searching for the real reasons behind the suicides. Various people, including psychiatrists, doctors who tried successfully at certain times and unsuccessfully at others to resuscitate the girls, journalists, teachers and neighbours, all tried to provide explanations for their suicides. Some blamed them on the problems America faced in general those days; some credited the girls for foreseeing the unavoidable aging and misery that those who lived had to endure; others claimed that it was all an 'adolescent problem'. Maybe it was a combination of all those factors. No one knew for sure. Not even the author himself perhaps.
Must lay my hands on a copy of the movie. I love Kirsten Dunst when she is not with SpiderBoy. And being a loyal 'House M.D.' fan, I have to say that Kirsten bears a striking resemblance to Jennifer Morrison, who plays Dr Cameron in 'House'. Both of whom, in my opinion, are smokin' hot! LOL!
While I am at it, Kirsten's new movie titled 'Marie-Antoinette' would be 'coming to a cinema near you' some time in October. Marie Antoinette, for the unitiated, was the Queen of France who was executed during the French Revolution. Originally an Austrian royalty, she was married at the tender age of 14 to King Louis XVI (the latter was not yet a king when the marriage took place but was named the heir by his grandfather Louis XV). A politically-motivated marriage it was. So unhappy were her initial years at the French royal court that she indulged in gambling and other money-consuming activities. She later reportedly changed for the better though she remained unpopular with the people of France. She gave birth to 4 children in her lifetime and lost 2 to diseases. She was executed shortly after her husband by the revolutionists.
The movie, however, would focus on her earlier years as an aimless young royalty lost in the politics of the French court, who only found solace in meaningless but often extravagant activities. I can totally see Kirsten playing the seemingly indulgent but really lonesome Queen who was not exactly loved by her husband and had to constantly endure the malignant rumours that were circulating about which ranged from her having secret lovers to her inability to produce heirs to the throne (records suggested that she and her King did not consummate their marriage until many years after they were married).
Can hardly wait.
The novel is, of course, 'The Virgin Suicides' by Jeffrey Eugenides. A very interesting surname considering that his second novel is titled 'Middlesex' which is about a bisexual (here referring to someone with both male and female reproductive organs) and therefore somewhat related to eugenics, in an ironic sort of way because eugenics is really about the production of better/improved offsprings and bisexuality (born or learnt) hardly counts as an improvement. The point, which I believe was not well-delivered, is that 'eugenides' sounds like 'eugenics' and so on...
Okay let's just forget that.
'The Virgin Suicides' has been made into a movie, directed by Sofia Coppola. It was released in 1999 and starred Kirsten Dunst as the very sexually active (or promiscuous if you would like) Lux Lisbon, the Lisbon girl who was fleshed out the most in the novel. Her displays of promiscuity, as suggested by the narrator and his group of friends, could be her desperate attempt to feel loved and in the process, mistaking physical pleasure with love. Her behaviour got out of hand later in the novel after her youngest sister, Cecilia, committed suicide, leading to her numerous trysts with nameless boys/men on the roof. Despite that, the narrator noted that Lux Lisbon often appeared distracted and bored even at times during sex. That led him to conclude that her sexual acts were performed less out of carnal desires than of 'other plans' which he or the other boys never managed to find out about. It was also suggested that Lux Lisbon might have had a self-destructive streak because she continued having sex on the roof into the coldest of the winter, as if wanting to catch a cold and die of it.
No one could say for sure what drove Cecilia Lisbon to kill herself in the first place. Many saw her as a weirdo, unlike her other sisters. The narrator suggested that it could be their strict upbringing which drove the girls to suicide. Right from the beginning, we were introduced to the mother as a strict Christian who played and forced the whole family to listen to the type of gospel music that even priests found incredulous. She allowed no unsupervised outings with boys and forbade clothes that were too revealing. Cosmetics were forbidden and TV programmes were carefully considered for their suitability before the girls were allowed to watch any.
All in all, the girls probably led a stifling existence under the watchful eyes of the matriarch. On the anniversary of Cecilia Lisbon's first suicide attempt (she only managed to kill herself in her second attempt by jumping onto the pointed fence), the remaining girls committed suicides as well. Lux Lisbon died of carbon monoxide poisoning; Therese Lisbon died of an overdose of sleeping pills; Bonnie Lisbon hanged herself; Mary Lisbon tried unsuccessfully to, literally, cook herself in the oven but eventually succeeded in her second attempt by ingesting more sleeping pills than she should after returning from the hospital.
It was a 'heavy' novel, made more so by the dark humour which it oozed. It was also a very disturbing novel, not least because the readers are left questioning and searching for the real reasons behind the suicides. Various people, including psychiatrists, doctors who tried successfully at certain times and unsuccessfully at others to resuscitate the girls, journalists, teachers and neighbours, all tried to provide explanations for their suicides. Some blamed them on the problems America faced in general those days; some credited the girls for foreseeing the unavoidable aging and misery that those who lived had to endure; others claimed that it was all an 'adolescent problem'. Maybe it was a combination of all those factors. No one knew for sure. Not even the author himself perhaps.
Must lay my hands on a copy of the movie. I love Kirsten Dunst when she is not with SpiderBoy. And being a loyal 'House M.D.' fan, I have to say that Kirsten bears a striking resemblance to Jennifer Morrison, who plays Dr Cameron in 'House'. Both of whom, in my opinion, are smokin' hot! LOL!
While I am at it, Kirsten's new movie titled 'Marie-Antoinette' would be 'coming to a cinema near you' some time in October. Marie Antoinette, for the unitiated, was the Queen of France who was executed during the French Revolution. Originally an Austrian royalty, she was married at the tender age of 14 to King Louis XVI (the latter was not yet a king when the marriage took place but was named the heir by his grandfather Louis XV). A politically-motivated marriage it was. So unhappy were her initial years at the French royal court that she indulged in gambling and other money-consuming activities. She later reportedly changed for the better though she remained unpopular with the people of France. She gave birth to 4 children in her lifetime and lost 2 to diseases. She was executed shortly after her husband by the revolutionists.
The movie, however, would focus on her earlier years as an aimless young royalty lost in the politics of the French court, who only found solace in meaningless but often extravagant activities. I can totally see Kirsten playing the seemingly indulgent but really lonesome Queen who was not exactly loved by her husband and had to constantly endure the malignant rumours that were circulating about which ranged from her having secret lovers to her inability to produce heirs to the throne (records suggested that she and her King did not consummate their marriage until many years after they were married).
Can hardly wait.
1 Comments:
I say briefly: Best! Useful information. Good job guys.
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