This book is disturbingly realistic. Through the screen of teenaged, doe-eyed boys comes a hazy recollection of idyllic suburbia, disrupted by tragedy. The girls are elevated to an almost mythological status. Having nearly lived this story through the suicidal tendencies of my graduating class—thankfully, no one succeeded—I think that Eugenides captures the pointlessness, the rubber-necking, and the onlookers’ attitudes with careful attention to both suspense/drama and truth.

FAR superior to the movie.

Though the ending is a bit anticlimactic when it finally comes, the buildup is oh so good. Eugenides allows the minds of the teenage boys he makes his narrators run wild….extrapolating whole lives for the reclusive 5 virgins the book is named for from snippets of pop songs played over the phone, actions spied on through windows, and knowing glances. Gripping read.

I read this because I liked Middlesex so much. I think Middlesex is a much better book, but this one was still interesting. Weird and strange and bizarre, but good. Both books have a detached manner of narration.

Mildly entertaining, but didn’t live up to the hype. The tone is very uneven, veering wildly between straight teenaged-wasteland tragedy and absurdist suburban dytopia—I found myself thinking “Get on with it already” for most of the second half of the book. Perhaps Mr. Eugenides’ later efforts will be more promising.

i have this book for years, and i haven’t finished yet. i think some has to do with the fact that i got the portuguese translation, which is awful and too literal at some points.

still, i intend to finish it someday. even if i have to get the original text to do it.

Not many best sellers live up to the hype, but this was wonderful. Funny, sad, exciting, moving – it was a near-perfect book.

Fantastic!

I have to read this for one of my classes, but I’ve started reading it early lol. I love it!

Well written and interesting, though not what I expected.