This is my first review, I’m still unsure how much to leave off, and how to structure it, but I hope to learn this very quickly! This book revolves around the marital discord between Louis Trevelyan and his wife Emily, what set it off, how they react to this, and how their life begins to rapidly unravel as they find themselves caught in a web of obstinacy and distrust. The book also has two other key subplots, including a very unlikable clergyman, about two sets […]
An archaeological dig into suburban life, teenage angst, and death
A startling, depressing, funny, painful glimpse into teenaged angst, The Virgin Suicides is Eugenides’ first novel and well-written but not a comfortable read. If you expect deep psychological insights into the phenomenon of suicide, you’ll be disappointed. Instead, the author reflects on adolescence, loss, regret, and the all too swift passage of time. One learns right from the beginning that the five teenaged daughters of the Lisbon family have all killed themselves, and with that horrifying fact now out in the open, the author proceeds […]
Man is a Monster
Literary classics earn their designation by presenting themes that resonate throughout the ages. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is just such a literary classic. She wrote this short but brilliant tale when she was about 20, while she, her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron were on holiday in Switzerland. As the poor weather prevented their outdoor adventures, the three entertained themselves with stories of the “supernatural.” Shelley’s Frankenstein has become a world renowned classic and a staple of Halloween partiers everywhere. And yet, Shelley’s scary […]