<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GoodreadsResponse>
	<Request>
		<authentication>false</authentication>
		    <method><![CDATA[]]></method>
	</Request>
	
<book>
  <id>2869229</id>
  <title><![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[9793972327]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9789793972329]]></isbn13>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1203578564m/2869229.jpg</image_url>
  <description><![CDATA[Michigan, awal 1970-an. Keluarga Lisbon adalah keluarga yang sangat religius, keluarga biasa dengan kehidupan yang juga biasa. Sampai ketika satu demi satu anak gadis keluarga itu melakukan bunuh diri. Kelima perawan misterius yang cantik itu mengakhiri hidup mereka sendiri secara misterius pula. Gadis-gadis keluarga Lisbon berumur tiga belas (Cecilia), empat belas (Lux), lima belas (Bonnie), enam belas (Mary), dan tujuh belas (Therese).<br/><br/>Cecilia, si bungsu, menyayat pergelangan tangannya sambil berendam di bak mandi. Kedua tangannya mendekap gambar Perawan Suci. Percobaan pembunuhan pertamanya ini gagal.  Namun, ia berhasil dalam percobaan keduanya. Tubuhnya meluncur dari lantai atas rumah. Keberhasilan Cecilia diikuti oleh keempat saudarinya, masing-masing dengan cara yang berbeda. <br/><br/>Gadis-gadis keluarga Lisbon begitu terobsesi dengan kematian. Tidak ada seorang pun yang tahu misteri di balik itu semua. Tidak ada yang tahu apa yang sesungguhnya terjadi di dalam rumah keluarga Lisbon...<br/>]]></description>
  <work>
  <best_book_id type="integer">10956</best_book_id>
  <books_count type="integer">31</books_count>
  <desc_user_id type="integer" nil="true"></desc_user_id>
  <id type="integer">812415</id>
  <media_type>book</media_type>
  <original_language_id type="integer" nil="true"></original_language_id>
  <original_publication_day type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_day>
  <original_publication_month type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_month>
  <original_publication_year type="integer">1993</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>The Virgin Suicides</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:19766|5:4560|4:7632|3:5571|2:1611|1:392|</rating_dist>
  <ratings_count type="integer">19766</ratings_count>
  <ratings_sum type="integer">73655</ratings_sum>
  <reviews_count type="integer">26420</reviews_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1648</text_reviews_count>
</work>

  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.73]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[20]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[4]]></text_reviews_count>
  
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2869229.The_Virgin_Suicides]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2869229.The_Virgin_Suicides]]></link>
  <authors>
    <author>
    <id>1467</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Jeffrey Eugenides]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1256022147p5/1467.jpg]]></image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1467.Jeffrey_Eugenides]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.90</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>114793</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>11303</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>
    <reviews start="1" end="20" total="26414">
      <review>
  <id>12478972</id>
    <user>
    <id>780845</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Matt]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Provo, UT]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/780845-matt]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1232690488p3/780845.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">10956</id>
  <isbn>0747560595</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747560593</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1263</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10956.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>15638</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>22</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[everyone]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 14 08:58:40 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jan 15 13:53:30 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[suicide isn't the happiest of topics. the suicides of five sisters is even less pleasant. how do you recommend a book to someone on such a grim topic? easy: just read it. <br/><br/>what eugenides does so well is capture the mystery of secluded sisters, as seen through the eyes of neighborhood boys...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12478972">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12478972]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12478972]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>1098415</id>
    <user>
    <id>79453</id>
    <name><![CDATA[nicole]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Chicago, IL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/79453-nicole-j]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1178579560p3/79453.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">46181</id>
  <isbn>0446670251</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780446670258</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">272</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46181.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.75</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3166</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Eugenides's tantalizing, macabre first novel begins with a suicide, the first of the five bizarre deaths of the teenage daughters in the Lisbon family; the rest of the work, set in the author's native Michigan in the early 1970s, is a backward-looking quest as the male narrator and his nosy, horny pals describe how they strove to understand the odd clan of this first chapter, which appeared in the Paris Review , where it won the 1991 Aga Khan Prize for fiction. The sensationalism of the subject matter (based loosely on a factual account) may be off-putting to some readers, but Eugenides's voice is so fresh and compelling, his powers of observation so startling and acute, that most will be mesmerized. The title derives from a song by the fictional rock band Cruel Crux, a favorite of the Lisbon daughter Lux--who, unlike her sisters Therese, Mary, Bonnie and Cecilia, is anything but a virgin by the tale's end. Her mother forces Lux to burn the album along with others she considers dangerously provocative. Mr. Lisbon, a mild-mannered high school math teacher, is driven to resign by parents who believe his control of their children may be as deficient as his control of his own brood. Eugenides risks sounding sophomoric in his attempt to convey the immaturity of high-school boys; while initially somewhat discomfiting, the narrator's voice (representing the collective memories of the group) acquires the ring of authenticity. The author is equally convincing when he describes the older locals' reactions to the suicide attempts. Under the narrator's goofy, posturing banter are some hard truths: mortality is a fact of life; teenage girls are more attracted to brawn than to brains (contrary to the testimony of the narrator's male relatives). This is an auspicious debut from an imaginative and talented writer.]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>10</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
          <shelf name="all-time-favorites" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue May 08 07:15:41 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 16 19:06:11 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[So much better the second time around (and I loved it the first, so...)<br/><br/>Gorgeous, creepy. A suburban mythology. At first, I couldn't shake images from the film, which I thought might detract from really appreciating it as a novel, but in the end it didn't. I think that's because I realize...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1098415">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1098415]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1098415]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>3491999</id>
    <user>
    <id>26511</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Montambo]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/26511-montambo]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1260943503p3/26511.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">10956</id>
  <isbn>0747560595</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747560593</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1263</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10956.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>19766</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>7</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
          <shelf name="audiobooks-are-reading-too" />
          <shelf name="death" />
          <shelf name="sexy-as-hell" />
          <shelf name="the-best" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 25 01:55:45 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 01:54:26 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I love how it is so clear that Eugenides is in love with his story, in love with his characters, in love with words, mythology and metaphor.  Sometimes, in the way he worded things, I would feel something like worship (though not exactly worship because that would be blasphemous).  I listened to it,...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3491999">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3491999]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3491999]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>27415064</id>
    <user>
    <id>1079398</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Debbie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Powder Springs, GA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1079398-debbie]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1213848954p3/1079398.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">851753</id>
  <isbn>0374284385</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780374284381</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">53</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178905250m/851753.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/851753.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.84</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>515</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Eugenides's tantalizing, macabre first novel begins with a suicide, the first of the five bizarre deaths of the teenage daughters in the Lisbon family; the rest of the work, set in the author's native Michigan in the early 1970s, is a backward-looking quest as the male narrator and his nosy, horny pals describe how they strove to understand the odd clan of this first chapter, which appeared in the Paris Review , where it won the 1991 Aga Khan Prize for fiction. The sensationalism of the subject matter (based loosely on a factual account) may be off-putting to some readers, but Eugenides's voice is so fresh and compelling, his powers of observation so startling and acute, that most will be mesmerized. The title derives from a song by the fictional rock band Cruel Crux, a favorite of the Lisbon daughter Lux--who, unlike her sisters Therese, Mary, Bonnie and Cecilia, is anything but a virgin by the tale's end. Her mother forces Lux to burn the album along with others she considers dangerously provocative. Mr. Lisbon, a mild-mannered high school math teacher, is driven to resign by parents who believe his control of their children may be as deficient as his control of his own brood. Eugenides risks sounding sophomoric in his attempt to convey the immaturity of high-school boys; while initially somewhat discomfiting, the narrator's voice (representing the collective memories of the group) acquires the ring of authenticity. The author is equally convincing when he describes the older locals' reactions to the suicide attempts. Under the narrator's goofy, posturing banter are some hard truths: mortality is a fact of life; teenage girls are more attracted to brawn than to brains (contrary to the testimony of the narrator's male relatives). This is an auspicious debut from an imaginative and talented writer. Literary Guild selection.]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>7</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Sep 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 16 09:09:08 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Sep 11 19:00:07 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>twice</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Where to begin. I have read some of the reviews of others who did not care for or get this book. I admit that the plot/storyline, though unique, is not what makes this story great--it's the prose. The writing is luminous and reads more like poetry than a novel. We don't even know exactly who the nar...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27415064">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27415064]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27415064]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>4266758</id>
    <user>
    <id>229800</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tara]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Littleton, CO]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/229800-tara]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1185567688p3/229800.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">10956</id>
  <isbn>0747560595</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747560593</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1263</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10956.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>19766</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>4</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>true</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
          <shelf name="peaked-my-interest" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Aug 08 11:27:02 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 04:19:50 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I just finished reading this book and have to say that I was bothered by it.  I saw the movie quite some time ago and was bothered by it as well, and thought that maybe by reading the book I would gain a little more insight.  Well, I guess in some ways I did gain a little insight.<br/><br/>The boo...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4266758">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4266758]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4266758]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>2881415</id>
    <user>
    <id>179944</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Brandon]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Marina Del Rey, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/179944-brandon]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1184032837p3/179944.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">46181</id>
  <isbn>0446670251</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780446670258</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">272</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46181.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.75</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3166</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Eugenides's tantalizing, macabre first novel begins with a suicide, the first of the five bizarre deaths of the teenage daughters in the Lisbon family; the rest of the work, set in the author's native Michigan in the early 1970s, is a backward-looking quest as the male narrator and his nosy, horny pals describe how they strove to understand the odd clan of this first chapter, which appeared in the Paris Review , where it won the 1991 Aga Khan Prize for fiction. The sensationalism of the subject matter (based loosely on a factual account) may be off-putting to some readers, but Eugenides's voice is so fresh and compelling, his powers of observation so startling and acute, that most will be mesmerized. The title derives from a song by the fictional rock band Cruel Crux, a favorite of the Lisbon daughter Lux--who, unlike her sisters Therese, Mary, Bonnie and Cecilia, is anything but a virgin by the tale's end. Her mother forces Lux to burn the album along with others she considers dangerously provocative. Mr. Lisbon, a mild-mannered high school math teacher, is driven to resign by parents who believe his control of their children may be as deficient as his control of his own brood. Eugenides risks sounding sophomoric in his attempt to convey the immaturity of high-school boys; while initially somewhat discomfiting, the narrator's voice (representing the collective memories of the group) acquires the ring of authenticity. The author is equally convincing when he describes the older locals' reactions to the suicide attempts. Under the narrator's goofy, posturing banter are some hard truths: mortality is a fact of life; teenage girls are more attracted to brawn than to brains (contrary to the testimony of the narrator's male relatives). This is an auspicious debut from an imaginative and talented writer.]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>4</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jul 09 18:23:07 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 00:05:32 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[you know, i was dragged by a girlfriend at the time to see this movie when it first came out. thumbs sort of down. it was late, she was with her friends, i'd had too much to drink at dinner. i actually fell asleep and barely remember it.<br/><br/>then, a friend of mine in grad school taught it as ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2881415">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2881415]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2881415]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>5898813</id>
    <user>
    <id>7358</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jen]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Bellevue, WA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7358-jen]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1172988564p3/7358.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">10956</id>
  <isbn>0747560595</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747560593</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1263</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10956.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>19766</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>4</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
          <shelf name="books_i_listened_to" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Sep 08 09:54:09 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 09:35:50 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book is like a preface, where the real book never feels like it begins.  Endless foreshadowing mixed in with various teenage boy obsessions about what a home with five daughters must entail...boxes and boxes of tampons, etc.  I couldn't wait for these girls to kill themselves just so the book w...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5898813">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5898813]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5898813]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>13944256</id>
    <user>
    <id>26125</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Linda]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Swaziland]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/26125-linda]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">10956</id>
  <isbn>0747560595</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747560593</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1263</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10956.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>19766</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>7</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[people who like pretentious books]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jan 29 10:12:52 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jan 29 10:25:48 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I simply didn't get this book. Despite the fact I was so desperate to find hidden meaning behind Jeff Eugenides' words, there was nothing. What was the point of wasting so much paper and ink on something so overtly pretentious and so utterly meaningless? A group of oppressed sisters kill themselves ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13944256">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13944256]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13944256]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>12263050</id>
    <user>
    <id>771922</id>
    <name><![CDATA[June]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/771922-june]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1200081585p3/771922.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">10956</id>
  <isbn>0747560595</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747560593</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1263</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10956.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>19766</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>5</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>true</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Mar 09 19:46:39 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 11 11:51:23 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Feb 10 20:46:03 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[While the subject matter may be considered controversial and upsetting, Eugenides crafts his story in such a beautiful and poetic way as to soften the blow of teenage girls taking their own lives. <br/>Of course many readers may already be familiar with the movie (which, while visually pleasing, ca...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12263050">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12263050]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12263050]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>4521348</id>
    <user>
    <id>15455</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Abby]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/15455-abby]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1222284570p3/15455.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">10956</id>
  <isbn>0747560595</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747560593</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1263</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10956.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>19766</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>3</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
          <shelf name="neitherdorksnorfood" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Aug 14 05:48:40 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Aug 29 05:35:12 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[So, I am still halfway through <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/search/search?q= the Omnivore's Dilemma" title=" the Omnivore's Dilemma"> the Omnivore's Dilemma</a>. A few things got in the way of digging back into its meaty, not-exactly-grabbing flesh: moving across the country, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/search/search?q= Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" title=" Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"> Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows</a>, the fact that my subway ride every morning is pretty short, etc. And then this weekend I t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4521348">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4521348]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4521348]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>34512834</id>
    <user>
    <id>600126</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Katherine]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/600126-katherine]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1226863029p3/600126.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">10956</id>
  <isbn>0747560595</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747560593</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1263</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10956.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>19766</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Oct 04 11:19:18 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Oct 04 13:12:26 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I saw the movie about five years ago and hated it - thought it was insufferably pretentious, inappropriately clean, and vaguely anti-girl. But a friend convinced me to give the book a chance, and oh wow, have I ever misjudged <u>The Virgin Suicides</u>.<br/><br/>It's 1970s Michigan, and a quiet suburb su...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34512834">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34512834]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34512834]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>33377224</id>
    <user>
    <id>616321</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Juushika]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Corvallis, OR]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/616321-juushika]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221947768p3/616321.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">10956</id>
  <isbn>0747560595</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747560593</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1263</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10956.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>19766</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
          <shelf name="borrowed" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jun 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Sep 20 15:14:29 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Sep 20 15:15:25 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[In American suburbia, the five Lisbon sisters, ages 12 through 17, commit suicide. The youngest goes first, and after their parents sequester the family within the house, her sisters follow a year afterward. Their story is told by a group neighborhood of boys, now men, who in their fanatic obsession...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/33377224">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/33377224]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/33377224]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>32710351</id>
    <user>
    <id>721926</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Stephanie Marie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Charlottesville, VA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/721926-stephanie-marie]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1234981416p3/721926.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">46181</id>
  <isbn>0446670251</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780446670258</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">272</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46181.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.75</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3166</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Eugenides's tantalizing, macabre first novel begins with a suicide, the first of the five bizarre deaths of the teenage daughters in the Lisbon family; the rest of the work, set in the author's native Michigan in the early 1970s, is a backward-looking quest as the male narrator and his nosy, horny pals describe how they strove to understand the odd clan of this first chapter, which appeared in the Paris Review , where it won the 1991 Aga Khan Prize for fiction. The sensationalism of the subject matter (based loosely on a factual account) may be off-putting to some readers, but Eugenides's voice is so fresh and compelling, his powers of observation so startling and acute, that most will be mesmerized. The title derives from a song by the fictional rock band Cruel Crux, a favorite of the Lisbon daughter Lux--who, unlike her sisters Therese, Mary, Bonnie and Cecilia, is anything but a virgin by the tale's end. Her mother forces Lux to burn the album along with others she considers dangerously provocative. Mr. Lisbon, a mild-mannered high school math teacher, is driven to resign by parents who believe his control of their children may be as deficient as his control of his own brood. Eugenides risks sounding sophomoric in his attempt to convey the immaturity of high-school boys; while initially somewhat discomfiting, the narrator's voice (representing the collective memories of the group) acquires the ring of authenticity. The author is equally convincing when he describes the older locals' reactions to the suicide attempts. Under the narrator's goofy, posturing banter are some hard truths: mortality is a fact of life; teenage girls are more attracted to brawn than to brains (contrary to the testimony of the narrator's male relatives). This is an auspicious debut from an imaginative and talented writer.]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Sep 12 12:36:41 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Sep 14 14:25:15 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book was, as a reviewer noted, &quot;intoxicating&quot; to me. Over the few days it took me to read it-- when I was able to snatch moments to immerse myself in Eugenides' captivating prose-- I found myself dreaming of the Lisbon girls and their suicides. Weird? Yes. Intoxicating? Definitely.<br/>...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32710351">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32710351]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32710351]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>26001942</id>
    <user>
    <id>957423</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Steven]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Key West, FL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/957423-steven]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204946158p3/957423.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">46181</id>
  <isbn>0446670251</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780446670258</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">272</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46181.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.75</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3166</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Eugenides's tantalizing, macabre first novel begins with a suicide, the first of the five bizarre deaths of the teenage daughters in the Lisbon family; the rest of the work, set in the author's native Michigan in the early 1970s, is a backward-looking quest as the male narrator and his nosy, horny pals describe how they strove to understand the odd clan of this first chapter, which appeared in the Paris Review , where it won the 1991 Aga Khan Prize for fiction. The sensationalism of the subject matter (based loosely on a factual account) may be off-putting to some readers, but Eugenides's voice is so fresh and compelling, his powers of observation so startling and acute, that most will be mesmerized. The title derives from a song by the fictional rock band Cruel Crux, a favorite of the Lisbon daughter Lux--who, unlike her sisters Therese, Mary, Bonnie and Cecilia, is anything but a virgin by the tale's end. Her mother forces Lux to burn the album along with others she considers dangerously provocative. Mr. Lisbon, a mild-mannered high school math teacher, is driven to resign by parents who believe his control of their children may be as deficient as his control of his own brood. Eugenides risks sounding sophomoric in his attempt to convey the immaturity of high-school boys; while initially somewhat discomfiting, the narrator's voice (representing the collective memories of the group) acquires the ring of authenticity. The author is equally convincing when he describes the older locals' reactions to the suicide attempts. Under the narrator's goofy, posturing banter are some hard truths: mortality is a fact of life; teenage girls are more attracted to brawn than to brains (contrary to the testimony of the narrator's male relatives). This is an auspicious debut from an imaginative and talented writer.]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jul 01 06:54:46 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jul 18 09:49:50 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[     I read Mr. Eugenides' <u>Middlesex</u> before this first novel, and it was very interesting to see some of the seeds for that longer, more engrossing and expansive novel in this one.  On its own, this dark tale is held together completely by the novelist's style, which is formidable and captured perfe...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26001942">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26001942]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26001942]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>27266468</id>
    <user>
    <id>244331</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ryan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/244331-ryan]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1241319615p3/244331.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">46181</id>
  <isbn>0446670251</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780446670258</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">272</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46181.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.75</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3166</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Eugenides's tantalizing, macabre first novel begins with a suicide, the first of the five bizarre deaths of the teenage daughters in the Lisbon family; the rest of the work, set in the author's native Michigan in the early 1970s, is a backward-looking quest as the male narrator and his nosy, horny pals describe how they strove to understand the odd clan of this first chapter, which appeared in the Paris Review , where it won the 1991 Aga Khan Prize for fiction. The sensationalism of the subject matter (based loosely on a factual account) may be off-putting to some readers, but Eugenides's voice is so fresh and compelling, his powers of observation so startling and acute, that most will be mesmerized. The title derives from a song by the fictional rock band Cruel Crux, a favorite of the Lisbon daughter Lux--who, unlike her sisters Therese, Mary, Bonnie and Cecilia, is anything but a virgin by the tale's end. Her mother forces Lux to burn the album along with others she considers dangerously provocative. Mr. Lisbon, a mild-mannered high school math teacher, is driven to resign by parents who believe his control of their children may be as deficient as his control of his own brood. Eugenides risks sounding sophomoric in his attempt to convey the immaturity of high-school boys; while initially somewhat discomfiting, the narrator's voice (representing the collective memories of the group) acquires the ring of authenticity. The author is equally convincing when he describes the older locals' reactions to the suicide attempts. Under the narrator's goofy, posturing banter are some hard truths: mortality is a fact of life; teenage girls are more attracted to brawn than to brains (contrary to the testimony of the narrator's male relatives). This is an auspicious debut from an imaginative and talented writer.]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2002</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jul 14 18:55:50 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jul 14 19:01:48 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I cannot even express how much I hated this book.  This book made me really appreciate how important dialog is to storytelling, as nearly this entire book is narration.  <br/><br/>I really liked the movie - and was probably in the minority.  But it made me want to read the book, and probably because...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27266468">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27266468]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27266468]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>57162704</id>
    <user>
    <id>1405967</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lavinia]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Cluj Napoca, Romania]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1405967-lavinia]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221135421p3/1405967.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">10956</id>
  <isbn>0747560595</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747560593</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1263</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10956.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>19766</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
          <shelf name="2009" />
          <shelf name="ebooks" />
          <shelf name="fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jun 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun May 24 11:49:50 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jun 07 09:07:53 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The one thing that really got my attention was the first person plural narrative. A few men, now in their thirties, narrate the story that marked their adolescence and entire life so far: the suicide of the 5 mysterious Lisbon sisters (their school mates and neighbors), teenagers in an American subu...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57162704">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57162704]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57162704]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>77156439</id>
    <user>
    <id>70078</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Logan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/70078-logan]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1259287698p3/70078.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">10956</id>
  <isbn>0747560595</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747560593</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1263</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10956.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>19766</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>11</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
          <shelf name="1001-list" />
          <shelf name="families_suck" />
          <shelf name="fiction" />
          <shelf name="i_am_in_love" />
          <shelf name="not-owned" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Nov 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Nov 08 19:02:25 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Nov 26 14:55:26 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It’s always a dicey prospect whenever a film studio options the rights to adapt a book into film.  Very few works of literature survive first contact with Hollywood.  There are those adaptations that excel with help from the author, like <em>Cider House Rules</em> and there are those where the author refus...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77156439">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77156439]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77156439]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>41687858</id>
    <user>
    <id>264999</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lisalit]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/264999-lisalit]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1187207212p3/264999.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">46181</id>
  <isbn>0446670251</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780446670258</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">272</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46181.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.75</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3166</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Eugenides's tantalizing, macabre first novel begins with a suicide, the first of the five bizarre deaths of the teenage daughters in the Lisbon family; the rest of the work, set in the author's native Michigan in the early 1970s, is a backward-looking quest as the male narrator and his nosy, horny pals describe how they strove to understand the odd clan of this first chapter, which appeared in the Paris Review , where it won the 1991 Aga Khan Prize for fiction. The sensationalism of the subject matter (based loosely on a factual account) may be off-putting to some readers, but Eugenides's voice is so fresh and compelling, his powers of observation so startling and acute, that most will be mesmerized. The title derives from a song by the fictional rock band Cruel Crux, a favorite of the Lisbon daughter Lux--who, unlike her sisters Therese, Mary, Bonnie and Cecilia, is anything but a virgin by the tale's end. Her mother forces Lux to burn the album along with others she considers dangerously provocative. Mr. Lisbon, a mild-mannered high school math teacher, is driven to resign by parents who believe his control of their children may be as deficient as his control of his own brood. Eugenides risks sounding sophomoric in his attempt to convey the immaturity of high-school boys; while initially somewhat discomfiting, the narrator's voice (representing the collective memories of the group) acquires the ring of authenticity. The author is equally convincing when he describes the older locals' reactions to the suicide attempts. Under the narrator's goofy, posturing banter are some hard truths: mortality is a fact of life; teenage girls are more attracted to brawn than to brains (contrary to the testimony of the narrator's male relatives). This is an auspicious debut from an imaginative and talented writer.]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 02 22:13:44 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jan 21 18:19:35 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[&quot;On the morning the last Lisbon sister took her turn at suicide--it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese--the two paramedics arrived at the house knowing exactly where the knife drawer was, and the gas oven, and the beams in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope....<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41687858">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41687858]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41687858]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>16399181</id>
    <user>
    <id>815646</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Stephanie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Austin, TX]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/815646-stephanie]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1202936663p3/815646.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">46181</id>
  <isbn>0446670251</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780446670258</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">272</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46181.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.75</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3166</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Eugenides's tantalizing, macabre first novel begins with a suicide, the first of the five bizarre deaths of the teenage daughters in the Lisbon family; the rest of the work, set in the author's native Michigan in the early 1970s, is a backward-looking quest as the male narrator and his nosy, horny pals describe how they strove to understand the odd clan of this first chapter, which appeared in the Paris Review , where it won the 1991 Aga Khan Prize for fiction. The sensationalism of the subject matter (based loosely on a factual account) may be off-putting to some readers, but Eugenides's voice is so fresh and compelling, his powers of observation so startling and acute, that most will be mesmerized. The title derives from a song by the fictional rock band Cruel Crux, a favorite of the Lisbon daughter Lux--who, unlike her sisters Therese, Mary, Bonnie and Cecilia, is anything but a virgin by the tale's end. Her mother forces Lux to burn the album along with others she considers dangerously provocative. Mr. Lisbon, a mild-mannered high school math teacher, is driven to resign by parents who believe his control of their children may be as deficient as his control of his own brood. Eugenides risks sounding sophomoric in his attempt to convey the immaturity of high-school boys; while initially somewhat discomfiting, the narrator's voice (representing the collective memories of the group) acquires the ring of authenticity. The author is equally convincing when he describes the older locals' reactions to the suicide attempts. Under the narrator's goofy, posturing banter are some hard truths: mortality is a fact of life; teenage girls are more attracted to brawn than to brains (contrary to the testimony of the narrator's male relatives). This is an auspicious debut from an imaginative and talented writer.]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Apr 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Feb 26 06:26:47 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Apr 29 08:54:04 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Having seen the movie, I feel somewhat robbed of my initial response to this story, but I don't think it makes me love it any less. I read about 40 pages last night, and it was really only by sheer force of will that I was able to retire it to my nightstand at a decent enough hour that I won't be no...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16399181">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16399181]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16399181]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>15218309</id>
    <user>
    <id>310423</id>
    <name><![CDATA[penelopewanders]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Switzerland]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/310423-penelopewanders]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">10956</id>
  <isbn>0747560595</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747560593</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1263</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Virgin Suicides]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10956.The_Virgin_Suicides</link>
  <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>19766</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”]]>
  </description>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
    
      <shelf name="read" />
    
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Feb 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Feb 12 01:45:08 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Feb 25 08:40:11 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Here as a ring.<br/>I suppose that Middlesex is simply a hard act to follow (although I gather this was written first?). Having read that first, I was blown away by it, and unfortunately this didn't capture me the same way. I've just read the other JEs (I usually avoid reading them in detail until ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15218309">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15218309]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15218309]]></link>
</review>
    </reviews>
  <popular_shelves>
          <shelf name="to-read" />
          <shelf name="fiction" />
          <shelf name="currently-reading" />
          <shelf name="favorites" />
          <shelf name="1001-books" />
          <shelf name="1001" />
          <shelf name="novels" />
      </popular_shelves>
  <book_links>
    <book_link>
  <id>8</id>
  <name><![CDATA[WorldCat]]></name>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2869229</link>
</book_link>
  </book_links>
</book>
</GoodreadsResponse>