The Marriage Plot in Reading with Style

Jan 28, 2012 Connie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: virtual-books, rws_winter11-12

What first drew me in to Eugenides' writing was his style, his compelling, willful and yet natural voice as an author. This seems somewhat lost to me in The Marriage Plot; there are parts that are written beautifully (hence 3 stars, and not 2), yet for most, it read somewhat plain. But maybe it isn't fair comparing The Marriage Plot to Middlesex or Virgin Suicides, maybe it would be fairer to compare this book with its other predecessor, namely the Regency and Victorian novels that deal with a m ...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Tanya rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2012

The Marriage Plot tells the story of Madeline, Leonard, and Mitchell as they finish up their college years at Brown and embark into their lives the year after. It takes place in the early 80s. The idea of the marriage plot comes from the novels of the Victorian era where a woman's marriage basically determines her social status in life. Madeline is caught in a love triangle. Mitchell loves Madeline, Madeline loves Leonard, and Leonard loves Madeline, but he is a manic depressive.
I enjoyed the st ...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Rosemary rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books

The story of literature student Madeleine Hanna, graduating from Brown in 1982, and the two young men in her life, Mitchell who loves her and Leonard whom she loves.

I expected to enjoy this a lot more than I did, since Jeffrey Eugenides and these characters are just my age. There was a certain amount of nostalgia value but the first three-quarters of the book were hard going for me because I found Madeleine such a tiresome, self-obsessed character. In the last 100 pages Mitchell goes to India, L ...more

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Dec 22, 2011 Ann rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-books, owned

Eugenides writes beautifully, but something about this book was a little lacking. It's a good book but not a great book. I think perhaps the subject was just too mundane - Eugenides prior two (amazing) books were about unusual things. In comparison, a not-even-heated love triangle is a bit limp.
Enjoyable, but not a must-read.
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