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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
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.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

I'm on page 100-something so far and:
It's like the song by The Police "Every breath you take, every move you make,I'll be watching you". A bunch of guys obsessed by the Lisbon girls, 20 years after the girls killed themselves.

I couldn't finish reading this book.
It's not the fact that the girls killed themselves, it's the fact that the boys still 20 years after the suicides still obsess about the girls. They've gathered all this "evidence" stuff connected to the girls, notebooks, doctor's reports...YIKES.
I will trade this one for something on my wishlist, check it out at

My Wish List

Sending to gill846, a book trade. She will send me "The Poisonwood Bible".

Thank you so much, sobergirl, for this trade! Poisonwood Bible is to be started very very soon (I am stuck on a hefty non-fiction and it is not going all that fast; PW is next!)

I just got around to this one. I too couldn't finish it. It was nothing like Middlesex, which was fantastic. The whole narrative style drove me nuts and the story didn't seem to go anywhere. I'm going to release it next time I get a chance.

I found it on the bus, and it made my day. I started reading it immediately, but I'm not finished yet. Thanks Sobergirl!

CAUGHT IN PORTLAND OR USA