The Virgin SuicidesThe Virgin Suicides
Score Modern
What it's about
In a quiet Detroit suburb, the five Lisbon sisters, watched obsessively by the neighborhood boys, take their own lives one by one over a single year. The boys try to piece together why.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It's a hypnotic novel of adolescent love, disquiet and death, with dark humor.
You'll love it if you liked
Middlesex
The Secret History
We Need to Talk About KevinGood to know
It deals with suicide.
By the numbers
- Readers21 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics30 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller32 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #206 of the 260 young adult books we rank
- #289 of the 325 literary novels we rank
- #1396 of the 1,647 modern books we rank
- #2629 of the 3,056 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Gripping, Thought-provoking
More by Jeffrey Eugenides
If you like this, read next
The Help
Any Human Heart
The Bottoms
Purple Hibiscus
Fight Club
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Literary novelsTop 25 · 325 ranked
Young adult booksTop 25 · 260 ranked
Modern booksTop 25 · 1,647 ranked
Books of the 1990sTop 25 · 305 ranked
Fantasy booksTop 25 · 504 ranked
Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 623 ranked
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelsTop 25 · 63 ranked
Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 rankedQuick answers
Is The Virgin Suicides worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It ranks #2,629 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 58.9 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Virgin Suicides about?
In a quiet Detroit suburb, the five Lisbon sisters, watched obsessively by the neighborhood boys, take their own lives one by one over a single year. The boys try to piece together why.
How long does it take to read The Virgin Suicides?
About 6 hours (249 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Virgin Suicides?
If you liked it, try Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, The Secret History by Donna Tartt or We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.