![]() I’ve only come across it in Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” and in certain chapters of Faulkner’s novels. It’s written in the first-person plural, which is extremely rare. The narrative voice is one of the most distinctive yet frustrating aspects of the book. ![]() The writing is nuanced and even delicate. The first sentence is chilling: “On the morning the last Lisbon daughter 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 beam in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope.” It sounds sensationalized, but this isn’t a pulpy novel. It’s haunting, atmospheric, and elegantly written. Overall, I found his first novel, The Virgin Suicides, not as good as Middlesex, much better than The Marriage Plot, and completely different from either of these books. Jeffrey Eugenides is a brilliant, versatile author, and his novel Middlesex is one of my favorite books. (Trigger warning: this article, and the book it describes, contain graphic descriptions of suicide.) ![]()
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