The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
FSG • $28 • on sale October 11, 2011
- Australian cover for ‘The Marriage Plot’
Having never read Eugenides’ previous works, I was not especially excited about The Marriage Plot. The topic sounded interesting, but when I started flipping through the October fiction releases, it wasn’t even the first novel I pulled from my stack. However, it was the first October novel I felt compelled to take home so I could read the whole thing.
Eliza went into some detail about the plot and themes of the book back in February, so I’ll just say that what stood out to me as a reader new to Eugenides was the vivid, honest descriptions of the emotions of his characters. In a novel that is essentially delineating a love triangle, this talent serves him well.
Though at this moment she felt abused, abandoned, and ashamed of herself, Madeleine knew that she was still young, that she had her whole life ahead of her—a life in which, if she persevered, she might do something special—and that part of persevering meant getting past moments just like this one, when people made you feel small, unlovable and took away your confidence.
There is also plenty of humor.
There was something creepy about one guy’s face––it was like a baby’s face that had hideously aged––and it took Madeleine a full minute to realize that he’d shaved off his eyebrows.
Eugenides has said that this novel is different from his previous books, “More tightly dramatized, less fanciful.” He spoke more recently about the novel with The New Yorker, who has published parts of the novel twice (only one is available online). Will you read The Marriage Plot? What are you reading this week?
I cannot wait to read this!
Absolutely! If I enjoy it half as much as “Middlesex” – it will be great. Right now, I’m reading “The Great Man” by Kate Christensen.
Oh, I loved The Great Man. I think it’s my favorite of Christensen’s books.
I just ordered this! He’s an extremely talented writer so I bet it’s good. On a side note, covers of books really sell me (think curb appeal) and I’m hoping The Marriage Plot is much better than its cover!!
I just finished reading The Marriage Plot last Saturday and I think I liked it better than Middlesex. However, they are very different novels and I’m hesitant to compare them. There is a lot of weird, unique emotional turmoil happening in Middlesex that simply can’t be duplicated in The Marriage Plot because of inherent differences in subject matter.
I do think The Marriage Plot is easier to relate to, and I also love books that have at least one character suffering from a mental illness (is that weird?). Regardless, Eugenides does a fantastic job of putting the reader in the head of every character so that we can understand their motives, whether it’s a Greek grandmother who married her brother, a hermaphrodite, or a manic-depressive.