The Marriage Plot
Jeffrey Eugenides
October 2011
416 pages
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Purchased by me not once, but twice, because I’m an idiot
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A few thoughts (because let’s face it, practically everyone is reading this book, so really, who wants another synopsis):
-On my Eugenides scale of 1 to 10, with The Virgin Suicides being a 1 (yes, really, a 1) and Middlesex a 10 (again…yes, really…this is my Eugenides scale, not my all the books I’ve ever read scale), I’d give The Marriage Plot an 8. It’s not quite as sweepingly sagaish as Middlesex, nor does it have as strong of a sense of place (I LOVED Detroit in Middlesex, but Cape Cod was pretty meh in The Marriage Plot, as was Paris (although to be fair, I’m pretty meh about Paris myself)), but it’s still got characters who will confound you and piss you off and make you fall a little bit in love with them (maybe more if they’d wear deodorant).
-The characters are young and fairly immature and they make young and fairly immature decisions. It’s great.
-I will love Eugenides forever for the ending alone.
-There’s something to be said for traveling on the other side of the world and being out of reach. It made me feel all nostalgic for my pre-cell phone European travels. Vacations aren’t quite the same when everyone can still get in touch with you.
-Do you ever read a book all the way through and never realize that one of the main characters shares a name with someone you love? I did…mainly because I never call Hamburger Mitchell (and his name is missing an l), but also because they’re nothing alike. Still, it’s weird to be thinking about the book later and realize that, hello, your favorite character has the same name as the guy you live with.
-Mr. Eugenides, could you pretty please hurry up and write your next book? Because I’m ready to read it, whatever it is (unless it’s a sequel to The Virgin Suicides).
I can’t wait to read this one, and am on hold for the library’s audio version, but I am way down there on the list. I am glad to hear that you rated it so highly and now I am even more excited about it!
I’m glad to see you rated this so highly because it’s one of the books my book club is considering for next year.
This one took me a little longer to get into, but once I did I really enjoyed it. I appreciated the ending too because I couldn’t really see it ending any other way, and it’s nice that Eugenides didn’t feel the need to tie everything up with a big bow the way some authors do.
I was hoping you liked this less so you would be yet another mark in my column of “don’t have to read this.”
Looking forward to reading this one. I’ve read both good and bad reviews on it, but this is one that I have to read regardless of what the reviews are saying.
I have the same Eugenides scale that you do, so I was a little leary of picking this up. Good to know it is near the Middlesex end of the scale, not The Virgin Suicides.
I’m so glad u enjoyed this one. I loved the ending as well.
I really like Middlesex as well because it was so thought provoking so yeah I want to read this one too!
Oh, I’m glad to hear that you like his writing so much. I have Middlesex on my bookshelf and still haven’t gotten to it. Guess It should move up on my list!
I thought I’d read this one before the author visited the city near us but I just didn’t get around to it. I’m the complete opposite, oddly, with VS a 9 and MS a 4, so I wonder what I will think of this one.
Sold! I’ll read this first and then, finally, get around to Middlesex.
I would rate his books about the same way. I’ve been hesitant about The Marriage Plot because, well, the plot sounded so boring in a way. But I’m gladdened to hear you gave it an 8!
I can’t wait to read this one either! It’s on my Christmas list
I’ve been so torn on this one. Let’s face it, it is hard to top Middlesex. After I read that, I ran out and bought Virgin Suicides but have yet to read it (really? does it suck that bad?). I have heard good and bad about this, but if I do read it, it will be on audio.
I haven’t read this yet but Eugenides is on my must-read list.
So many have been “meh” about this one. I’m glad you liked it and rated it so highly. I don’t expect it to be as good as Middlesex but an 8 is pretty darn close.
Colon capital dee!
Not only am I not reading this like everyone else, I’ve never read this dude at all. If I do, I guess I’ll shoot for Middlesex. No, I don’t believe I’ve ever read a book and then realized, “Hey, that character had the same name as the guy I live with” after. Honestly, nobody ever seems to use his name, though, even though it’s common. Huh. It’s interesting how some names are completely overused (Jake, for example, seems to be in everything with a whiff of romance and Lucy — I have read a million Lucy characters and met exactly 2 Lucys in my entire life . . . no Jakes, actually) but other perfectly common names never seem to show up at all.
Still have Middlesex on my shelf, so I’ll read that first. But you didn’t tell us how you happened to buy this one twice!
Shit. You’re convincing me. I hated The Virgin Suicides, so far Middlesex has bored me (I KNOW, I’m ducking). This one sounds like something I’d like in premise, but Eugenides and I have a rocky relationship. We’ll see!
I just started this one this yesterday, so I’m so excited that you liked it! So far I like it a lot.
I can’t believe you give Virgin Suicides a 1!!! There’s so much about that book I love! Meanwhile, I can’t remember anything about Middlesex (which my boyfriend would shoot me for saying). I think I liked it…..?
I imagine I’ll get around to reading this eventually. I was kinda waiting for the hype die down a bit, because a) I’ve already got a lot on my reading queue, and b) I’m a little tired of hearing about it and I don’t want that to influence my opinion!