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jessicaxmaria 's review for:
The Marriage Plot
by Jeffrey Eugenides
Well, that's over.
While I completely loved [b:Middlesex|2187|Middlesex|Jeffrey Eugenides|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316727862s/2187.jpg|1352495] and I was less than enamored with [b:The Virgin Suicides|10956|The Virgin Suicides|Jeffrey Eugenides|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1319032910s/10956.jpg|812415], I was hoping for something as magically entrancing as the former. I continued this hope through the first few pages, as I was taken in by the first scenes and the introductions. But that withered away pretty quickly...
The writing, to me, felt odd and forced at times. The brand names, the 80s pop culture references, the terrible similes--I could have been reading Bret Easton Ellis if there was any violence mixed in there. The characters weren't all that likable...not that characters have to be, but I wasn't looking forward to reading about them. It took me quite a while to finish this book, and I think it's because I was never too excited to pick it back up again.
The one character who mildly interested me was Leonard, due to his mental stability issues; an unpredictable character is something I can invest in. However, Madeline was practically one note, and Mitchell. Oh, Mitchell, how I hate thee. The nerdy, seemingly harmless guy who loves women so much and is just that type of romantic that thinks he is the best choice for all if they'd only notice him! Okay, maybe I'm generalizing, but I felt that's exactly what Eugenides did with this character. There's nothing interesting about this guy, except that Eugenides tried to make him the hero?
And how predictable was the end? I knew what was going to happen 40 pages before it did. And it all played out like it was Mitchell's choice, like Madeline wouldn't be able to do it by herself, this sad sack of a loser decides to be a bit of martyr and let her do her thing--not get in the way. While also kind of making it sound like it was avoiding the cliche, it ended up being all levels of triteness.
While sometimes the book veered into interesting territory... I particularly enjoyed the peek into Leonard and Madeline's relationship on the cape, and how his illness affected their day-to-day. But, it was still just okay. Nothing very special.
While I completely loved [b:Middlesex|2187|Middlesex|Jeffrey Eugenides|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316727862s/2187.jpg|1352495] and I was less than enamored with [b:The Virgin Suicides|10956|The Virgin Suicides|Jeffrey Eugenides|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1319032910s/10956.jpg|812415], I was hoping for something as magically entrancing as the former. I continued this hope through the first few pages, as I was taken in by the first scenes and the introductions. But that withered away pretty quickly...
The writing, to me, felt odd and forced at times. The brand names, the 80s pop culture references, the terrible similes--I could have been reading Bret Easton Ellis if there was any violence mixed in there. The characters weren't all that likable...not that characters have to be, but I wasn't looking forward to reading about them. It took me quite a while to finish this book, and I think it's because I was never too excited to pick it back up again.
The one character who mildly interested me was Leonard, due to his mental stability issues; an unpredictable character is something I can invest in. However, Madeline was practically one note, and Mitchell. Oh, Mitchell, how I hate thee. The nerdy, seemingly harmless guy who loves women so much and is just that type of romantic that thinks he is the best choice for all if they'd only notice him! Okay, maybe I'm generalizing, but I felt that's exactly what Eugenides did with this character. There's nothing interesting about this guy, except that Eugenides tried to make him the hero?
And how predictable was the end? I knew what was going to happen 40 pages before it did. And it all played out like it was Mitchell's choice, like Madeline wouldn't be able to do it by herself, this sad sack of a loser decides to be a bit of martyr and let her do her thing--not get in the way. While also kind of making it sound like it was avoiding the cliche, it ended up being all levels of triteness.
While sometimes the book veered into interesting territory... I particularly enjoyed the peek into Leonard and Madeline's relationship on the cape, and how his illness affected their day-to-day. But, it was still just okay. Nothing very special.