Jeffrey Eugenides Reading

I recently had the chance to see Jeffrey Eugenides speak when he visited Indianapolis as part of the Butler University Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writer Series. Eugenides has written three novels, all of which I’ve read, and he won the Pulitzer Prize for his book Middlesex.

He read a new unpublished short story called “Find the Bad Guy.” It was about a Texan and his German wife trying to make a marriage work despite a mid-life crisis. Throughout the reading he used accents for each of the characters. It was perfect! Within moments he had the whole audience laughing along with him.

After the reading he answered quite a few audience questions. He talked about his different novels and how each one focused on a different part of storytelling.

The Virgin Suicides – Language and Voice (the “we” voice)

Middlesex – Plot Driven

The Marriage Plot – Character Driven

As his skill as a writer increased he chose to take each book in a new direction. For example, when he finished Middlesex he realized he wanted to write a book that gave the reader a look into the characters’ inner monologue, hence The Marriage Plot.

I loved hearing about the journey that Middlesex took from originally being conceived as a short novel to becoming a mock epic. He thought it would be much shorter when he first began to research it. With each of his books he crafts intricate stories, painting vivid descriptions of his characters’ lives, and infusing the story with humor despite the serious situations.

He also uses pieces of his own life in his novels. His Greek heritage, his travels, his childhood in Michigan, each book bears the stamp of his own life experiences. He spoke a bit about creating the characters in The Marriage Plot. He said that much of that book was based on his time in college. Mitchell particularly had many of the same experiences that Eugenides had in college. He traveled in Europe and India and even spent some time working for Mother Theresa.

Each of his books is so unique and provides a different feel with each new story. Whether you love the books or not, you can’t deny that they make you think and offer you something new and original. I can’t wait to read whatever he writes next.

Photos by me and my friend. 

Top Ten Books That Were Totally Deceiving

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for Top Ten Books That Were Totally Deceiving.

1) What Is the What by Dave Eggers: No really… what is the what? Great book, but the title is a bit confusing.

2) The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides: I felt like people thought I was reading a marriage self-help book whenever they glanced at the cover.

3) Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud: It’s the memoir of the author’s childhood in Morocco with her sister and hippy mother, but it sounds like some weird S&M book.

4) A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick: I thought this was going to be a lot more history and a lot less romance novel.

5) The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst: The summary, the title, I couldn’t really get a good grasp of what the plot was about until I read it.

6) A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess: At this point, most people have a good idea what this book is about, but what a weird title! I can’t imagine trying to figure it out when it was first released.

7) Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian: To be honest, I still don’t know why this book has this title. I remember the whole story, but not how the title connected in.

8) Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood: Go ahead, read the title and then find the summary (Snowman and a post-apocalyptic world), then you explain it to me. It was not what I was expecting at all.

9) Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli: The title of this story, about an orphan living in Poland during World War II, has nothing to do with the book at first glance.

10) The Ha-Ha by Dave King: It makes sense what you read it, but I didn’t know what a Ha-ha was before this. I thought maybe the author was referring to a joke or something.

The Marriage Plot

The Marriage Plot

by Jeffrey Eugenides

★★★★☆

When I read summaries of The Marriage Plot it doesn’t sound that interesting to me. Three Ivy League college kids in the ‘80s graduate and try to figure out what to do with their lives. First there’s Madeleine, a clever girl, except when it comes to love. Then there’s Leonard, the passionate, but troubled man she falls for. Finally we have Mitchell, the intellectual who struggles with the question of faith and his unrequited love for Madeleine. It just doesn’t sound to original. Then I remember who the author is: Jeffrey Eugenides, who wrote Middlesex, which I loved! Suddenly the book is a must read and I know that however simple the plot sounds on the surface, they’ll be a whole different level of depth reached by the end. I’m so glad I Brenna at Literary Musings sent her copy my way!!!

So here’s the things about the summary, it doesn’t capture anything about why the book is good. It misses all of the nuances when you smack a “troubled twenty-somethings” label on it or reduce it to another love triangle book. Sure, there’s a love triangle, but the reason it is interesting is because it’s not really about the love or the triangle, it’s about the people caught up in it and what they’re thinking about life in general, not just love. You’re doing the book a huge disservice if you try to put a simple label on something so complicated. Imagine calling Middlesex a coming-of-age story and thinking that covered it!

The book rotates between all three characters’ lives. I particularly loved Mitchell's parts, where he's traveling and trying to figure out what he believes. I’ve found that when I travel on my own I learn a lot about myself. You have so much more time for internal dialogue and you’re put in situations outside of your comfort zone that test you in different ways. His experiences rang true for me. I also loved reading about Madeleine’s literary pursuits. Eugenides manages to weave dozens of references to classic books and to make those century old plots relevant in the story.

I didn’t love this one as much as Middlesex, but I loved so many aspects of it. I also love reading a book that gives me something to chew on. There were a few parts that became repetitive or lagged a bit, but the amount of literary eye candy I got was enough to balance it out for me. After just reading Middlemarch and The Portrait of a Lady this year, I loved reading a book that paralleled those in some ways.

The book doesn’t have the same epic scale or sense of humor as Middlesex, but it also doesn’t have the same disconnected aloof style of The Virgin Suicides. It feels like a book written by an author who may have found his groove. He can capture characters beautifully and lay them out in a way that is both interesting and accessible. In The Marriage Plot he has created a world that is easy to connect to, but also gives you so much to ponder. His story is about trying to figure out who you are, both in relation to other people and to the world at large. It’s about the unexpected paths your life can take and the people who you didn’t know would one day be important. I know that I’ll be reading whatever he writes next, even if it takes another decade.

"She thought a writer should work harder writing a book than she did reading it."

“There were some books that reached through the noise of life to grab you by the collar and speak only of the truest things.”

p.s. On a side note, I wish the book had a different title or cover because I read this on vacation and it looked like I was reading a marriage self help book. I was reading it while we were waiting to be seated at a restaurant and a waiter came up and asked what I was reading. I told him and he said the title made it sound like a Disney movie about kids trying to keep their parents together.

For some other great thoughts on this one, check out A Thousand Books With Quotes, Literary Musings, Things Mean A Lot, Nomadreader, and Farm Lane Book Blog