Play Book Tag discussion

Two months, three check outs, and still only eight hours into the audio. It is long past time to call it quits. I thoroughly enjoyed both of Eugendies other novels but this one just didn't work for me. Only one word came to mind as I was listening to this book, pretentious. In addition to this being a book about three students graduating from Brown who are capable of spending the next year finding themselves while they contemplate careers as Victorianists and theologians, it is also the story of a love triangle, with two very different men vying for the affections of the same woman. While this is a theme common to 19th century authors such as Austen and one I enjoy in novels of that era, partly due to the difficulty of women being published at that point in history, it isn't one that works for me in our modern times. But when you stir it with a silver spoon, flat characters with the emotional depth of a piece of paper, and a plodding plot that never seems to go anywhere, then at some point it becomes necessary to move on.

Wow, we really didn't see this one in the same way at all. I always wonder how that happens - - especially when we see eye to eye so often. At any rate, sorry I probably mislead you down the reading path on this one!

I really sometimes wonder though if audio is in fact different than reading . . .not different "bad", but if the brain interprets differently. I know it isn't quite as drastically different as seeing the movie and reading the book for a single title . . .but couldn't it possibly be different? I wonder.

I guess tastes can totally diverge on specific books, but somehow I am still always surprised when they do (like with Susie and The Secret History which I was sure she would like).

Somehow it makes me sad when it happens . . .it's so much fun sharing the love of a book.

I gave this 5 stars and loved it. I can see why his books may be seen as pretentious. I am on the faculty at Brown and for me this book was so spot on in describing the literary scene at Brown that I really appreciated it. I actually attend some of the literary events the English department hosts and students really do interact the way the Eugenides described (with fellow students, faculty, and literature in general).

Jen wrote: "I gave this 5 stars and loved it. I can see why his books may be seen as pretentious. I am on the faculty at Brown and for me this book was so spot on in describing the literary scene at Brown that..."

I went to Wellesley and honestly found that there were people like this . . .so I guess that's why the character development rang pretty true to me. Funny how your experiences set up your book perceptions so much - - the reader brings things to the table that can complete or ruin a story.

Anita, I had the same thoughts about the audio versus the text. I read both Middlesex and the Virgin Suicides and didn't have these problems. That said, while I went to a private liberal arts college, it was nothing like a Brown or a Wellesley. It was very down to earth.

I may consider trying it again in print someday because I really think highly of Eugendies.

this makes your book twin sad

Now I feel compelled to try it again print.