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The Marriage Plot

By Jeffrey Eugenides

(68)

| Others | 9781429969185

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Book Description

Madeleine Hanna breaks out of her straight-and-narrow mold when she falls in love with charismatic loner Leonard Bankhead, while at the same time an old friend ...

Critics

The Marriage Plot, By Jeffrey Eugenides

Eugenides does a playful but meaningful riff on George Eliot's Middlemarch with his 1982-set novel. An idealistic young EngLit student, Madeleine Hanna, is his Dorothea Brooke, who is seduced by the dark, brooding, intellectually complex Leonard Bank ... (read full critics)

independent published on Sun, 6 May 2012

The Marriage Plot, By Jeffrey Eugenides

Dark-hued romcom, campus farce, postmodern frolic, hommage to classics – Eugenides's novel of smart but gormless students has snared the affections of both trad and trendy readers. At a 1980s US college, English major Madeleine finds that reality beg ... (read full critics)

independent published on Fri, 20 Apr 2012

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9 Reviews

1 person find this helpful

I've given this over long and underwhelming story three stars because I admired Eugenides' earlier novels so much but I do wonder if it would have been publishable in its current format if it had been a first novel by an unknown author. Surely a good editor would have pointed out the danger of too m ... (continue)

I've given this over long and underwhelming story three stars because I admired Eugenides' earlier novels so much but I do wonder if it would have been publishable in its current format if it had been a first novel by an unknown author. Surely a good editor would have pointed out the danger of too much 'telling' and not enough 'showing', especially when the 'telling' varies so much in quality; there are passages which are really striking while others are just astonishingly banal, some even sounding like they have been taken almost verbatim from a hastily consulted textbook or a college reading list. There is a huge amount of time spent catching the reader up and filling in the characters' biographical details and yet we still know very little about the main characters, Madeleine in particular, at the end, never mind actually liking them which should be important if we are to wade through the entire 400 pages in their company. It takes a long time to read a novel of approximately 150000 words. There are many novels that offer better value for your time.

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Top of the pile said on Mar 12, 2012 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

The perfect counter-(Austen)narrative, showing how difficult it is to grow up. Nobody lived happy ever after - they just lived out their soundtrack, "Once in a Lifetime" by Talking Heads.

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rayuela said on Jan 9, 2012 | Add your feedback

Women as a backdrop

Even though the main character is supposed to be the lady at the centre of this love triangle, the real heros or anti-heros are the male characters here that really come to life.
Women here are bland and slightly histerical: just like a Jane Austen romance.

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Mala012 said on May 1, 2012 about the Hardcover edition | 1 feedback

During the first half, this book felt as though Eugenides had left his oodles of research done for “Middlesex”, read some of Donna Tartt’s “The Secret History”, some Bret Easton Ellis and really dissected and mulled over Jonathan Franzen’s “Freedom”.
The second half had more flesh, yet also more pu ... (continue)

During the first half, this book felt as though Eugenides had left his oodles of research done for “Middlesex”, read some of Donna Tartt’s “The Secret History”, some Bret Easton Ellis and really dissected and mulled over Jonathan Franzen’s “Freedom”.
The second half had more flesh, yet also more pulp.
At the same time, this book is very well-written, and by that I mean the author has a firm grip on rhythm, colouring his language and keeping parts suspenseful. Friendships and some love feels real.
On the other hand, I’ll say it’s a lot of research into biology – cells – which feels a bit asperger-ish. We get the metaphors; I think. It could have used a firmer grip and more editing.
Kudos to Eugenides for name-dropping “The Paris Review”.

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Niklas Pivic said on Feb 16, 2012 | Add your feedback

10.000 authors cited so far. Page 23 of 400 plus

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Ermellissimo said on Jan 20, 2012 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

USA - 1980s

The first thing that popped into my mind reading this book was how it resembles an abstract picutre, a big one full of colours but also black, with whites as "reflection points" in the middle. Loved the American uni set up, loved all the literary references, the characters so weak and strong at the ... (continue)

The first thing that popped into my mind reading this book was how it resembles an abstract picutre, a big one full of colours but also black, with whites as "reflection points" in the middle. Loved the American uni set up, loved all the literary references, the characters so weak and strong at the same time. An extremely well written book and an interesting plot. Loved it!

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Mati said on Dec 13, 2011 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback