If Jeffrey Eugenides Wrote Another Book

Born March 8, 1960, Jeffrey Eugenides is a truly unique writer. In addition to being a critically acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and short story writer, Jeffrey Eugenides teaches creative writing at Princeton University. He resides near the university with his wife, Karen Yamauchi, and his preteen daughter, Georgia.

In addition to literary and academic achievements, Hollywood has been friendly to Jeffrey Eugenides as well. He received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship in 1986 for his short story entiteld "Here Comes Winston, Full of the Holy Spirit." The Virgin Suicides, his debut novel that was published in 1993, was made into the 1999 movie that was adapted and directed by Sofia Coppola. It's known as one of the most faithful adaptations to a book in cinematic history, although some parts of the ending were changed.

As The Virgin Suicides first revealed, Jeffrey Eugenides is an extraordinary novelist. He wrote the introduction to Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. In 2009, he was published as the editor to a collection of short stories called My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead : Great Love Stories, from Chekhov to Munro. Short stories that he wrote himself include "The Speed of Sperm" (published in Granta in 1997), "Early Music" (published in "The New Yorker" in 2005) and "Air Mail" (published in Best American Short Stories, edited by Proulx, in 1997).

I've enjoyed his books since discovering The Virgin Suicides as a teenager. He somehow just seemed to get what it was about being a teenage girl that was both wonderful and maddening to the extremes. He is one of the most capable, sensitive and realistic writers of women in fiction. His most recent novel, Middlesex was every bit as memorable as his first novel. I look forward to any future books that he is to write.

I even had the good fortune to meet Jeffrey Eugenides in New York City when I was in college. He signed my copy of The Virgin Suicides alongside the director of the film, Sofia Coppola, when the film version was released. I took a few pictures, one of which is published with this article, and he mentioned that he was working on an epic historical novel at the signing.

If Jeffrey Eugenides wrote another book on any subject of my choice (a girl can dream), I'd love it to be prequel to The Virgin Suicides. There is a mystery to The Virgin Suicides. Although there is a lot that isn't meant to be explained, as it's largely told from the viewpoint of the neighborhood boys who are obsessed with the sisters, there is a lot that would be interesting to learn from more of an insider's point-of-view in the story. As someone who lost an immediately family member to suicide in childhood, I very much understand the fact that you never really know why, as is made clear in the book, yet I would love more of an insight into the Lisbon household in another book.

Although you do expect the ending won't be fairy tale inspired, it's impossible to not get attached to the beautifully written characters in The Virgin Suicides, and an exploration of each of the five sisters in greater detail would make for a compelling novel. Another idea for a novel would be an exploration of what could have been, perhaps again from the point-of-view of one of the neighborhood boys, of what a full life would have been like with Lux, if not for the suicide.

In reality, Jeffrey Eugenides is working on a novel, yet he hasn't let too many secrets slip out about it. I'm very eager to read it. As he told the Telegraph in the UK, "'I write so slowly, I'm not worried about repeating myself. I'm worried about getting old before I write what I have in myself to write." I'm confident that he will fulfill his writing potential. I, and many others, eagerly await the publication of each book.

Sources cited:

http://www.daad.de/alumni/de/4.2.1_03.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3670336/Jeffrey-Eugenides-Enduring-love.html