I just finished The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides but I didn’t realize until I researched about the book that it’s actually written way back in 1993. I bought it at National Bookstore after I caught a glimpse of this text just above the book’s title:

Now a major motion picture from Paramount Classics starring James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett.

Yep, I’m a Josh Hartnett fan. I was crushing on Josh (Uh-huh, we’re on a first name basis) during his The Faculty days, I fell in love with him in Pearl Harbor, and then I wanted to marry him in Wicker Park. Lol. Apparently, The Virgin Suicides film was released in 1999. I guess I sidestepped that one. I can’t wait to see his upcoming movie called I Come With The Rain that they’re filming in Mindanao. And did you know that Jimmy Kimmel (da who?) said some insulting words about the Filipinos in his interview with Josh?

Anyway, the title of the book The Virgin Suicides says it all. It’s all about the untimely deaths of five sisters ages 13 to 17. The fact that all five of them committed suicide was disclosed early on in the book so the story actually revolved around the people outside their family who wondered why the girls were so determined to end their lives. It’s a depressing book and it kind of makes you want to reach out to the girls and just be a friend to them. Only you can’t. Heh. I guess there are lessons to be learned from it too, especially for parents on raising kids. People have to be more sensitive in recognizing the need of others (and the suicidal tendencies of some). As for the writer — Jeffrey Eugenides is simply brilliant.

The Virgin Suicides reminded me of the equally melodramatic non-fiction that I read last year called Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel. They also made a film out of this one with Christina Ricci as the main character. The book is about a girl who felt depressed but didn’t know why she did. She was leading a life that she can’t complain about, she had a relationship with a good man in which she felt insecure despite all the efforts he made, and she was on her way to becoming a successful career woman. But all that is useless because she JUST CAN’T STOP feeling depressed. She also attempted to kill herself many times just so she could put an end to her mind-numbing emotional instability. The problem was obviously psychiatric more than it is psychological and it took decades before they came up with a medication. And then her life dramatically changed after she started taking Prozac. After that, the author segues into sharing the sad fact about thousands of kids in the US (hence the title Prozac Nation) who are faking their condition just so they could get their hands on this “happy pill.” There’s a thin line between people who actually need the drug and those who just want to escape reality.

These two interesting books, despite the angst, went deep into the world of the depressed who are living a life that they just can’t stand. There’s clearly something missing in the lives of this kind of people that it makes me sad. It also made me think of this one friend I have back home who always feels depressed. I gotta reach out to her more.

Do you know someone who feels this way too?

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