Sunday 9 March 2014

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

Madeline is in the final year of a literature degree.  She's reading classic authors and writing her thesis on the use of the marriage plot in the novel, a topic seen as seriously outdated in the university culture of the 1980s.  As she finishes her final year at university and attempts to find her way in life after it, her path entwines with that of two men, Mitchell and Leonard.  Mitchell, a religious studies graduate, is keen to travel the world in search of mystic experiences.  He is also certain that he is destined to end up married to Madeline.  Leonard is a talented scientist promised a research fellowship at one of the most prestigious centres in the country, but his charisma covers a difficult battle with bipolar disease.  As Madeline navigates the stormy path of life after college, will she find herself starring in her own marriage plot, or is the marriage plot truly dead?

I'll be honest - I picked this book up purely because it is by Jeffrey Eugenides.  The Virgin Suicides is one of my favourite books and I really enjoyed Middlesex, so at this point I will buy and read anything Eudenides puts out without a second thought for whether or not the plot is appealing.  With that in mind, my overall impression of The Marriage Plot is that it was very well written (I'd expect nothing less), but much more self-consciously literary than either of Eugenides previous works, and therefore not quite as enjoyable.

I agree with a lot of what Eugenides is trying to say in the novel, mainly that there is still room in literature for a book that tells a simple story, that our stories may have changed with the complications of modern life, but that readers still want a story that tells them something about the dilemma of the characters.  There's a lot of gentle fun being poked at undergraduates and literary criticism in general, which was enjoyable too.  But the whole time I was reading, I felt as though Madeline, Leonard and Mitchell were just vehicles for Eugenides themes, rather than the central drivers of his story, if that makes sense.  They didn't jump off the page and I didn't fully connect with them emotionally.  In marriage plots, you're supposed to really care who the main character ends up with, and although I thought Eugenides' twist on the classic plot device was clever, I didn't feel that connection.

I don't want to come off as too harsh, as The Marriage Plot is still a very good book.  I thought Eugenides' portrayal of mental illness in the form of Leonard, and the effect that it can have on the people around you, was very strong and I found these parts of the story gripping.  I loved reading about Mitchell's adventures in India and his struggle to decide what kind of person he was.  As I mentioned earlier, it goes without saying that the whole thing was well written and for quite a chunky book, I just sped through it.

I think that if I hadn't already read The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex, I would have adored The Marriage Plot and would at this point be rushing out to find everything else Eugenides had ever written.  But because I have read his previous work, I couldn't help but compare them, and The Marriage Plot just didn't quite live up to expectations.

Source: Personal copy
Published: 2011
Score: 4 out of 5

31 comments:

  1. I found The Marriage Plot addictive and one of those I could have read again and again although I haven't gone back to it just yet. Despite that I haven't tried the other two novels but I must!

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    1. You are in for a treat when you get to the other two Beth :)

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  2. I haven't read anything by Jeffrey Eugenides, but I know that lots of people love his books, so I really want to try something by him.

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    1. Most people like Middlesex the best, but Virgin Suicides is my favourite of his novels.

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  3. I read Middlesex but it took me a while to actually get into the story. I have to try this one.

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  4. I've been a little hesitant to pick this one up because I've heard very similar things. Middlesex and The Virgin Suicides are two of my favorite books and I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to separate them from this when trying to read it.

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    1. I couldn't separate either, although I could see that objectively it is a very good book. It would have been hard for anything to live up to Virgin Suicides for me.

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  5. I haven't read Middlesex and The Virgin Suicides, so The Marriage Plot was my first book by Jeffrey Eugenides, and I loved it (on audio)! Next up is Middlesex, but it's taking me a long time to get to it...

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  6. I've not read Eugenides yet, but have been meaning to get to Middlesex as I've heard so many good things -- I think that one and The Virgin Suicides I rather read before this one, though it does sound interesting.

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    1. Middlesex is awesome but Virgin Suicides is my favourite, I just had more emotional connection with the characters.

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  7. I made the mistake of borrowing the audio version of this book from my local library. The male performer did all the women's voices like so strangely and offensively (like the mocking sibilant tones of a stereotypical homosexual impersonation). I didn't make it past the first disc. I've been meaning to read the book ever since, I even bought the ebook, I just haven't gotten back to it.

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    1. I'm not a big audio book listener anyway so the voices you describe would put me off (especially as Madeline in my head wouldn't talk like that at all!).

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  8. I didn't like Virgin Suicides and couldn't finish Middlesex, so I've been reluctant to pick up The Marriage Plot. I think (resignedly) that Jeffrey Eugenides may not be the author for me.

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    1. It does sound like Eugenides just isn't for you...

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  9. I haven't actually read anything by Jeffrey Eugenides but I have been wanting to read The Virgin Suicides for some time. It's a shame that you didn't enjoy this novel as much as his previous works. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
    :-)
    Bits & Bobs

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    1. The Virgin Suicides is so good, it's my favourite of his. Hope you do get a chance to read it.

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  10. I think one of the reasons I really enjoyed this story was that I could really relate to a lot of things as an English major myself. I agree that the characters do sometimes seem to serve the themes, though.

    I have to remember to read Middlesex one of these days!

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    1. I can see how you would relate to the book & enjoy it more as an English major. Hope you enjoy Middlesex :)

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  11. I really loved this book. I'd been meaning to read Eugenides for a long time and finally started with this one. I think it was the insights about living with and around mental illness that made this book work so well for me. But after reading this I tried reading Middlesex and couldn't get past the first few chapters.

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    1. I did like the insights about mental health and felt like the ending of Leonard's story in the book was quite sad, yet true to life.

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  12. "much more self-consciously literary than either of Eugenides previous works" - I think this is what held me back from getting into this one. I loved his first two novels and then could not get past the first 40 or so pages of this. I'll give it another go eventually, but I need some time and space to get myself in the correct mindframe.

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    1. The pace does pick up after the English literature lecture in the initial pages and the characters start to shine through more.

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  13. I loved this book, but i can understand your criticisms of it. One of the reasons why i liked it so much is because Mitchell is very much like i was. I too was a religious studies major and found myself in India after graduation. That connection to Mitchell made the book special to me. And I love a good laugh at the expense of undergrads.

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    1. It's great when we can connect to books like that. I liked Mitchell a lot, he was such a nice person without realising that he didn't need to prove it all the time.

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  14. I still haven't read a Jeffrey Eugenides' book. I have Middlesex here at home, but a part of me is scared to read it in fears of not liking it. I want to like this author. Marriage Plot also sounds interesting, I'm always curious when characters have a little bit of mental conditions and if they are examined in depth.

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    1. Virgin Suicides is in my opinion the best Eugenides, although a lot of people would go for Middlesex. But Virgin Suicides is the most straight-forward in terms of story and the easiest to get into, plus it has some interesting ideas about mental health. I think you'd love it :)

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  15. I really liked this when I read it but would definitely agree that it didn't quite match up to Middlesex (The Virgin Suicides is another story cause I haaaaated it! I'm sorry...) but still. I just love him so damn much! (apart from TVS, again. I should probably give it another chance, I suppose...)

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  16. I loved Middlesex and like the Virgin Suicides a lot, but *hated* this book. I forced myself through about 80 pages before giving up. I think you're right when you say it's his most literary, but for me it came across as completely pretentious. The way the characters kept quoting all their semiotics texts was just maddening. I'll be very hesitant to read Eugenides again, which is a shame because I enjoyed his first two books so much.

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  17. Really enjoyed reading this book. Can't wait to read the author's other works. I recommend reading this book to everyone.
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