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Book Review: The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
Written by Jeffrey Eugenides and published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux in 2011, The
Marriage Plot is perhaps one of the most historically outstanding academic novels. Eugenides
delivers the love and academic story with detailed narration and exposition. Set in the years of
the Great Depression in the 1980s, the novel covers a range of topics that cover college life and
experiences undergone by students after graduation. Besides enjoying the author’s way of
presenting the love triangle, this book improved my understanding of how fiction is written and
taught me elemental issues about the role of daily experiences in the life.
The whole story revolves around three main characters; Madeleine Hanna, Leonard
Bankhead, and Mitchell Grammaticus. Hanna is characterized by morality, duty, and ambition.
Despite suffering from manic depression, Leonard is adventurous and outgoing, a character that
attracts Hanna to her very easily. Mitchel goes on a conflicted pursuit for spiritual enlightenment
while he remains obsessed with the belief that Hanna and he should be soul mates. This ends in a
love triangle where Mitchelle pursues Hanna then travels the world to forget her. Conversely,
Hannah enjoys limitless escapades but ultimately breaks up with Leonard.
Eugenides produces a masterpiece in this novel by achieving a fiction of love that almost
looks real, highlighting love, companionship, academics, economics, and female roles. From the
characters, I learnt that experiences should help and strengthen our abilities to tackle the future
like it did for all the characters.
