The Marriage Plot

The Marriage Plot  by Jeffrey Eugenides, 406 pages

I've been meaning to read some Jeffrey Eugenides, and this is my first title by him. It's a sort of bizarre love triangle/anti-love story. Mitchell loves Madeleine but she doesn't love him back. So he sets off on a trip through Europe, bound eventually to India, to find himself and explore religion. Madeleine loves Leonard but Leonard is a severe manic-depressive and being with him is like being on one of the most insane roller coasters you could possibly imagine. Leonard seems to love being depressed. He needs Madeleine to make him feel complete but he doesn't think he needs the Lithium his doctor has prescribed. Madeleine needs to feel needed but doesn't realize that in caring for someone else, she neglects herself.
Eugenides accurately captures the complexity of relationships, where in completing someone else, you lose something yourself. His portrayal of the constantly imbalanced relationship and the power struggle within will be familiar to anyone who's ever experienced it.
This is not a light book, by any means, but it's a realistic depiction of a modern love story.

P.S. It's set in the 80s, so there's some fun pop culture references throughout.