Chapter One
This story begins with the last Lisbon sisters' suicide. It was Mary, who took sleeping pills just like her sister, Therese did. Since Mary is the last out of five sisters to kill themselves, the paramedics already know what the routine is by now.
The narrators, who are middle aged when they tell us this story about when they were the neighborhood boys and about their experiences with the Lisbon sisters, start telling us about Cecilia's first attempt at suicide, which was unsuccessful. When the paramedics show up in the Lisbon sisters' bathroom, they see Cecilia lying in the bathtub with her wrists cut. The paramedics open her hands and find a laminated picture of the Virgin Mary. They stop the bleeding and take her to the hospital, but by the end of this chapter, Cecilia successfully kills herself. She does this by jumping off the roof of her house and being impaled by the fence in her backyard.
When Cecilia wakes up in the hospital after her first suicide attempt, she is greeted by Dr. Armonson. He asks her why she cut herself. The doctor said that Cecilia is not old enough to understand how bad life can get. In response, she says to the doctor that he's never been a thirteen year old girl.
Personally, I find this book compelling because I want to find out why the Lisbon sisters kill themselves. I'm not saying that a person needs to have a reason to kill oneself, but there is obviously something going on with the Lisbon sisters.
After the narrators describe Cecilia's first suicide attempt, they describe the appearance of every member in the Lisbon household. Cecilia was 13, Lux was 14, Bonnie was 15, Mary was 16, and Therese was 17. The narrators describe them as short with blue eyes and blond hair. The only fault in the girls was that their teeth were slightly crooked. Other than that, the boys thought they were perfect.
The neighborhood boys described Mr. Lisbon as very gangly, had gray hair, and had a very high voice. He was a teacher at the local high school. From the few times Mrs. Lisbon left the house, the boys saw that she had terribly cut hair and wore librarian glasses. The boys couldn't understand how Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon could create such beautiful children.
The narrators then start talking about Peter Sissen, the only boy who was ever allowed into the Lisbon house up to that point. He was invited over for dinner because he had helped Mr. Lisbon install something in his classroom.
After dinner, Peter asked to use the restroom, and since Therese and Mary were in the downstairs bathroom, he was told to use the sisters' bathroom upstairs. After the dinner, Peter tells the neighborhood boys very private details that he discovered in the girls' bathroom. The boys want for knowledge about the sisters shows how truly obsessed they are with them.
Paul Baldino, one of the boys in the neighborhood (but not one of the narrators), swore to the narrators that he could get into the Lisbon house and see even more private stuff than Peter Sissen did. When Paul entered the Lisbon house, he sneaked his way into the girls bathroom. When he opened the door, he saw Cecilia in the bathtub bleeding to death. He called 911, reporting Cecilia's first suicide attempt.
When Cecilia returned home from the hospital, several theories were roaming the neighborhood about why she tried to kill herself. The most popular was that she wanted out of her house. The narrators say that the day Cecilia returned home, the women who were crudely gossiping about the Lisbon business and criticizing the parents, went to the Lisbon house to give Mrs. Lisbon food and their sympathy, which shows how hypocritical they are.
The boys briefly talk about a new boy in the neighborhood, Dominic Palazzolo. Instead of being like all of the other boys and falling in love with one of the Lisbon sisters, he fell in love with Diana Porter. He declared his love while jumping off his relatives' roof and Cecilia was watching the whole time.
After describing Dominic Palazzolo, the boys tell us about Dr. Hornicker, Cecilia's psychiatrist. He said that her suicide was an act of regression because she was being repressed as a teenage girl in her house. She wasn't allowed to do the things that normal 13 year old girls could do. He recommended that Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon to relax a little and allow their girls do normal teenage things. They take his advice.
About two weeks after Cecilia arrived home, Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon allow the girls to throw their first and only party, which the boys were invited to. When the night of the party arrived, the boys finally got a good look at the Lisbon sisters and realized that they didn't look so much alike as they thought they had.
Bonnie had a very colorless complexion with a very sharp nose. She was a foot taller than her sisters, with a long neck that would eventually hang from a rope in the basement. Therese had a rather chubby face and eyes that looked like cows eyes. They said she was very clumsy. Mary had darker complexion with a widow's peak. The fuzz on her upper lip shows that she waxed it, much to her mother's disapproval. Lux was what the boys pictured all of the Lisbon sisters to look like, with her blond hair and blue eyes. When she shook their hands, wearing a very form fitting dress, she tickled their palms, which showed them how playful she was. Cecilia was wearing a wedding dress that she had not taken off since her first attempt at suicide. She sat on a barstool with red crayon on her lips. She ignored the boys and the boys stayed away from her.
That night, Cecilia jumped off her roof.
Even thought this chapter started off with Cecilila killing herself, I really enjoyed it because I love the part in books where you learn about the characters and their lives. At first I was confused as to who the narrators were, but as I kept reading, I realized that they were some of the neighborhood boys. This book skips around a lot, but this chapter was the worst of it in my opinion. I thought it was kind of annoying how much it skipped around, but once I started to understand the characters better, I could follow what was happening quite easily.
The narrators, who are middle aged when they tell us this story about when they were the neighborhood boys and about their experiences with the Lisbon sisters, start telling us about Cecilia's first attempt at suicide, which was unsuccessful. When the paramedics show up in the Lisbon sisters' bathroom, they see Cecilia lying in the bathtub with her wrists cut. The paramedics open her hands and find a laminated picture of the Virgin Mary. They stop the bleeding and take her to the hospital, but by the end of this chapter, Cecilia successfully kills herself. She does this by jumping off the roof of her house and being impaled by the fence in her backyard.
When Cecilia wakes up in the hospital after her first suicide attempt, she is greeted by Dr. Armonson. He asks her why she cut herself. The doctor said that Cecilia is not old enough to understand how bad life can get. In response, she says to the doctor that he's never been a thirteen year old girl.
Personally, I find this book compelling because I want to find out why the Lisbon sisters kill themselves. I'm not saying that a person needs to have a reason to kill oneself, but there is obviously something going on with the Lisbon sisters.
After the narrators describe Cecilia's first suicide attempt, they describe the appearance of every member in the Lisbon household. Cecilia was 13, Lux was 14, Bonnie was 15, Mary was 16, and Therese was 17. The narrators describe them as short with blue eyes and blond hair. The only fault in the girls was that their teeth were slightly crooked. Other than that, the boys thought they were perfect.
The neighborhood boys described Mr. Lisbon as very gangly, had gray hair, and had a very high voice. He was a teacher at the local high school. From the few times Mrs. Lisbon left the house, the boys saw that she had terribly cut hair and wore librarian glasses. The boys couldn't understand how Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon could create such beautiful children.
The narrators then start talking about Peter Sissen, the only boy who was ever allowed into the Lisbon house up to that point. He was invited over for dinner because he had helped Mr. Lisbon install something in his classroom.
After dinner, Peter asked to use the restroom, and since Therese and Mary were in the downstairs bathroom, he was told to use the sisters' bathroom upstairs. After the dinner, Peter tells the neighborhood boys very private details that he discovered in the girls' bathroom. The boys want for knowledge about the sisters shows how truly obsessed they are with them.
Paul Baldino, one of the boys in the neighborhood (but not one of the narrators), swore to the narrators that he could get into the Lisbon house and see even more private stuff than Peter Sissen did. When Paul entered the Lisbon house, he sneaked his way into the girls bathroom. When he opened the door, he saw Cecilia in the bathtub bleeding to death. He called 911, reporting Cecilia's first suicide attempt.
When Cecilia returned home from the hospital, several theories were roaming the neighborhood about why she tried to kill herself. The most popular was that she wanted out of her house. The narrators say that the day Cecilia returned home, the women who were crudely gossiping about the Lisbon business and criticizing the parents, went to the Lisbon house to give Mrs. Lisbon food and their sympathy, which shows how hypocritical they are.
The boys briefly talk about a new boy in the neighborhood, Dominic Palazzolo. Instead of being like all of the other boys and falling in love with one of the Lisbon sisters, he fell in love with Diana Porter. He declared his love while jumping off his relatives' roof and Cecilia was watching the whole time.
After describing Dominic Palazzolo, the boys tell us about Dr. Hornicker, Cecilia's psychiatrist. He said that her suicide was an act of regression because she was being repressed as a teenage girl in her house. She wasn't allowed to do the things that normal 13 year old girls could do. He recommended that Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon to relax a little and allow their girls do normal teenage things. They take his advice.
About two weeks after Cecilia arrived home, Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon allow the girls to throw their first and only party, which the boys were invited to. When the night of the party arrived, the boys finally got a good look at the Lisbon sisters and realized that they didn't look so much alike as they thought they had.
Bonnie had a very colorless complexion with a very sharp nose. She was a foot taller than her sisters, with a long neck that would eventually hang from a rope in the basement. Therese had a rather chubby face and eyes that looked like cows eyes. They said she was very clumsy. Mary had darker complexion with a widow's peak. The fuzz on her upper lip shows that she waxed it, much to her mother's disapproval. Lux was what the boys pictured all of the Lisbon sisters to look like, with her blond hair and blue eyes. When she shook their hands, wearing a very form fitting dress, she tickled their palms, which showed them how playful she was. Cecilia was wearing a wedding dress that she had not taken off since her first attempt at suicide. She sat on a barstool with red crayon on her lips. She ignored the boys and the boys stayed away from her.
That night, Cecilia jumped off her roof.
Even thought this chapter started off with Cecilila killing herself, I really enjoyed it because I love the part in books where you learn about the characters and their lives. At first I was confused as to who the narrators were, but as I kept reading, I realized that they were some of the neighborhood boys. This book skips around a lot, but this chapter was the worst of it in my opinion. I thought it was kind of annoying how much it skipped around, but once I started to understand the characters better, I could follow what was happening quite easily.