"The Marriage Plot", the new novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, moved me. It is a sweet, funny, coming of age novel, set in the early 80's, centered on the transition from college to adult life. Ostensibly a love triangle, it is deft, knowing, compassionate, cool and strange, full of the promise and disappointment of early love. Like Franzen, Eugenides has a wonderful eye and ear for the texture and feel of contemporary life. It is always a particular pleasure to read a novel fresh from the printing press. This one is immediately captivating. From the very first sentence, it promises to be a treat and it seldom, if ever disappoints.
