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Jeffrey Eugenides
Birth at
8 March 1960
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Jeffrey Eugenides was born in 1960 in Detroit (Michigan, USA). He was the third son in the family. His father’s parents, Greeks, were immigrants from Asia Minor, and his mother was of Anglo-Irish descent. He graduated with honors from Brown University, in 1986 received a master’s degree from Stanford University, where he studied English philology and writing. In his youth, the future writer wondered whether to choose the path of a priest or monk, even after working a week on vacation as part of
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Jeffrey Eugenides was born in 1960 in Detroit (Michigan, USA). He was the third son in the family. His father’s parents, Greeks, were immigrants from Asia Minor, and his mother was of Anglo-Irish descent. He graduated with honors from Brown University, in 1986 received a master’s degree from Stanford University, where he studied English philology and writing. In his youth, the future writer wondered whether to choose the path of a priest or monk, even after working a week on vacation as part of the mission of Mother Teresa, but refused this intention. Jeffrey Eugenides made his literary debut in 1988, publishing his first short story. Later, his stories were published in various magazines and collections, including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Yale Review, Best American Short Stories, The Gettysburg Review, and Granta. The idea of Eugenides’ debut book was suggested by the nanny of his niece (she and her cousins attempted suicide), and in 1991 the first chapter of the novel “Virgin Suicides” appeared in the magazine “Paris Review”. At the time, Eugenides was working as an administrator at the Academy of American Poets in New York. The publication attracted the attention of publishers, and he soon signed a contract for the book, which was published in its entirety in 1993. The novel was translated into a dozen languages, and in 1999 was filmed by Sofia Coppola - and the film only added fame to the author. Ten years after the first book, Jeffrey Eugenides’ second novel, Middle Sex, was published. In 2003, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. He currently lives with his wife and daughter in Berlin, publishing occasional book reviews and essays on pop music.