The sudden, inexplicable suicides of the five Lisbon sisters shatter the suburban tranquility of a 1970s Michigan neighborhood, leaving the local boys who obsessed over them to piece together the fragments of their lives. The narrative is constructed as a collective, retrospective account from the perspective of these neighborhood boys, who now, as middle-aged men, attempt to reconcile their adolescent voyeurism with the tragic reality of the sisters' isolation. Their objective is to understand the 'why' behind the girls' withdrawal from society and their eventual self-destruction, a task hindered by the suffocating religious conservatism of the Lisbon household and the boys' own limited, idealized perceptions of the sisters. The story operates within a framework of memory and myth-making, where the physical constraints of the sisters' house become a metaphor for the unreachable nature of their inner lives.

This novel is widely regarded as a significant work of contemporary American literature, noted for its haunting atmosphere and unique narrative voice. Critics frequently highlight the effectiveness of the collective 'we' perspective in capturing the obsessive, detached nature of the neighborhood boys' fascination with the Lisbon sisters. The text is often analyzed for its commentary on the objectification of young women and the stifling environment of mid-century suburbia. Readers often find the prose style evocative and the central mystery compelling, even as the narrative intentionally avoids providing easy answers to the sisters' motivations. The work remains a staple in discussions regarding the intersection of memory, tragedy, and the loss of innocence.