I don’t know where I read a summary of this novel (possibly story?) but here is the basic plot as I remember it.
The story is told from the point of view of 4 brothers in a Southern U.S. family. Three of the brothers focus on their sister and the loss of her virginity. One of the brothers decides to commit suicide and convices the sister to commit suicide with him. At first, she says that she will because she sees nothing better to do, but later they both decide not to commit suicide. However, the brother a bit later decides to go ahead and commit suicide. The last brother focuses very little on his sister. He is basically evil and spends his time trying to extort money from the family. I think the novel was a good example of local color, and in a broad sense told of the decline of a southern family.
Can anybody help me name this novel? It has been nagging at me for a week and I finally decided Straight Dope would be my best bet to get an answer.