Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Middlesex: A Novel
Book Review: A modern masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Of all the books I have read this year, this stands out from the crowd. The story and characters are utterly compelling and fascinating. The way the author weaves the impact of the families peculiar genetic history through time is unique and seamless. The characters are richly detailed and expressive. I loved the story itself and watching the characters lives unfold. But the real bonus of the marvelous book is the author's beautiful writing style. It is literary and complex without being dry or sanctimonious. For example, the way he makes the rhythms and numbing repetitiveness of the floor of a car manufacturing plant come alive is remarkable. You know you are in the presence of a great writer when the description of something so mundane and industrial as a car plant leaves you in awe.
The book is long and worth every page. I slowed down at the end just so I could make the pleasure of this book last. You wont be dissappointed!
Book Review: A must read
Summary: 5 Stars
Jeffrey Eugenides shines again with this brilliant, poignant and touching novel. I have not embraced a character like this in so long (Holden, Scout, etc)! The issues touched upon in this book were begging for recognition, and who better than Mr. Eugenides to bring them to the forefront with such grace, tangibility, and compassion? Thank you so much for such an enjoyable reading journey!!! I will be awaiting the next novel!!!Book Review: A novel overflowing with excitement and colorful detail...
Summary: 5 Stars
On first approaching Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides, its size of the book itself warned of a gigantic novel, but I didn't realize until I was already caught in the midst of it what a huge, complex story it really contained. The pages are overflowing with colorful details from the lives of the three generations of the Stephanides family. Their many adventures and their numerous sins all lead up to the birth of Calliope Stephanides, who pays for the mistakes of her ancestors with her sexuality. She is neither girl nor boy, and is never quite comfortable in either category. The story follows her childhood, in which she appears to be a relatively normal, even beautiful little girl, and leads us into her troubling adolence, at which point Callie, who eventually changes her name to Cal, resolves to determine her own fate. Throughout the story spanning 80 year, Eugenides leads us through a rampage of colorful and exciting, sometimes terrifying events, introducing us to a cast of eclectic and interesting characters along the way. Middlesex is the story of a hermaphrodite trying to figure out their place, but it is so much more: it is a story of the hardships of immigration, conflicts within families, the place of immigrant in the mid-1900's American society, factory life, race riots, and the American Dream. Although I never felt like I was reading a serious, great work of literature, Middlesex is high quality entertainment the whole way through. It is exciting, it never lags, and in the end left me satisfied with a knowledge of the whole story: past, present, and leading us into Cal's future.
Book Review: A reader in Colorado
Summary: 5 Stars
Other reviewers have gone into detail about Middlesex, so I will keep this brief and say only that for lovers of contemporary fiction, this book is not to be missed. My feelings while reading it were the same as those I had with another great recent novel, Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections: I simply didn't want it to end because I didn't know what I could possibly find next that would remotely compare. Readers who love this book will find themselves purposefully slowing their pace as the chapters wind down--a way of preserving the inevitable ending, and to delay having to say goodbye to this memorable and tenderly realized cast of characters.Book Review: A revelation, 5+++
Summary: 5 Stars
Jeffrey Eugenides is now officially a major literary force to look out for. His debut "Virgin Suicides" was a shorter novel, but with "Middlesex" he brings the heat. When there's smoke, there's fire; that holds very true for this novel.For starters, the title hooks you right in. It's a location in England, but it's still intriguing on the cover of a book. The story sounds fascinating on the front flap: a hermaphrodite's story, delving back to Eurasia in the 20's to Detroit in the 60's to Berlin today. Okay, I wanna start reading right now!
The novel makes good on its wild promise on the flaps: the characters are everyday people, nothing extraordinary, but that is precisely why you can relate to them and what makes their story such a pleasure to read. Everything about this meticulously plotted book is perfect: the settings, the pacing (which is right on the spot), and the message.
When you get close to the end of this book, you start feeling down because it has been such a fun, entertaining, and tragic ride. My love of books was rekindled after reading this modern work of art, but I have yet to find another book this compelling and wonderful. Definitely worthy of the Pulitzer and of your time: it'll fly right by.