Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Middlesex: A Novel
Book Review: A singular story of coming of age set against a graphic and entertaining historical saga
Summary: 4 Stars
I say 4½ stars really.
From the very start of this book you yearn to read the ending - What will happen when Cal (the now 40ish male narrator of our tale)discovers her true gender at age 14? Born Calliope Stephanides in a neighborhood of Detroit in 1960, her apparent female gender decieved her doctor and parents at every turn, as is often the case for children born with androgen insensitivity - a genetic gender disorder that produces little 'girls' who become boys in puberty. The story is compelling and reads smoothly through her family history, which is riddled with spectacular greek charchters. Her grandmother, for instance, who couldn't predict Calliope's gender using her conventional and foolproof spoon dangling method, during the pregnancy. Grandma Fled the Greek city of Smyrna, as under the rape of the Turks in 1922 all others died, and the city burned. She escaped with her only brother as her companion, soon allowing him to be less her brother, and even more her companion. The family saga is thus begun.
Later, we see Calliope - her growing up is a great testament to the life of foreign families in the 1970s in the US. The story builds as young Calliope matures, and fails to develop. Calliope slowly struggles with a vague unease about her place in life, and a forbodeing sense about her strange place astride both genders.
Middlesex culminates, finally in a very moving story, and an incredible ( if small scale) bold adventure, as Calliope comes into her own, and confronts the new knowledge of her gender, rejecting her family's wishes as well as all medical advice to create herself anew as a boy.
I recommed this book for fans of popular culture,60's & 70's afficinados, those who enjoy a good tale of gender confusion, and readers who enjoy literary fiction or admire the Pulitzer. Middlesex has all of the qualities that make a book desireable to the Pulitzer committee - americana, history, and a broad expansive story told in language that is distinct, novel, and in some way quite american. Quite enjoyable.
Book Review: A terrific novel!
Summary: 5 Stars
From the first sentence of Jeffrey Eugenides' MIDDLESEX, I was hooked by this complicated tale of a young girl who grows into a man. The story of Cal Stephanides begins generations before his birth, in a small Greek village, when his grandparents succumb to incestuous desires. Immigration to the United States keeps Desdemona and Lefty's secret intact - until their grandchild Cal reaches puberty. Told with both humor and earnestness, the story grows more engaging with every page. The brilliance of this book emerges not from the superficial story of a hermaphrodite but from the context - historical, scientific, psychological, political, geographical - of Cal's birth and subsequent rebirth. MIDDLESEX is about much more than gender confusion. Cal's mixed gender can be taken as a metaphor for the experience of first- and second-generations born of immigrants.
While the context of this story provides the substance, the characters provide the vibrancy. Cal emerges as a reliable and likeable narrator. He is sensible, good-humored, and intelligent. The spectrum of his experiences provides a smooth transition between childhood and adult, enabling the reader to embrace the character as both male and female. Cal's family is affectionately portrayed, even with their failings. (Cal's brother, Chapter Eleven, annoyed me with his name, a running gag, but even he ended up a full-blooded character by the end.)
Eugenides has written an expansive, compelling book. Despite its length of over 500 pages, the novel is not a slow read - unless the reader wants it to be, to make it last. Accessible, intelligent, well-paced and plotted, it should appeal to a wide range of readers.
I can't recommend this novel highly enough.
Book Review: A very long, long read
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this book because of all the wonderful reviews it had received. I do think that Jeffrey Eugenides is a very good writer, but I also think that this book was way too slow in the reading. It didn't hold my interest as I couldn't help skipping pages in the last third of the book. Perhaps it was just too long and that's the reason I kept losing interest. However, I do have to say that you care about the characters, who they are and what they want. The story is very much worth telling but I wish the editor had worked a little more magic in the second half of the book.Book Review: Absolutely fantastic!
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this book! I have not read "Virgin Suicides", but have seen the movie, and found it very interesting. That was the main reason I wanted this book, and I haven't regretted it for a millisecond. The writing is out-of-this-world good, and the story is amazing. I laughed, I cried, I was totally engrossed. There were times I couldn't put this book down, and ended up reading until all wee hours of the night. I love coming-of-agestories, and while Callie's story is very different from most such stories, it is certainly extremely interesting and wonderful.
Book Review: Almost perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
My copy of this book has 529 pages, and 514 of them are possibly some of the best pages I've ever read. The story is compelling, the characters well-created, and the setting amazing (I live in suburban Detroit and often found myself getting excited over the mention of a landmark I knew). The section concerning the Obscure Object made my heart do flip-flops. It was that good. However, the ending, I feel, left something to be desired. I could follow Callie/Cal's feelings as she ran away, but not into the ending. I did not feel that the eventual decision of Callie/Cal's identity was well-supported and seemed to me to be based only on the feelings for the Object. As a bisexual fairly secure in her female identity, I found this hard to take and slightly offensive.
That being said, I still loved the book and recommend it fully. Just be prepared for a possible disappointment at the end.