Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Middlesex: A Novel
Book Review: Best book of the year
Summary: 5 Stars
Jeffrey Eugenides has pulled off a stunning performance in Middlesex. Merely describing what this book is about is a challenge in itself. It is multiple stories in one, spanning multiple generations, crossing oceans and continents and then back again. It is a book that raises the bar for achievement in narrative voice, and one that will break your heart not once but countless times. Imagine the challenges inherent in writing a first-person account of an adolescent hermaphrodite. Eugenides has managed this achievement flawlessly. The character of Calliope is exhaustively researched, and rings genuine throughout the novel. Her voice is delicately balanced between female and male, in a way that is astonishingly natural and sincere. More impressively, the narration transitions from young girl to middle-aged man - now Cal, 25 years later - with seemless ease. The voices are distinct and unique, separated by both age and gender, and yet at the same time they are genuinely the same.
This is so much more than just a story of a young girl's budding awareness of her sexual identity. In fact, the novel is more about her family of Greek immigrants than it is about her. With an elegant pre-fetal omniscience, Calliope tells the history of two Greek siblings who married and fled Turkey in the 1920s, then settled in Detroit and passed along a rare recessive gene to their grandchild. The story is infused throughout with detailed depictions of small Greek villages, juxtaposed against vivid scenes of urban city life. Each word carries a powerful feeling of authenticity and unflinching honesty. Each character is fascinating to observe. Desdemona, the superstitious grandmother whose magic spoon has correctly predicted the sex of 23 unborn children. Lefty, who pursues the American dream with relentless energy, only to see it ruin him. Milton, the archetypal first-generation American, cocky and arrogant, savvy and ambitious. Mike, the rebuffed pursuer of Tessie, who turns to the Church but never loses the chip on his shoulder. Chapter 11 (whose real name we never learn), Calliope's rebellious older brother, and The Obscure Object (ditto), her best friend with whom she begins to explore her sexual identity. And Calliope herself, one of the most intricately developed characters I have come across in modern literature.
I have only two minor complaints about this otherwise flawless book - both of them aimed more at the editor than the author. The first is that there are no less than four typographical errors, truly unforgiveable in a work of this magnitude. The second, and more egregious, is Cal's casual mention of the American Embassy in Istanbul. Any Foreign Service Officer knows that the capital of Turkey is Ankara, and so should a good editor.
Book Review: Better than Virgin Suicides but mis-titled
Summary: 5 Stars
This a beautiful book. Three generations of the Stephanides family are traced, leading to the main character, Cal, and his rebirth. However, in this 500+ page book, Cal isn't even born until near page 350. This leaves very little space to explore what Middlesex actually means. Much more time, and beautiful langage, is expelled getting there. I agree with the other reviewer that the book should have been more than I. I'd have recommended a book on each generation. It's also clear that the author has only a surface understanding of intersexual people, resorting to dictionary definitions, in contrast with his understanding of Greek culture. There is no reason he should have needed to research the former, but it was obvious that he tried to and many passages read almost verbatum to a couple of popular intersex works.
I read this work because of the focus on a non gender-normative main character, but I found that I most liked the part of the book before he was even born. It rushed after that.
Book Review: Captivating Story Wonderfully Written
Summary: 5 Stars
I can certainly see why author Jeffrey Eugenides was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for "Middlesex." What a terrific and engaging novel. The basic concept of Calliope Stephanides' transformation from a female to a male might put off some readers and cause them to avoid this novel. That would be ashamed because that is but the basic thread around which Eugenides tells a much more richly sweeping tale - a tale of depth and breadth spanning several generations. His subtle humor and his uniquely complex characters (with such eclectic names as Chapter Eleven and The Obscure Object) added to his imaginative storyline results in one heck of an addictive read.
What differentiates "Middlesex" from other grand sagas that I've read is Eugenides' writing. His command of words and phrases is remarkable. And the manner in which he seamlessly switches from first-person to third-person, from past to present, from levity to somberness keeps the narrative alive and from falling into a linear monotony. Brilliant. And so is this novel. Don't pass this one up.
Book Review: Chapter Eleven
Summary: 5 Stars
"Middlesex" is a beautifully crafted novel. It's like a five (or six) course meal each part of which is succulent within itself. I kept checking out his sources on p.iv--how does Eugenides "know"? Extensively researched. However, there is one glaring error and I don't know how else to address it. From what source does Chapter Eleven get his name. Even if it's a pseudonym given him by Calliope, it needs to be explained. My fiction teacher tells us something as noticeable as that cannot be gratuitous. It feels significant and should be explained--somewhere. Author????Book Review: Chapter Eleven? An anagram maybe??
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a wonderful read. It reminded me of Empire Falls in that the decisions of multiple generations seem to create the momentum leading to the ultimate conclusion. It also feels very real. I don't believe that this is entirely a fictional story.
What's up with Chapter Eleven? All of the characters were so carefully named -- you know that there's a puzzle here in the name. An anagram maybe? My scrabble letters and I have not been able to unscramble anything. Anyone have any ideas?