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Middlesex (book)

A book by Jeffrey Eugenides

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Middlesex is an insightful novel

Jun 15, 2007

by RobertYokoyama

Rating:

Reading a novel about a hermaphrodite is something I never thought I would enjoy, but I was wrong. Middlesex is an excellent book. Jeffery Eugenides is a talented and insightful writer. He describes how Greek immigrants of both sexes had to work hard to survive in Detroit in the early part of the 20th century. Lefty is a fictional character in the novel. I loved reading about how hard he worked to improve his life. He started working at a factory making car engines, and he worked diligently to become a successful bar owner. Eugenidies' description of the race riots in Detroit in 1967 is very vivid. I could picture people looting shops and setting them on fire. I have no idea how a hermaphrodite feels, and I think Eugenides does a good job writing about how it feels to live as one. The main character is a hermaphrodite named Callie. Eugenides writes about Callie's confusion and frustration about not developing like other girls as a teenager. This is very moving. He also writes about her experiences with drugs and having sexual relations with a female classmate. Middlesex is very much a coming of age novel because of the self exploration element. I enjoyed reading how Callie's parents loved and treated her unconditionally. Middlesex is a novel that reminds people to accept and embrace individuals with gender differences.

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More Middlesex (book) reviews

review by rlwilliams. June 30, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

Well researched, well written

I am convinced that Jeffrey Eugenides will be a name readers identify for generations to come. I was impressed by his first novel, The Virgin Suicides, but Middlesex demonstrates an increased sense of the characters and truly keeps the reader in the grips of the plot. The story of the main characters is compelling, while secondary characters who played parts in important historic events gave depth to a story that took place mostly in Detroit. SPOILER ALERT- It is … more

Comment Compliments (8)

review by cdbaker. June 25, 2010

Outstanding Pulitzer Prize Winner

This is an outstanding novel and a very worthy Pulitzer Prize winner. If you told me I'd enjoy a book about a hermaphrodite that finds their true sexual identity - not my kind of thing! But this is a very serious, well thought out, and comi-tragic novel about Cal. Calliope grew up thinking he was a girl until puberty came and oops! Actually not. But it's about much more than just that. The novel is epic in scope centering on the history of Calliope's family and exactly how it came … more

Comment Compliments (8)

Quick Tip by nangel78. July 04, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A Quick Tip by nangel78

Depressing

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Quick Tip by Lauren328. July 02, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A Quick Tip by Lauren328

Well written story about a subject often ignored.

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Quick Tip by heather_teague. July 02, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A Quick Tip by heather_teague

Very interesting book! Totally outside of what I normally read or expected.

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Quick Tip by DevonCook. June 17, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A Quick Tip by DevonCook

Well crafted and on point.

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Quick Tip by sally83. June 17, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A Quick Tip by sally83

one of my favorite books of all time. vast, sweeping -- i still am amazed by how intuitively eugenides writes as a female protagonist

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Quick Tip by ashmunki. June 16, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A Quick Tip by ashmunki

this book is so good that when i first read it, i was convinced of my OWN hermaphroditism although i was born and identify as a female.

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Quick Tip by secretagentx9. June 16, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A Quick Tip by secretagentx9

This is one of the most original books I have ever read,it pulls you in with the very first line,and keeps you there until the end.

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Quick Tip by freckles66. June 16, 2010

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A Quick Tip by freckles66

awesome story

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see all Middlesex (book) reviews (23)

About the reviewer

Robert Yokoyama (RobertYokoyama)
Ranked #46

I love to read new books and talk about them. I also like to listen to different kinds of music and talk about that. I am a friendly guy who likes to meet new people. I love to read books that teach me … more

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About this book

Wiki

Middlesex is a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides. It was published in 2002 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2003.

The narrator and protagonist, Calliope Stephanides (later called "Cal"), an intersexed person of Greek descent, has 5-alpha-reductase deficiency. The bulk of the novel is devoted to telling his coming-of-age story growing up in Detroit, Michigan in the late 20th century. This story, however, is intertwined with elements of a family saga, meditations on the era's zeitgeist and bits of contemporary history.

The novel begins with the narrator, aged 41, deciding to tell the story of his recessive gene that caused him to be born Calliope and later to become Cal. The narration periodically returns to the frame story of present-day Cal, who is bearded, male and interested in women, foreshadowing the personal revelations of Callie.

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