- Paperback: 544 pages
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; New edition edition (3 May 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0747561621
- ISBN-13: 978-0747561620
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 7,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Middlesex
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Product Description
Review
'Superbly readable' Sunday Telegraph 'Truly original and compelling' Daily Mail 'A vibrant chronicle ... wonderful' Independent
Sunday Times Books of the Year
'This year's most sumptuously enjoyable book ... superb'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An epic saga.,
This review is from: Middlesex (Paperback)
This is one of those few novels that had me enchanted from the first page, and I didn't put it down untill the last.I initially bought it on a whim, as it was on offer and the write ups were good for it. However it has cemented it's place as one of my favourite books to be released in recent times. Middlesex is basically an epic family saga, covering three generations of the Greek Stephanides family as they emigrate from their homeland to America. Historically accurate as the story unfolds around the social backgrounds of the changing eras the reader is consumed in the realism of the novel - this could easily be a real Greek-American family. The greek connection is kept firmly within the book as the narrartor, Cal, recounts lesser known Greek myths in connection with her own story. This leads on to an unusual device by Eugenides to seperate the story further from typical family saga's - Cal is a hermaphrodite. This condition does not override the novel, in fact it takes a backseat for the vast majority of it until the end. However, the research which Eugenides has done into this and the other subjects touched by the book is clearly astounding as his accuracy in his portrayal is astonishing. The character development is superb - each character over the three generations develops a unique personality encouraging and coaxing readers to fall in love with them. You will. The emotions of each character seems to jump off the page and take a place in your heart. Far from just being based around the family house the novel is also packed with its share of action - riots & a car chase are amongst these. Eugenides description of this epic novel is beautifully vivid and weaves an enchanting image of the lives and inhabitats of his characters. It is cinematic in everything but format. I've been struggling to think of a negative to say about the book before I finish my review but there really aren't any. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Breathless with wonder,
By A Customer
This review is from: Middlesex (Hardcover)
It is difficult to praise this book too much. Its ambition is obvious from its length and its multiple themes, the Greek diaspora, the American Dream and its racial divide, hermaphroditism, the sexual revolution, evolutionary biology....However, what I would not have thought possible was that this ambition be realised with such deftness of touch. There is not a dud paragraph in its 500-odd pages, and I imagine that my problem with the odd sentence was more to do with my lack of familiarity with the American idiom than with any failing on the part of the author. But these hiccups, rather than discouraging me, only made me more eager to to see what followed. At the end I was breathless with wonder. Would I read a better novel? Do we have to wait 9 years for his next?
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A superb read,
By
This review is from: Middlesex (Paperback)
Yes, I agree with the other reviews: this is a superb book. It has many laudable features: the prose is clean and crisp; some of the early stories are absolutely captivating; and the narrator is just a darling. Having said so much, I must also admit that the second half of the novel is quite disappointing. The story seems to meander into a series of implausible unsubstantiated episodes (a la Paul Auster), and I don’t think that Eugenides is able to quite capture, with any real sense of emotional satisfaction, the turmoil that Calliope would no doubt be under in having to navigate through the miasma of ambiguous sexuality. But, overall, this is still a remarkable book, and one that I think will endure, if only for the portrayal Calliope’s grandparents’ romance. Please read it, I can guarantee you won’t regret it.
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