Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book haunts me, 8 Nov 2007
Rarely has a book so haunted me. I don't seem to be able to stop thinking about it even though I've now finished, and that's only happened twice before; once with the novel "Sophie's Choice" and once with the classic "Bark of the Dogwood: A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens." In all three instances, I kept going back to the book, wanting to revisit it, learn more, and never let it go.
Such has been the case with Eugenides's masterpiece, "Middlesex." Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that this book is about someone born with both sexes and the operation they undergo to tranform themselves. But don't stop there; the book deals heavily with the rest of the family and what they have to go through. I can't stress this enough---do NOT be put off by the subject matter as it is expertly dealt with and totally non-offensive.
Which brings me to the writing styel. Not overly purple, Eugenides nevertheless makes his mark. While this is a commercially successful book, it has more beauty and poetry in it than you will find in your average bestseller. Yes, I liked "Kite Runner," but it was no "Middlesex." If you're looking for a couple of other fun books, might I point you in the directon of two: J.T.McCrae's "Katzenjammer" which is a wild romp that looks at the world of publishing, and Sebold's "The Lovely Bones."
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't let the subject matter deter you, 18 Oct 2007
When I heard about the subject matter of the novel "Middlesex", I have to admit that it sounded weird to me and the subject matter alone almost put me off from reading the book.
I soon realized that I was uncomfortable as the dickens about reading a book about an hermaphrodite. Questioning myself even further, I asked myself how a 529 page book about an hermaphrodite won the Pulitzer Prize and had been chosen by Oprah for her book club. But now that I have read the book, I have discovered that this work is an accurate study of genetics in story book form AND an epic of Greek proportions and grandeur set not only in ancient Greece, Turkey, but in Detroit no less!
Detroit now has a favorite son in Jeffrey Eugenides.
The book is a great read, a classic with beautiful poetic verse. It is funny, poignant, touching, compassionate, educational and imaginative. It stretches your understanding of subjects that maybe you were at first not very comfortable hearing about; let alone read. The book is laid out as a modern Greek epic in the style of the ancient epics reminiscent of the Iliad and the Odyssey. You will learn more than you ever thought you would about ancient Greek mythology.
Along the way you will meet the endearing Stephanides clan and follow their tragic/comedic path from Turkey/Greece to America (settling in of all places Detroit). This family chronicle will introduce you to their history, their genealogy, their genetic make-up, their family ties, their fears of immigration and their assimilation into the American way of life. You will meet Desdemona, Lefty, Father Mike, Zoe, Sourmelina, Milton, Tessie, Chapter Eleven and finally Calliope Helen Stephanides.
From the very first line of the novel, "I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkable smogless Detroit day in January 1960, and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974,"..the reader suspects that he is in for an interesting adventure of epic proportions.
The discoveries that Calliope makes along the way in uncovering "her" true self are told with great delicacy by a master storyteller. And the startling choices she makes before Cal finds "his" way home again take the reader on a breathtaking journey which you will not forget.
The Los Angeles Times summed up what this author has been able to do with this uncomfortable subject matter, "Eugenides has taken the greatest mystery of all-What are we, exactly, and where do we come from?---and crafted a story that manages to be both illuminating and transcendent."
All that I can say is, "Don't miss this book." It was well deserving of the Pulitzer Prize and it will keep you up at night turning the pages. You will be hooked by each hidden detail of the Stephanides past.
I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.
Bentley/2007
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREECE, HOT DOGS AND HAEMAPHRODITES - A PERFECT PACKAGE!, 18 Jul 2004
Reading the back of Jeffrey Eugenides' 'Middlesex', I tried to desperately figure out what the book was about. How could someone be born twice as two different genders? Simple - if they're a haemaphrodite. Not a mainstream topic for a mainstream novel, but it works surprisingly well.Eugenides tells the story of Cal Stephanides, who is of Greek heritage. The novel tells how Cal came to be a haemaphrodite - all is revealed in the early stages of the book, which focuses on Cal's grandparents, Lefty and Desdemona. The novel moves from Asia Minor to Detroit, where Lefty and Desdemona go, to live with one of their relatives, a closet lesbian named Sourmelina Papadiamondopolous. Soon enough, two children are born - Desdemona has Milton, and Sourmelina has Tessie. They end up together, and Cal is the second born child from their union. Although the subject of the book is somewhat unusual, the way that Eugenides handles it is effortless. He makes you feel sorry for Cal, and tenderly displays her plight without being sentimental and saccharine. The supporting characters are also strong. Milton represents the second generation of immigrants - the children of the original immigrants - and their desperation to be accepted as Americans without being hyphonated, e.g. Greek-Americans, Jewish-Americans. The Object represents the negative aspect of upper class society. She is seen as shallow, insensitive, and afraid to show her true self. There are so many twists and turns in 'Middlesex' that in can be hard to keep up. The novel is set primarily in the past, but it occassionally flicks back to the present setting of Berlin. There are tragedies in store for several of the leading characters, each of which is heartbreaking. And there are also numerous happy endings for those who deserve them. And one twist in the novel - involving a character who the reader thought was eliminated from the novel - left my jaw on the floor for several minutes. Eugenides is a master story teller. He is daring. He tackles subjects that most other authors wouldn't touch with a barge pole. And his dedication to the novel truly shows. There are annoyances - such as Cal's brother ALWAYS being referred to as Chapter Eleven (don't ask) - but the positive far, far, far outweighs the minor negative elements. The characters are all ordinary people, with bad and good in them, and you get a real sense of emotional turmoil. The novel is vast and it took me a while to get through it, but ultimately, it is hugely satisfactory and it pays to be brave with your reading - give this a go and it's guaranteed that you won't regret it!
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