Hermaphrodeity

by Alan H. Friedman

Androgyny is destiny. "Miss, you're also a boy!" a gynecologistharrumphs in Hermaphrodeity, a grand comedy of gendersurprises. Boy or girl--choose one. Millie or Willie. Thislegendary autobiography of M. W. Niemann earned nomination forthe National Book Award. It's a comic epic of sex, a subversivesaga of love. The mythic author's double-trouble organs--femaleand male both--inspire a battle, inch by inch, from sensitivegirlhood to tough punk in a boys gang, from geeky Harvard Man toalluring mistress of scientists and scions, from underagephysicist to stone age archaeologist, from father-motherhoodto fertility goddess, from hunted freedom fighter to visionarytycoon, from infamous prisoner accused of treason...to celebratedwinner of the Nobel Prize in Poetry. These are the tabooconfessions of a literary titan, a poet who pursued science,politics, and wealth. Even Divinity. Brilliant and learned,Hermaphrodeity romps through the disputed geography of sexuntil Millie/Willie, embodying the life force, plumbs theultimate secret of manwomankind.

440 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Alan H. Friedman is a novelist, short story writer, and literary critic. He taught English and creative writing as a professor at Columbia University, Swarthmore College, and the University of Illinois, Chicago, where he served as Director of the Creative Writing Program in the Department of English. He reviewed fiction for the New York Times Book Review from 1978 to 1998. He was nominated for the National Book Award in 1973 for his novel Hermaphrodeity. His short story Willy Nilly, published in the January, 1968 edition of New American Review, served as the basis for the 1987 film Something Special, directed by Paul Schneider.

He received his B.A. in English Literature from Harvard University in 1949, his M.A. in English Literature from Columbia University in 1950, and his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964.

Reviews

[Roxanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't usually stop reading books half way through, but I just can't do this. I could force myself to finish it, and I really do want to know what else happens and how it ends, but I give up.

I tried to find a synopsis, but none of them gave any information past the point I read to. The best one I found gave up mid-summary, ending early with "etcetera, etcetera..." which made me feel less alone.

Flowery, utterly vain, just wanted to hear themselves talk... I'm over half way through. If you read it, tell me how it ends.