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Middlesex
May 2021: Other Books
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Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides - 5 stars
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Argh, this book has been on my TBR so long! I keep meaning to read it and somehow never get around to it.
This is one of the most beautiful spiritual well crafted books I ever read. I never forgot it in an entire life of books. Its in a top ten for life for me.
Add me to the Eugenides fan club!
I loved this book too. Your review makes me want to read it again!
annapi wrote: "Argh, this book has been on my TBR so long! I keep meaning to read it and somehow never get around to it."I finally decided to read it slowly, while reading other books too, so I would make sure to get through it. Definitely worth it!
Amy wrote: "This is one of the most beautiful spiritual well crafted books I ever read. I never forgot it in an entire life of books. Its in a top ten for life for me."I love how you put this, Amy - and I agree it is "beautiful spiritual well crafted."
Book Concierge wrote: "Add me to the Eugenides fan club!"Let me know if you have any others of his books to recommend. This is my first but will definitely read more.
Susan wrote: "I loved this book too. Your review makes me want to read it again!"So glad to see you loved it too! I may re-read it at some point. I am sure I didn't catch everything the first time through.
I have had this in my print TBR Towers FOREVER! Really need to move it up.
Theresa wrote: "I have had this in my print TBR Towers FOREVER! Really need to move it up."I think you will like it, Theresa.
Opening sentence: “I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974.”
Coming of age and family saga centered around an intersexed protagonist, Calliope (Cal) Stephanides, who, in 1960, is born with 5-alpha-reductase deficiency and is reared as female but feels more closely aligned with male. It is a constant struggle to deal with societal expectations, particularly nearing puberty. The storyline explains the origin of the genetic mutation, starting with Cal’s grandparents in 1922. It follows their migration from Greece to Michigan, the courtship and marriage of Cal’s parents, and several members of their extended family.
It is narrated in first person by Cal in a timeline that loops from present to past and back again. Eugenides can certainly spin a tale. There is a lot going on in this novel. It covers a wide swath of historic events, such as the 1920s war between Greece and Turkey, legends related to the discovery of silk, rum-running during Prohibition, Detroit’s civil unrest in 1967, San Francisco’s colorful hippie scene in the early 1970s, and the theories espoused by sexologists of the era.
The writing is top rate. Written with sensitivity, humor, and intelligence, the author makes it easy to empathize with Cal. I had not read anything by Eugenides before and I was not sure how much I would enjoy this one, but I am now a fan.