Middlesex: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)
by Jeffrey Eugenides
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Book Reviews of Middlesex: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)
Book Review: A Beautifully Woven Tale of Raw Emotion
Summary: 5 Stars
When I read the summary of Middlesex and saw that it was about hermaphrodites, I was not disgusted, but more creeped. The thought of this genetic condition was not very enticing. Even though I knew what a hermaphrodite was, I still couldn't shake the feeling that it was a new concept. This is probably because it is something (at least in my life) that is not much thought about. We hear about homosexuality between men and women, but hermaphrodites were a single-sided fact in my mind that represented a kind of horror to me.
At the start of the book, Cal (main character and narrator) immediately unveils his secret. While a guilty curiosity seeps into your mind, Cal pulls away and throws you into the past. And so the story is set. With small interruptions of the "present", Cal weaves the story of his family. He explains that only by tracing his genes can you gather a full idea of how inescapable his secret was.
The book then proceeds to go from the childhood of Cal's grandparents and escalates to the near present day.
By the time you reach the end, you feel that you know the characters as well as you know your family. You laugh with them and you feel their sadness. When I finished the book, my idea of hermaphrodites was completely changed. I had sympathy for them and now when I think about my past views, I am ashamed of how I had considered the condition.
If you are seriously not wanting to read it because of the idea of hermaphrodites, you should reconsider. The book is more of a real-life kind of story about a Greek immigrant couple that moves into Detroit and their lineage. Hermaphroditism is played very well and is not a dominant player in the book. Cal mentions that emtions should not be one word because any single word for an emotion is too broad. For instance, happiness can be felt in many ways and there is many different ways of feeling happiness. His idea of a better described emotion would be something like "the sadness inspired by failing restaurants." Much like this, hermaphroditism is just the means to express to the reader the raw emotions that accompany the confusion of your unknown self and the fragile hope of someday finding yourself.
The writing in the book is extremely amazing. Cal's brief moments of philosophy are sprinkled throughout the book and are actually very good. The words seem to tap into emotion because Eugenides has been able to bring forth sadness and laughter (there are actually some funny parts, and I never thought a book could make me laugh) and sympathy.
I really hope this book becomes a classic because it deserves to be read by everyone. Not just the people living today, but future generations.
Book Review: Tedious mountains of detail... in all the wrong places.
Summary: 1 Stars
I really wanted to like this book, but I cannot recommend it to others based on the following:
1.) Tediouser and Tediouser: I found myself skipping over whole paragraphs (sometimes whole PAGES) of seemingly self-indulgent descriptions of the most unimportant items: smells, skylines, food, politics, clothing, etc. This detail would've been better spent on key plot points. The most anticipated moments were too often summarized within a few sentences, or skipped over entirely.
2.) Choppy Narration: The narrator not only provides excruciating detail from the womb, but knows the intricate details of each character's thoughts and feelings. I tried to buy this, but found it hard to swallow when the narrator 'jumps into the mind' of people not directly part of his/her own family. It's almost like the author couldn't decide between first person and third person styles of narration.
3.) Poor Character Development: Though I was with the narrator (Cal) throughout the book, I felt like I didn't know Cal at all by the book's conclusion. The last quarter (and most significant) part of the book feels rushed compared to the slow, meandering cantor of the book's remainder. The brief glimpses into Cal's current, adult life were the glimmering diamonds of the novel. (But they were few and far between.)
4.) Frustrating Timeline: I've read many books that cleverly jump through time. But this author clearly hasn't mastered the practice. When timeframe shifted (which was often), I felt like I was being mentally held underwater... unable to figure out where I was or what was going for 5+ pages, when the author finally gave enough detail to re-orient the story. Granted, some of these transitions were done better than others.
The premise of this book was great, but it left me with so many questions about Cal. Namely, what happened during the 20+ years between self-discovery and his new-found relationship? Why was so little detail given to their first physical encounter? Cal mentions another transformation on the horizon, but you're not around to see it. How did Cal wind up in Berlin to begin with?
I believe if half the attention given to the family was given to Cal instead, this story would've been great. Losing 100+ pages couldn't hurt, either.
Side Note: I've been shocked at the responses to those who gave negative reviews of this book. Finding a book boring does not always mean that individual is less intelligent than you. Sometimes it's a matter of taste. Other times it's because the book is actually (gasp! Dare I say it?) BORING.
Book Review: Detailed and Interesting Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
Middlesex is about a young hermaphrodite and his change from one sexuality, to another. This book jumps around telling stories from three generations of this Greek-American family. Because Jeffrey Eugenides writes about a rarely talked about subject, the reader receives some shocking details and interesting facts that the reader would have never thought of before. Throughout the entire book there are three main ideas being discussed, genetics, relationships, and sexual identity.
This book was really enjoyable. I had a lot of trouble taking breaks from reading this book. I always wanted to know what happened next. Hearing from other people about the book, as well as reading the back of this book, I figured it would be about Calliope and her transformation. Although for more than the first half of the book I found myself reading the history of this Greek-American family, their travel from Europe to America, their ideas of the great American dream and their struggles to live it. Although, throughout the first half of the novel, I always found myself yearning to know how Calliope felt and to hear about her full story. The reason I liked this book so much is because of the way the author pulls the reader into the book and really puts the reader into the lives of the characters. I liked being able to feel as though I was in the room with these people. Jeffrey Eugenides writes in so much detail I can just see myself being in the characters' shoes.
Jeffrey Eugenides builds up the story before he even tells it. Such as towards the beginning of the book Jeffrey writes "When this story goes out into the world, I may become the most famous hermaphrodite in history." This way of writing makes you feel confident in finishing the book as well as convinces you to keep reading because there always seems to be something better ahead you don't know about yet. Another thing Jeffrey Eugenides does is, write from the perspective of a Naïve Narrator and therefore when reading this book you are ignorant of what is going on. Then something comes as a big surprise and it pulls you in and makes you want to read more.
I would definitely recommend this book to others. Not only because it is such a page turner, but because it is such a beautifully written book, full of exciting details and insightful metaphors. This book I believe can be really enjoyable to many and educational as well. This book is a perfect example of unique writing and it really gives you a different perspective on other authors' writing styles.
Book Review: Jeffrey Eugenides proves that he is no fluke
Summary: 5 Stars
When Jeffrey Eugenides dazzled us with his first novel `The Virgin Suicides' in 1993, we didn't know what expect next. Would he be able to produce another novel as lyrical and dreamy as his debut? Or was he another fluke, a one-book wirter?
It took almost ten years, but it was worth waiting. His follow up is as good as `Virgins', if not even better. `Middlesex' is many things but an ordinary story. At first level it is the story of a hermaphrodite discovering his/her body and trying to cope with it. The novel is also a vast panorama of the story of the XX Century, showing events such as the genocide in Greece, the first days of Ford Motors, the Prohibition era and the 1967 race riots --not forgetting to mention life in the pos-wall Berlin.
History epic aside, `Middlesex' is also a personal journey of a human being trying to figure out what he is doing in the world, what life means, where we are being led to. Callie --and Cal later on-- has many questions, and no answers, and she is not even aware where to find them. She knows she is different, but she doesn't know that extension of that.
The first person narrative brings power to the novel. Callie's voice is beautiful and said at the same time. Her family --with no surprise-- is what brings her together. Even when she is not with them. At a certain point, one must run away from his/her family in order to understand his/her origins. And this is exactly what happens to Callie/Cal. In a level this book is a coming-of-age tale --a very very different one, but still a novel about becoming an adult, and leaving behind all you used to believe as a child.
Somehow, this is an extension to what he worked with in `Virgin'. We will never forget that dialogue between a shrink and one of the girls, when he asks why she tried to kill herself, she didn't even know how hard life can be. And her smart answer is that he had never been a 13 year-old girl.
Eugenides make no concessions. The novel has a sad tone --despite some funny parts. The lesson we learn is `life is no easy'. And we have to struggle to survive. Not many writers have the courage to write like that. With `Middlesex' he proves he is not a fluke, that `The Virgin Suicides' is indeed a work of genius and that his Pulitzer is more than deserved.
Book Review: accomplishes the near-impossible- turning hermaphroditism into a bestselling topic
Summary: 5 Stars
I wouldn't give this book five stars based on my personal preference- the author's style and sense of humor relies too much on a somewhat irritating "cuteness" for my taste. But there's no way I could deny that this is a five star work by virtue of accomplishing something I would have thought impossible- turning a story about a hermaphrodite into an international bestseller.
To be sure, Eugenides' acute attention to detail is remarkable, and there's a fair bit of cleverness in the story of the Eugenides family over three generations. For example, the protagonist describes thinking about his parents: "Is there anything as incredible as the love story of your own parents? Anything as hard to grasp as the fact that those two over-the-hill players, permanently on the disabled list, were once in the starting lineup? It's impossible to imagine my father, who in my experience was aroused mainly by the lowering of interest rates, suffering the acute, adolescent passions of the flesh."
Eugenides' take on Detroit, the setting for much of the story, is responsible, if far too tame to counteract the mainstream media's fallacies that somewhat unfairly cripple the city's image today. He properly pins the blame for the city's destruction democratically on not just one race but "all these people coming from everywhere to cash in on Henry Ford's five-dollar-a-day promise," while acknowledging racist systemic factors holding down the black population ("Desdemona realized now why there was so much trash in the streets: the city didn't pick it up. White landlords let their apartment buildings fall into disrepair while they continued to raise the rents.").
Still, this felt like a timid work, entertaining but not enlightening or moving, until about page 400 when the protagonist finally visits a sexologist to clear up the mystery of his/her gender. At this point the book delves into a heavy handed background of the biological and cultural aspects of hermaphroditism, astutely concluding that "Sex is biological. Gender is cultural. The Navajo understand this." Much like the protagonist doesn't tell dates upfront that he/she is a hermaphrodite, the author patiently waits 400 pages to properly delve into the subject when the time is right.