Middlesex: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)
by Jeffrey Eugenides
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.65 You Save: $9.35 (62%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Middlesex: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)
Book Review: Both a place and a gender
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a BIG book, and a little difficult to get through unless you can negotiate with your family for some quiet time.
Basically, it chronicles the formative years of Cal Stephanides, beginning with the grandparents, Lefty and Desdemona, who were really-too-close for siblings, and who fled Greece as their village burned around them. What ignited even hotter was their passion for each other, and under the billowing smoke, they hatched a plan for a new start in America, jiggling the lifeboats all the way to New York.
Their son Milton eventually married his cousin Tessie, producing a strangely-named son Chapter Eleven, and another child who became their strange daughter Calliope.
Unfortunately for Calliope, the sins of Lefty and Desdemona began the awakening process of a little recessive gene which pushed its way to the nether regions of the second grandchild, forming a little extra something to Calliope's feminine format.
Due to a half-blind doddering Doctor acquaintance, this development is overlooked for years, until more observant doctors at the emergency room make the discovery of the little flagpole.
Referred to a specialist, Calliope tells the doctor exactly what he wants to hear, and after sneaking a peek at the medical chart, beats a hasty exit, emerging from the uncomfortable female cocoon as an uncoordinated young man named Cal.
The story from here moves quickly, as Cal puts his Adam's apple forward (this should have been a giveaway long before) and finds himself quite literally in hot water up to his neck, until he ultimately finds his niche and learns to be comfortable with himself.
There are many stories supporting the main theme, some of which are like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", and some more like "American Pie". Add bootlegging, drugs, fast food and silkworms, throw in a little racism, religion, extortion and a peep show or two - and there you have "Middlesex".
A bit hefty, but never boring.
Amanda Richards
Book Review: 20th century odyssey
Summary: 5 Stars
It's been a while since an ambitious, intergenerational family saga has made a big splash in the book world, and Middlesex has filled the gap. Yes, a major theme in this novel is hermaphroditism (which I doubt any parent today would handle any better than the Stephanides), but Cal, the narrator and central character, does not make her/his entrance upon the stage until nearly the halfway point of this epic. Author Eugenides has done a remarkable job of capturing the Eastern European immigration experience. As the granddaughter of Slavic immigrants, while reading about the behaviors and attitudes of the first generation Stephanides family, I perceived distinct echoes reverberating from my own childhood. (Other books that do this well are "I Love You Like a Tomato" by Marie Giordano and "Dances with Luigi" by Paul Paolicelli.) Fate and genetics loom equally large in the development of this Greek/American family, raising the possibility that one is the same as the other.
Enter Cal, who does not realize anything is amiss until the typical angst of adolescence becomes unusually and mystifyingly complicated. The medical, practical, and psychological ramifications of dual gender conditions are indeed daunting, and sometimes shocking, and this is beautifully expressed in his characterization. Nevertheless, the reader should be prepared, because some of it can be heavy going. But, infused with humor as it is, openminded readers will find it worthwhile.
The novel comes full circle at its conclusion, also beautifully rendered, as Cal and YaYa find common ground, understanding, and some peace. The vignettes of Cal's current life, inserted only occasionally into the historical narrative, make it clear that this scene is only a beginning for him, saving it from the maudlin.
Some judicious editing might improve Middlesex, as it bogs down in places, but this problem does not detract from the power of its message.
Highly recommended to readers willing to persist and to tolerate uncomfortable sexual content.
Book Review: A protagonist to fall in love with
Summary: 5 Stars
I must admit, the first fifty or so pages of this novel had me questioning whether I wanted to stay with it or not. But I am sooo glad I did!
The beginning of this book we are introduced to Cal wo speaks to us in first person. He is both the subject of this book and the omniscient story teller of this book (a stylistic choice which takes some getting used to). He alludes to his status as a hermaphrodite then takes us back to the old country-- Greece, in this case-- and the start of his story which begins with his grandparents. This is where I found the book to be very dull and hard to get into. Until, that is, the relatives he is talking about, a brother and sister, fall in love and decide to get married, thus setting the stage for a recessive hermaphrodite gene to take center stage two generations later in the form of a little girl named Calliope.
Once Cal's grandparents fall in love, get married and move to the U.S., you become hooked. The stories of Cal's grandparents and parents are fascinating but where the novel really starts to sing is when we enter Calliope's story, particularly her teen years and her slow discovery of what she really is: a hermaphrodite. It's teen angst and discovery at its most compelling. Calliope's journey is so rich and so real-feeling, I found myself on the internet doing research on the author to see if Middlesex is really just a thinly veiled memoir. I cannot tell you how many times I studied Jeffrey Eugenides' picture on the back of the book, trying to determine if he indeed used to be a she! (The end result being I found no such conclusive evidence.)
You fall in love with Calliope and her struggle. You can't help it. She becomes one of the great modern literature characters and you are sad to say goodbye to her at the end of the novel. In fact, that is the main problem with this novel: that it ends.
Book Review: He/she spins an interesting tale
Summary: 4 Stars
Middlesex: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)
Cal Stephanides was born twice; first as a Calliope Stephanides, in January of 1960 in Detroit. She was reborn later in life as a man. Calliope is a hermaphrodite and her/his condition is due to a recessive family gene. In order to give the full picture of her/his life Cal, now 41, starts the narration of his tale where it all began, high on the slopes of Mount Olympus in Asia Minor in the summer of 1922. Cal's grandmother Desdemona, works in her silkworm cocoonery and has a premonition of death. The Turks are about to invade Greece forcing Desdemona and her brother Lefty to flee the city of Smyrna.......
This was an interesting telling of the story of an unusual character. After a brief introduction by the narrator you are given the origin story involving Calliope's grandparents and a brief telling of the story of her/his parents. It seems a kind of roundabout telling at first but is important in detailing how a recessive gene responsible for Cal's unusual condition came to be while at the same time providing rich and detailed background characters for the story and a seemingly good understanding of Cal's family as you are granted access to it from its conception. This book isn't for everyone of course. It isn't full of action or adventures so don't go in expecting that.
The good: The story overall was very interesting. The characters were well developed. The writing style itself was very good, in its own easy reading style while at the same time not shorting you on the 50 cent words.
The bad: The story was a little slow at times but not unbearably so.
Overall: A solid read worth checking out. It isn't for everyone but if the synopsis sounds interesting pick it up and give it a try.
Book Review: Gender Bender....
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a late comer to this remarkable book yet I must say I enjoyed it thoroughly. Though I have not read Jeffrey Eugenides' widely acclaimed first novel "The Virgin Suicides", I can't help but believe that this novel matches and perhaps even surpasses its predecessor.
The story starts with Desdemona and Lefty, who leave their war torn country, Turkey, and while on their journey harbor a secret that affects the lives of generations to come, specifically Calliope/Cal, the narrator. Once in the U. S. the two immigrants start a life, have two children, Milton and Zoe. Milton is the focus of the second generation, who with his wife Tessie finds success as the owner of a successful hotdog stand franchise. Milton and Tessie have two children and the youngest, Calliope, is the constant in this consuming story. Calliope enjoys a normal life, aware later in her teenage years that she is different but not sure why. As each chapter unfolds we slowly find out that Calliope is in fact a hermaphrodite, a person having both male and female gentalia.
Eugenides writes seamlessly between Cal and Calliope, bringing us backward and forward in time with ease. Each generation is told with great detail and just as you become attached to Desdemona and Lefty, the author begins his focus on Milton and his romance of Tessie and the beginning of their lives together. Each group is given great attention so that you feel as if you know all of Calliope's family by the time we begin to focus on her part of the story. By the end of this novel, I felt as if Calliope/Cal was a real person, interested to see more of the protagonist and how his life will turn out.
"Middlesex" is an engrossing read and sure to entertain. Well written and fullfilling, this is a book that is worth adding to your bookshelf. Highly recommended!