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 Staggering Epoch
Summary: 5 Stars
Without much hesitation, I can state that this is among the best novels I have ever read. Some have been repulsed by the subject of this book, seeing it as being deviant or depraved. Upon closer look, they are to find a staggeringly blunt look at a forgotten people; forgotten because of a genetic abnormality.
Calliope Stepahnides' story is told through three generations of her family. Beginning with her granparents, who leave Greece for America, circumstances are set in place that would allow for Calliope's genetic make-up. Yet the burden is not left to the grandparents as noted when Calliope's parents start their family.
Rich not only in Greek tradion but also the history of the once prosperous city of Detroit, the novel reads like a work of historical fiction. As the teenage angst of Calliope rears, the self-discovery of "Catcher in the Rye" comes to mind. But given the circumstances, it is tough to truly see inside the mind of Calliope when even she does not know who she is.
Even if the set up is evident in the final pages, the author does a remarkable job of making the novel comes full circle. By the book's end, the only unfinished element of the story is what happens to the main character beyond the title page.
At times, I had to step away from the book because some aspects were haunting. What would I do given a situation such as this? In reality, there is not a good answer. Few could offer better solutions given the main character's circumstances.
Book Review: MIDDLESEX
Summary: 5 Stars
Middlesex is a coming of age story that is rich in history and tells of one family's story through many generations. The narrator and main character is Calliope Stephanides, a hermaphrodite. Jeffrey Eugenides wrote this extraordinary story, which takes its readers to Greece where he shows us Calliope's (who is eventually Cal) true beginnings starting with his grandparents. When Cal's grandparents migrate to America to run from the Turkish Wars, they end up staying with a cousin in Detroit in 1920. Since I grew up in the Detroit area myself, and am about the same age as Cal, I felt as if I was home with the story. I'm familiar with the 1943 and 1967 race riots in Detroit; I know of all the areas, streets, neighborhoods, and businesses that Mr. Eugenides brought into this fictional novel. For me, this familiarity made it inevitable that I fell into the story completely and effortlessly.
Many of the characters in this story go through enormous and intriguing transformations that in turn add to the magnificence of the novel: Relatives become spouses and in-laws; Greeks become Americans; Poor become rich; Young and healthy become old and sick; and Calliope becomes Cal.
This is a story that is different from anything that I've ever read before, from the subject matter, to the point of view narration and writing style of Jeffrey Eugenides. Therefore, if you are looking to add variety to your reading list, Middlesex should do the trick.
Book Review: Middlesex: A Review
Summary: 2 Stars
I thought this would be an excellent read, intriguing storyline, award-winning, why not give it a try.
I had a real hard time getting into the first half of the book. Some of it just dragged on, like the description of Lefty working in the GM factory. I get that it was repetitious assembly line work, no need to repeat over and over again for about 3 pages. I seriously ended up skimming over some of the story there.
Callie isn't even introduced until much later, and at that point, I felt the story started getting choppy. Wasn't the story supposed to be ABOUT Callie/Cal and her/his transformation and coming of age? I feel that Cal's part of the story was rushed, when pre-Callie had been so long, drawn out. The end flew through 8 years of Cal's life in one paragraph. And then it just ended.
I know the book was told from the point of view of Cal as a 40 year old man. And some of the story bounces back to that time, back and forth from the past to the present and to the past again. But nothing much in the story between that time. He alludes to relationships and happenings between his father's death and his being with Julie in Germany, but I think more could've been done there, and less dragging repetition in the beginning.
I usually read books fast, about a book a week. This one has taken me about 3 months to get through. I've put it down a few times and picked it up again, just because it was painful to get through.
Book Review: This book still haunts me...
Summary: 5 Stars
I picked this up in a moment of what I thought was desperation but turned out to be serendipity. This book is so rare and incredibly unique; The story, the character and the setting are none like I've ever encountered before. Which says a lot!
The other reviewers, and Oprah, I'm sure, had much to say about this amazing tale. I only want to add that the most compelling aspect of this story is the way the narrator zooms in and out during the story. At some points she is in the shadows, at other times acknowledges herself or rather her self awareness. And when her timeline shifts, so does her viewpoint, from young woman, to more worldly wise man. And she is omnicient, not only able to tell what Desdemona was thinking all those years ago when making the fateful choices that made Cal who and what he is today, but also able to drop hints about what was to come and tie all the threads up in a neat and intriguing bow.
Not only could I not put it down, I finished it reluctantly and have not been able to read another book in two weeks. Nothing I pick up is remotely this compelling.
I wish I were a playwright of some skill...I can see this adapted for the stage. Different actors could play Cal at different times, shifting the story from one to another, telling the story from different points of view along the timeline. Or maybe it could be a sweeping epic art film. If only I had all the time in the world....
Book Review: Two and a half stars, actually.
Summary: 3 Stars
I love to get immersed in a story. Fall into it as if I were right there in the thick of things. This did not do it for me at all. Although many of the characters were fairly well developed, it was not in a way that made me care for them. I was curious to see how Callie's "coming out", so to say, would occur and her reaction. This was the only thing that kept me reading. Well, that and my self-imposed commitment to finish what I start.
The author's talent for stringing together lyrical phrases make for some lovely bright spots. But many times I found his efforts to write well were a bit heavy handed. Thank goodness that "Sing, muses..." stuff only popped up a couple of times. Once would have been enough for me.
There is a lot of prejudice among the characters in this book, and a lot of stereotypes as well. Perhaps because the main character would find themself a subject of both, in many ways. So there is a depth. But it is so mired in the heavy soup of the author's overprose that one almost misses it. I found it an effort to slog through it. I agree with many reviewers that the last part of the book was the most engaging.
This was the most recent reading for the book club I participate with. I am very curious to see what the others have to say about it. I commonly re-read books a year or two after the inital reading. I don't think I'll be doing that with "Middlesex"