Rating: 
Summary: Deep yet Entertaining
Review: Does a pork eat cork
With a fork?
Does a dork eat hork
With a stork?These are the kinds of questions that you will be able to answer once you'll have read 'Middlesex' by the greatest of all dorks, Jeffrey Cornelius Eugenides.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This book is so good that, to quote that other genius Detroiter Soupy Sales, you have to wear a support stocking over your head while reading it to keep your brains from falling out. I always knew in my gut that the tragic story of Detroit's fall from capitalism's best moment to punchline fodder was full of dramatic possibility. Thank goodness Jeffrey Eugenides was growing up around here at the same time I was to work it into this wonderful novel. I don't want to give the impression that you have to be a Detroiter to appreciate the greatness of this novel--it's a fantastic book whether you're from Detroit or somewhere else (and whether you're male, female or "middle").
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughlly delicious - you will devour it!
Review: This is a masterfully written and concocted piece of work. I had never heard of Eugenides, but had heard of The Virgin Suicides. I stumbled onto this book - because of an interview I caught of him on the television book review - Hot Type - and was captivated. Namely because I am a child of Greek immigrants and found that anybody writing from this point of view might something to say that I might relate to. Ofcourse the idea behind the book being a hermaphrodite growing up thinking she's a female - poses some interesting food for thought. Ironically it is just a smidgeon of what I found fascinating. What captivated me was the way in which the characters come to find a place in your heart, with their quirkiness, their fears and even their brave risk taking - I saw my crazy aunt with beehive hairdo and senile grandmother and great great grandfather hidden behind beautifully worded and inventive prose. It is these ideas spun of golden threads and reflections of growing up in unusual families - that don't quite fit in to burgeoning America. Hats off to Mr. Eugenedis, and all I can say is I wish I normally read books more than once - because I am sad sad sad to find that I have finished it. I have not read a book that I so thoroughlly enjoyed in a long long time! I could not put it down and have recommended it to everybody I know. BUY THIS BOOK - you'll be entertained to no end - Greek or not!
Rating: 
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: My copy of this book has 529 pages, and 514 of them are possibly some of the best pages I've ever read. The story is compelling, the characters well-created, and the setting amazing (I live in suburban Detroit and often found myself getting excited over the mention of a landmark I knew). The section concerning the Obscure Object made my heart do flip-flops. It was that good. However, the ending, I feel, left something to be desired. I could follow Callie/Cal's feelings as she ran away, but not into the ending. I did not feel that the eventual decision of Callie/Cal's identity was well-supported and seemed to me to be based only on the feelings for the Object. As a bisexual fairly secure in her female identity, I found this hard to take and slightly offensive. That being said, I still loved the book and recommend it fully. Just be prepared for a possible disappointment at the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Wordy & greatly disapointed
Review: It took me several months to get through this book. It was so wordy that I didn't want to pick it up. I think, if 2/3 of it was removed it would have been much more interesting. There were to many tiny, useless details about Detroit that distracted me from the storyline, and wordiness that filled page after page. I was greatly disappointed, as I had heard so many wonderful things about this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinatingly Brilliant Book!
Review: Jeffrey Eugenides has taken his time since his debut success with 'The Virgin Suicides' to ponder, create and elegantly write a story that almost defies telling. The title MIDDLESEX is typical of his canny abilities: it stands for the name of the Detroit home which is the ultimate dwelling of an extraordinarily interesting family of Greek emigrants, but it also refers the 'third gender' or hermaphrodite that is the embodiment of the main character. From the first paragraph the author accompanies us on a journey of history of his genetic grandparents and that history just happens to include volumes of information about Greek mythology, the countries of Turkey, Greece, and the conflicts of WWI and WWII that changed the face of Europe. His style is so engrossing that he never lets our attention stray: his complex family tales are always grounded by musings of the adult 'Cal' who has come to understand his particular physiognomy and gender identity. The book is at once hilarious comedy and touching tragedy much like the Greek plays of the characters inheritance. Eugenides has created indelible characters so well that as they reappear through this lengthy book there is no need to turn back to remind ourselves of their origin. MIDDLESEX is skillfully, intelligently written and is one of the finer major novels of 2002. Highly Recommended reading.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best of 2002
Review: Jeffrey EugenidesÕ "Middlesex" is the kind of huge, encyclopedic family saga that seems to want to cram the whole world between its pages, and itÕs a triumph of its kind. The novel, which recounts three generations in the life of a Greek family as they make their way from Asia Minor to the heart of the American Midwest, is a terrific read. ItÕs finely observed and full of wonderfully realized characters. ItÕs warmhearted, humane, and frequently quite funny. ItÕs also narrated by a hermaphrodite. Born with a genetic mutation that fails to manifest itself until puberty, the novel's narrator Cal Stephanides is raised as Calliope for the first 14 years of his life. Cal and Calliope stand on opposite sides of a divide to which most of us have never given a momentÕs thought, and it is to EugenidesÕ credit that he is able to create from this strange situation a novel so steeped in compassion and understanding. ItÕs an impressive act of imaginative empathy, but EugenidesÕ real accomplishment in this novel is his ability to move the reader past the strangeness of Cal/CallieÕs biology and to create a character who is utterly convincing and very human. Cal may be one of the most unusual characters in recent memory, but the dilemma facing him is one familiar to us all: the extent to which we are made by forces of genetics, history, and upbringing and the extent to which we are free to become ourselves.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent writing and an engaging plot
Review: This book takes on a fascinating topic -- that of a young girl named Calliope Stephanides who discovers she is a hermaphrodite and ultimately decides to take on the identity of a boy. The plot is surrounded with the tremendous cultural and social richness stemming from the family's Greek heritage. In tracing the gene that resulted in Callie's hermaphrodite condition, the author takes us back to his Greek grandparents and their home in the village of Bithynios in Asia Minor. We follow them through the gripping political and human events of the early 1920's and their ultimate flight to the United States after Turkish troops invade the region. The reader is then immersed in a compelling tale of immigrant life in Detroit. Both the times and the characters are beautifully portrayed. Eugenides is a gifted writer. Middlesex is alternatively serious and funny. The characters are extremely well developed. The plot line is extremely engaging on a variety of levels. And, Callie's act of self-discovery -- and ultimate conversion to the boy "Cal" teaches tolerance to those who might question such happenings. Middlesex is 529 pages long so it is not for those seeking a quick read. However, if you like to immerse yourself in excellent writing, lively characters and an engaging plot, I recommend Middlesex highly.
Rating: 
Summary: a good book--not a great book
Review: Middlesex is strange and wonderful, but also repetitive and labored. The heavy hand of the author distracts from his vivid characters, moving plot, and gorgeous prose.
Rating:
Summary: so good it should be sold with a money back guarantee...
Review: Middlesex is a mammoth, breathlessly good novel. Don't let the main theme (about a Greek-American hermaphrodite and her family) make you think this is some exploitative trash. On the contrary it is a warm, compassionate story full of life. And the characters are portrayed so well you'll wish Jeffrey Eugenides would write your life story. Caveats? Bad points? No. None. Zero. This book took the author nine years to write and it shows. It easily eclipses his first book (The Virgin Suicides) in terms of scope and quality, which is quite a feat (I enjoyed The Virgin Suicides very much). Bottom line: a book 500+ pages in length that makes you cry out for more. I hope Eugenides is already working on his next book.
| 
