Middlesex

Rating:
Summary: The American Experience as Magic Realism
Review: Jeffrey Eugenides' "Middlesex" is an epic recounting of one American family's immigrant experience (from Asia Minor to Detroit) told, essentially, through the journey of a recessive gene for hermaphrodism down through the generations. This brilliant conceit allows the author and Cal, his hermaphroditic narrator, to delve into an oft-told story in an extraordinarily surprising and surprisingly moving way. Fans of Eugenides' first novel, "The Virgin Suicides," won't be disappointed by the hilarious and sexy scenes set in high school in the 1970s--when Cal falls in love with the unattainable "Object"--but my favorite scenes are the historical ones like the burning of Smyrna by the Turks or the 1968 Detroit riots. Eugenides also captures well the changing personalities of succeeding generations of the children of immigrants: Cal's Republican, hot dog-selling father, Milton, for instance, is a fantastic character. All in all a rich, surreal, funny, sad, and profound book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest writers of the 21st Century
Review: After an absence of many years, Jeffrey is back with a novel (500 pages), that reminds us why is one of the greatest writers of our time. The voyage he takes us on is one that is unforgettable and he leaves the reader exhausted from his marvelous literary work.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Having loved Eugenides's previous work, The Virgin Suicides, I waited patiently through the 1990s for a follow-up. When I was fortunate enough to snag an advance copy of Middlesex earlier this year, I expected nothing short of perfection from the author, and this novel met my expectations in every possible way. For the past few months, all I have been doing is telling people to buy this book upon its release; it's one of those rare literary novels that one can nevertheless recommend to just about any type of reader. From the very beginning, Middlesex draws the reader into its world; the narrator, Cal, formerly Calliope, Stephanides, is a hermaphrodite living as a man despite being raised as a woman. The major story within the novel is how Cal came to be (I won't ruin the fun for readers by going into detail), but along the way Middlesex discusses the Greek Diaspora following the first world war, incest, immigration, assimilation (and its rejection), racial relations, politics, and coming of age in the 1970s. Normally, one would expect such a densely packed novel to suffer under its own weight, but I found that the opposite was true; certain stories (e.g. Desdemona's brief time with the Nation of Islam) leave the reader wanting more, but the novel moves on. Eugenides is one of the most talented writers working today, and Middlesex is a novel that is accessible, funny, interesting, emotional, and, as other reviewers have indicated, thoroughly engrossing. This is one of the best works of contemporary literature I have read in quite some time.

Rating:
Summary: very different from The Virgin Suicides... and very good!
Review: The moment I saw this book, I knew I had to have it. Very few books are worth the steep price of today's hardcovers, but this is definitly one of them.

I read Jeffrey Eugenidies' first novel, _The Virgin Suicides_, a few years ago and loved it. It is written in lyrical, sparse prose that abosolutely floored me with its beauty. In fact, it read almost more like a long, hypnotic poem than a novel. _Middlesex_ is very different. Although it certainly has moments in which the beauty of the prose is overwhelming, it contains a much more developed story than _The Virgin Suicides_. It is a big, ambitious novel that spans three generations and two continents.

I don't want to be one of those reviewers that rehashes the plot in her review, but I will say that in this novel you will find several fascinating settings (including Smyrna at the time of the Turkish invasion and Detroit during the 1960s race riots) and many unforgettable characters. However, what is really important about this novel is it's hermaphroditic (or intersexed) narrator, a modern-day Tiresius. Eugenides makes his narrator interesting and sympathetic and (thank goodness) does not fall into essentialst notions of what it means to be male or female. Calliopie/Cal, the narrator is unique and human. Eugenides manages to say a great deal about gender without falling into the trap of picking a side in the "nature vs. nurture" debate. He recognizes that BOTH genetics and upbringing have a role in making us who we are, and yet who we are somehow transcends both of these things.

_Middlesex_ is intellegent and complex and at the same time highly readable. Above all, in today's market of cookie-cutter all-American novels, it is extrordinarily unique.

Rating:
Summary: Like open arms
Review: "Middlesex" hugs you in its warm, curious embrace from page one. It's a hard book to classify, so why try? It is a lively family saga, a story of sexual confusion and gender decisions, AND smart take on the rise of early 20th century industry.

"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petosky, Michigan, in August of 1974." Thus begins Jeffrey Eugenides'
remarkable saga of Calliope Stephanides, who began life as the adored daughter of Tessie and Milton, first cousins and the children of quirky, adventurous immigrant parents. The new lives Lefty and Desdemona build for themselves in Detroit after fleeing Turkey are the classic stuff of immigrant
tales, given a couple special twists that make their story unlike any other.
At the risk of giving too much away, how and why Call becomes Cal is a marvelous story, and Eugenides' ability to lovingly reach into the soul of
both sides of the same person is a delight to read.

Eugenides takes his time dressing the set of "Middlesex." Detroit becomes another warm and earthy character in the novel, bustling with newcomers from
the world over who've come to work in the Ford plant. For a while it seems as
though grandpa Lefty may head for a life of crime and grandma Desdemona might become attached to the early Nation of Islam, but ultimately, the fortunes of the Stephanides family and their beloved city go hand in hand.

What a fine achievement: a literary novel that breaks new ground, engages the mind, and will please a wide range of readers.

Rating:
Summary: Hypnotic
Review: As a fan of Eugenides' first novel, 'The Virgin Suicides', I was eager to see how he would follow that up. I was a little thrown when I heard that 'Middlesex' was a decades spanning novel beginning with an incestuous relationship and how that leads to the existence of Calliope Stephanides, a hermaphrodite. Seems like risky subject matter, and very difficult to pull off. But Eugenides manages it wonderfully. He weaves a complex narrative that delves from Cal's present living as a man in Berlin to his childhood as a confused daughter to 1922, when Cal's grandparent's began to fall in love despite their status as brother and sister. Eugenides pulls you from generation to generation and through each chapter of Cal's life with great skill. While there are relatively few lulls in the story 'Middlesex' is at its best in the last half, as Cal careens inevitably to the discovery of what he is and then struggles to decide what that means for him and those around him. 'Middlesex' is a success where it had great potential to foul up. I for one can't wait to see what Eugenides has in mind next...

Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing
Review: After reading all of the reviews, I was excited to read this book. However, I found it dissapointing. The book, which begins with an epic tale of Desdamona and Lefty, began slow but kept my interest. I identified with the characters and, though slow at times, was excited to continue reading.

As the book progressed, I found myself becoming more and more disinterested. I found myself skimming certain pages waiting for the few and far between exciting passages. Callie was difficult to identify with and I was left wondering what the point was.

The book, which began so full of promise, quickly became a different story altogether, a story with characters which were difficult to idenfity with. I did not care what happened to them. The second half of the book tainted the beginning which was so lovely. Perhaps I am missing something though, as the majority of readers appear to have enjoyed the book.

Rating:
Summary: A bit of Greek to me
Review: There were lots of interesting moments but nothing much deep nor writing style very clever to keep me involved. Plus I think the author took a couple of impossible short cuts. Perhaps my opinion is tainted by dissapointment with an event that we never get to see to its fruition--the hero's first full-blossomed romantic relationship. To me it was good, basic reading but nothing special.

Rating:
Summary: So good on so many levels. Read it!
Review: This book was so much better than I expected it to be. I'll admit, I didn't read "The Virgin Suicides," but I saw the movie, and found it pretentious, so I translated this trait onto the author, Jeffrey Eugenides. I owe him an apology for jumping to that conclusion. This book is accessible, funny, smart, sad...it's just a great, great novel, and a fabulously entertaining read.

From page one I could not put this book down. I won't give away any of the plotline, but this is the story of a hermaprodite and the disturbing (but equal parts touching and human)family history that made her the way she is. Eugenides begins the story with Calliope, our hermaphroditic narrator, tracing a mutant gene back two generations to the Stephanides, a Greek family, emigrating from Turkey to escape the Turks. The family moves to Detroit, Michigan, and starts a new life. They raise a family, live through the race riots, and join the white flight to Grosse Pointe. It is their that second generation Greek-Americans Calliope and Chapter Eleven grow up.

Like the genetic mutation that haunts Calliope, Greece follows the family and story to America. It is a promise to the Greek Church that saves Milton in World War II; it is a Greek-named hot dog that saves the Stephanides family; it is the fires of the Turkish invasion that replays itself in the Detroit race riots; and it is a Greek myth that Calliope's life parallels. The reader is struck by the simplicity of the story-telling, and at the same time the complexity of the story. Eugenides is truly a marvel.

Calliope is the best narrator I can think of in recent American literature. Vernon Little ("Vernon God Little") pales in comparison. Calliope is human, empathetic, hilarious, and brilliant, making this book a whirlwind of all these different characteristics. I laughed out loud several times, and yet when Calliope discovers that she is not truly a girl, it is one of the most touching and heart-rending passages I have read in years. I read that page three times, and was moved every single time.

I hope that this conveys just how excellent this book is. I only wish I had read it sooner. I give it the highest recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: A very enjoyable book
Review: I've been looking forward to reading this book for some time, and I was not disappointed. The narrator, Cal Stephanides', story is rich with history, humor, and wonderful detail. I loved how much depth and insight we get into the characters and their pasts, and would have been happy to read even more about them.

The only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five is that I found the present story much less compelling than the past leading up to it, and was much more engaged by Cal's family and personal history than his present life. The writing is great, though, as is everything else. I recommend the book.