Middlesex

Rating:
Summary: Holy Mother of God!
Review: I have not even finished reading this book, and I had to get on-line to let people know how good it is (so far). There is no doubt in my mind as to why this book won a Pulitzer. Despite its controversial -taboo- content, this is quite possibly one of the best books ever written. As soon as I finish it, I will proudly display "Middlesex" right next to "100 years of Solitude", and "House of Spirits". I was a huge fan of the BOOK version of "The Virgin Suicides", NOT THE MOVIE VERSION, and really, THIS book (Middlesex) just knocked me off my chair. Its THAT good. Eugenides has written a true masterpiece. I look forward to Eugenides' next book. There are several people on my list who will be receiving this book for Christmas this year.

Rating:
Summary: Like a Beautiful Flowing Stream
Review: "Middlesex" is a straight up great book. Yes, there are some elements that deal with alternative sexual identity classification. No, that's not the main focus though. Middlesex is about personal journey and the perseverance of the troubled spirit. I read Middlesex because of the constant comparisons to Rikki Lee Travolta's "My Fractured Life" and I was not disappointed. There is a beautiful organic flow to the words in the spirit of running water that refreshes, cleanses, and invigorates.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing - one of the best books I've read in a long time
Review: This book is incredibly well written - it really draws you in. Fascinating how it draws you into the lives of the characters and makes you feel their pain and joy. Very highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Was not as interesting you would think
Review: I am open to many kinds of subjects and novels and have a wide range of tastes,that is why "Middlesex" appealed to me. While I was reading it, i kept thinking how depressing this book was and the story line was OK, but not dynamic. It seemed to me the Cal/Callie character could have been more interseting in tone and thoughts. The author can write well and the books flows well, however the subject, being dark anyway, didn't meet my expectations. I will certainly try another time to read this author's work.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the Pulitzer
Review: I am really into this type of novels. The one when you read you believe it. The facts are convincingly written and proven with some so real data. Reading this is like reading a journal with a twist. You read, you try to argue its accuracy and before long he makes you believe it's true. Good Eugenide.

Rating:
Summary: Not man, not woman, not great.
Review: As a fan of "Virgin Suicides" and a resident of a remote outpost of the "hair belt" -- a Greek-American neighborhood -- I was particularly interested in checking out "Middlesex." However, the originality and admirable concision of "Suicides" deserts Eugenides in his latest novel. Not that there aren't great things about "Middlesex": It is another intimate and loving look at Detroit, a city, like Pittsburgh, that hardly gets its due in U.S. literature. But Eugenides tends to noodle when he could sketch something in a few strokes, and he has absolutely no sense of humor. And for a book about hermaphrodites and illicit love, there is little in the way of believable passion or lust. Sadly, writers like Eugenides, Franzen and Chabon seem to think that writing long, painterly, rather pedestrian stories will place them in the pantheon. I hope they're wrong.

Rating:
Summary: Simply fantastic
Review: Admittedly a little hesitant to tackle a book about a "hermaphrodite," I put off reading this novel for some time. But when I did finally acquiesce, I found a highly original, moving, funny, and often disturbing work that deserves every accolade it has received. Reminiscent of Jackson McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood" with its themes on politics, art, family, and social morays, "Middlesex" is well written and powerful without being melodramatic. The wonderful setting for this novel swings from Greece to Detroit (physically) and has an even further range emotionally and psychologically, for we're given some truly memorable characters to work with in this book, the least of which is not Cal/Callie. And what Eugenides does with him/her and the others in the cast is simply remarkable. We're given highly charged and multi-dimensional people that have depth, feeling, and above all, believability--and it's a good thing, for this material in any other author's hands might prove disastrous. I highly recommend this very unusual and ultimately moving book. While you'll want to pass it on to a friend, you'll definitely have trouble parting with your own copy. Good luck.

Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD

Rating:
Summary: Insightful story and well-developed narrator
Review: I must admit that I had my doubts about this book after reading the summary. I thought it would be hard for the author to top his last successful novel, The Virgin Suicides, but I was thankfully wrong.
I absolutely loved this book. The narrator, Calliope "Cal" Stephenides, tells the story of being raised as a girl but realizing that he's more physiologically and psychologically a boy. Cal intersperses his life story with the story of his grandparents and parents for our benefit of understanding who he is both inside and out. I found myself sympathizing with Cal but not feeling sorry for him. If anything, I'm glad that Cal is content with who he is and not at all ashamed or guilty.

Rating:
Summary: Sexy but cliche
Review: The book definitely told one of the most interesting tales I've read in a long time. However, the story took on formulaic proportions regarding ethnicity, regional culturalism in America (...). It deals less with the main character's "issue", which is the hook of the opening sentence, making it misleading. Without the "hook", this story is compelling none-the-less, primarily for its resounding sensuality (it's grammatical curiousity & inconsistency notwithstanding). Unfortunately, the "hook" makes many of the elements disappointingly cliche, including (if not especially) the ending.

Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary feat by this local author
Review: I was initially interested in this book because I am from the Detroit/Grosse Pointe, Michigan area and I knew that large parts of the book were set there. I wasn't moved to read this book based on my reading of "The Virgin Suicides", which I enjoyed a little but wasn't really moved by. I also wasn't moved to read this book based on its alleged subject matter--a hermaphrodite. I was afraid this book would be a painful story about self-discovery which ultimately leads to self-acceptance, which has been done, done and redone.

I was both wrong and right. The book is about a hermaphrodite, but it is also an epic tale of how this particular hermaphrodite came to possess both sex organs. The story takes you back to Greece, through the ill-fated romance of her grandparents. It takes you through prohibition-era Detroit, and the romance of her parents. It paints a vivid portrait of Detroit and its inhabitants throughout the twentieth century.

The book is also ultimately in some ways about coming to peace with one's uniquenesses, but the way it is done in this book is fresh and new. Callie/Cal became so real to me that I truly identified with her plight. Some of Eugenides's insights into adolescent cruelty and feelings of inadequecies made me cringe with recognition. This was true not just in the portions of the novel dealing with Cal, but in the portions dealing with her parents and grandparents as well: such feelings transcend decades and international borders.

This is a story I recommend not just for its wonderful glimpse of Detroit in the twentieth century--which is certainly there--but for its wonderfully crafted, meticulously detailed multi-generational tale. I truly hated to put this book down and let Cal continue with his life without me.