Rating: 
Summary: Delightfully Moving
Review: I love this book. Jeffrey Eugenides way of writting is delightful. I haven't read the Virgin Suicides yet but i am very sure that the book will not disappoint me.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed
Review: Part One: We start in Greece. We immigrate to Detroit. A new generation is born. Then, another. It goes on and on and on. The first half of this book took me a month to read. Only portions here and there, for example, a story about the beginnings of the Nation of Islam in Detroit, ultimately rewarded me. There is much historical build-up. If you are 80, I'm sure it brought back memories. However, if not for an upcoming reading group meeting, I would have abandoned the book.Part Two: The second half of the book moves. The 1970's social structure is described vividly. A young girl discovers she is actually a teenage boy, with all that this change entails. This half of the book took me two days to read. Starting with page 252, the Middlesex chapter, I would give this story five stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Addicting!
Review: It has a been a long time since finding myself lonely in the dark trying to read a thick paperback. In fact I'd say atleast 10 years. I picked up this book and from the first night and hours came four continuous nights in which my only attempt to put the book down was to get a decent amount of hours of sleep. This book although taken place in a different culture than mine brings me even closer to mine. It speaks truths, although maybe not to everyone but every event is identifiable to someone. It creates laughter, sadness, shock, disgust and curiosity. That is what a book is supposed to do. Not only give you something to identify with yet bring to life emotions you may never ever encounter. I believe this man is a genius writer. The way he jumps from story to story and yet somehow you never forget a detail. Somehow it all makes sense. That itself is a difficult quality of story telling. I recommend this book. Be patient if at times the story you are so involved in takes a pause because ultimately it will come back with more depth. Enjoy it!
Rating:
Summary: An incredible read...
Review: I'm not going to dissect this book, but just give my honest and enthusiastic opinion about what I thought. This is an incredible book that I will read again and again in the years to come simply to bring back the pleasure of how well written and intelligent it is, as well as the intrigue I felt about the subject matter. This book is also hugely witty and full of quirky, volumonous characters. Read it now.
Rating:
Summary: Middlesex , a story with a difference
Review: Middlesex is tragic and very funny. The omnicient viewer and protagonist, Cal,a" middlesexian",is bright,irreverent, and shows little self-pity as he chronicles his and his family's life.I have also read most of the books that other readers recommend as adjuncts( ie. The Story of Pi, The Three Junes,
A Bee's Life,The Great Fire),and add to the list Swimmers,by N. Chairman and J.Wolf, another novel of family.Jeffrey Eugenides writes in a covincing and loving voice.
Rating:
Summary: Emotionally false, despite the poetics
Review: I wanted to love this book! I wanted to be drawn into the story. Sadly, the concept is undercut by the strange and false emotional choices made by generations of characters. The initial concept appears to be about a boy raised inadvertantly as a girl. But the author does not spend too much time dealing with the strange territory this premise would provide. No, rather we get a sprawling epic of immigration and assimilation. Fine, but when brother marries sister, it feels wrong on so many levels. It isn't that I find the concept offensive, it is that all the information about sibling incest that I've ever read points to totally different scenarios. Ultimately, the most irritating element of the book is just how self-involved every character is during the entire story. When, finally, one character sacrifices his life for another, the object of the sacrifice fails to attend the funeral, rather the character selfishly indulges in some masculine ritual, unable to understand the pain and loss they have helped cause.
Too many times reading this book I felt the author shoving the characters this way and that, having them make empty choices.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book Club Discussions
Review: It's obvious from the reviews that people enjoy MIDDLESEX for all kinds of reasons. It generated the best discussion we have ever had in my book club group, and we're a pretty demanding bunch. The novel deals with big issues about the conflicted nature of our beliefs and loyalties (Do we believe in fate or chance? Are we male or female, gay or straight, dreamy or practical, forward-thinking or memory-driven? Do genetics rule our lives or does upbringing - is it Nature or Nurture?) and it does all this while telling a hugely good story, full of laughs, very readable. Don't be intimidated by the length (500+ pages) because it reads very fast. I haven't had a book keep me up at night reading for quite a while - at least, not a novel - so I recommend this wholeheartedly to people considering it, and without any reservation to book groups looking for a stimulating conversation.
Rating:
Summary: DARES TO BE DIFFERENT
Review: It is hard to consider "MIDDLESEX" a follow up to "THE VIRGIN SUICIDES." It comes ten years after the author's first book, and explores entirely different territory. To be honest, I was expecting a "VIRGIN SUICIDES" follow up, so I was a bit stunned by what it was that I ended up diving into (the book starts very upfront revealing that the main character "Cal" was born and raised as a very beautiful girl until as a teenager it is discovered she is really a he and is -for lack of a better word- transformed into living as a boy). This is not to say I am disappointed. It was even better than "THE VIRGIN SUICIDES." The author dares to create a unique voice and a unique reading experience as good as, if not better than, modern contemporaries have created with "ATONEMENT," "MY FRACTURED LIFE," and "LIFE OF PI."
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Story with an Obscure Topic
Review: Certainly some of the most lyrical and convincing writing I have ever read; Eugenides writes with the same male/female essence possessed by the main character, Cal. The subjects of gender identity, love, acceptance, immigration, Greek and American culture, are so seamlessly (not seemlessly) put together, making this story a pure reading and learning pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've ever read
Review: Eugenides takes readers for a gorgeous ride through time and human essence. Interestingly the author's assertion became science a few days ago in the new England Journal of Medicine, i.e., one may run or hide, but nature always finds us. Our nature, human nature.
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