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Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Middlesex
by: (author)
4.00 5
Spanning eight decades and chronicling the wild ride of a Greek-American family through the vicissitudes of the twentieth century, Jeffrey Eugenides’ witty, exuberant novel on one level tells a traditional story about three generations of a fantastic, absurd, lovable immigrant family -- blessed... show more
Spanning eight decades and chronicling the wild ride of a Greek-American family through the vicissitudes of the twentieth century, Jeffrey Eugenides’ witty, exuberant novel on one level tells a traditional story about three generations of a fantastic, absurd, lovable immigrant family -- blessed and cursed with generous doses of tragedy and high comedy. But there’s a provocative twist. Cal, the narrator -- also Callie -- is a hermaphrodite. And the explanation for this takes us spooling back in time, through a breathtaking review of the twentieth century, to 1922, when the Turks sacked Smyrna and Callie’s grandparents fled for their lives. Back to a tiny village in Asia Minor where two lovers, and one rare genetic mutation, set our narrator’s life in motion. Middlesex is a grand, utterly original fable of crossed bloodlines, the intricacies of gender, and the deep, untidy promptings of desire. It’s a brilliant exploration of divided people, divided families, divided cities and nations -- the connected halves that make up ourselves and our world. Justly acclaimed when it was released in Fall 2002, it announces the arrival of a major writer for our times. From the Hardcover edition.
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Format: ebook
ISBN: 9780307401946 (0307401944)
Publisher: Vintage Canada
Pages no: 525
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
"So it goes."
"So it goes." rated it
4.5 Middlesex -- So much better than I had imagined
Edit: I've been thinking about this since, and I've come to the conclusion this book couldn't be written today (in 2018) while it seemed daring and real just a few years ago. There's more to that conversation, but I'm still judging this based on the time in which it was written. And I'm still very g...
Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents rated it
5.0 Middlesex
I love the style of writing this author uses. It's a little bit humorous and touching both without being too much of either. The entire story kept my attention. I didn't want to put it down to do real life things. So much of it was unexpected to me. It follows a family from Greece to America. ...
All about me
All about me rated it
2.0 Middlesex
Very average, bit of chore actually. I found the imagery and metaphors cliched. I also found the bit about Jimmy surviving the plunge through the frozen lake in his car completely unbelievable. And then to have Desdemona not recognise his voice just seemed to compound it. I found the first half slow...
Ellen Allen Writes
Ellen Allen Writes rated it
3.0 Middlesex; riveting book about gender but still way too long
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (who wrote The Virgin Suicides) is a really interesting book about gender; what it really means to be male or female, whether our choices are hard-wired and how we assume our gender over time. It’s also a book about the genetic outcomes from the choices that people mak...
Bark at the Ghouls
Bark at the Ghouls rated it
3.0 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides - A Rambling Mess of a Review In Reverse
My final update: Whelp, I finished but I can't sit here and say it was all fun and games. This book was work to finish. I'm sticking with my 3 star rating. In the end, it had moments of interest, moments of tedium and I felt that it was far too long for a book that didn't grab me emotionally. Ah wel...
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