-
Welcome
to BookAndReader! We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!
Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.
Jeffrey Eugenides: Middlesex
- Thread starter Stewart
- Start date
warm_enema
New Member
I should get to it in the next couple of weeks.
Middlesex by Euginedes...wonderful book..anyone else read it?
Jeffrey Euginedes who also wrote the Virgin suicides has really pulled off a scorcher with Middlesex.Please tell me Im not the only one to have read and enjoyed it.Id love to discuss this book.
in case you havent heard of it is involves a girl/boy/hermaphrodite called calliope/cal and 80 years of a greek immigrants family life.
Jeffrey Euginedes who also wrote the Virgin suicides has really pulled off a scorcher with Middlesex.Please tell me Im not the only one to have read and enjoyed it.Id love to discuss this book.
in case you havent heard of it is involves a girl/boy/hermaphrodite called calliope/cal and 80 years of a greek immigrants family life.
fluffy bunny
Member
I read this over the Summer and generally enjoyed it. I particularly liked the author's style and the fact he doesn't talk down to the reader.
I preferred the first half where the story of Calliope's grandparents and parents were told. The ending 100 pages or so where Cal him/herself was discussed didn't hold my interest quite so much, but it was still readable to me.
I preferred the first half where the story of Calliope's grandparents and parents were told. The ending 100 pages or so where Cal him/herself was discussed didn't hold my interest quite so much, but it was still readable to me.
mamabookworm61
kickbox
This thread has been inactive for a while, but as I just finished enjoying the book, I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.
Place: I enjoyed J.E.’s depictions of place. He gave a wonderful, authentic-feeling, detailed sense of life in Bithynios and Detroit, in terms of the landscape, the culture, and how the two interacted—Desdemona and her silk worms, the gritty streets of Detroit, Milton’s flight to the ‘burbs. . .
A Theme:
Chance—the power of it in our lives and world. How our lives turn out depends upon a complicated and very random combination of many factors, such as genetics, personality, circumstance, . . . And randomness isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many circumstances that seem to be catastrophic turn out to have elements of great serendipity. (If Dr. P had discovered Callie’s condition during her infancy, would she have undergone operations and sexual manipulation? Would her life have been better or worse? I think worse.)
Humor: Not too many epic family sagas are written in comic mode! Not many combine the comic mode with such compassion and warmth toward the characters. No fluff or bitter satire here. I wonder why he chose the comic mode? The only writer who comes to mind as doing something similar is John Irving.
Place: I enjoyed J.E.’s depictions of place. He gave a wonderful, authentic-feeling, detailed sense of life in Bithynios and Detroit, in terms of the landscape, the culture, and how the two interacted—Desdemona and her silk worms, the gritty streets of Detroit, Milton’s flight to the ‘burbs. . .
A Theme:
Chance—the power of it in our lives and world. How our lives turn out depends upon a complicated and very random combination of many factors, such as genetics, personality, circumstance, . . . And randomness isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many circumstances that seem to be catastrophic turn out to have elements of great serendipity. (If Dr. P had discovered Callie’s condition during her infancy, would she have undergone operations and sexual manipulation? Would her life have been better or worse? I think worse.)
Humor: Not too many epic family sagas are written in comic mode! Not many combine the comic mode with such compassion and warmth toward the characters. No fluff or bitter satire here. I wonder why he chose the comic mode? The only writer who comes to mind as doing something similar is John Irving.
mamabookworm61
kickbox
txgirl,
Let us know what you think when you've read more. My book club is discussing Middlesex tonight.
Let us know what you think when you've read more. My book club is discussing Middlesex tonight.
Ronny
Well-Known Member
I am about half way through and really enjoying it. I picked up the book not knowing what it was about and I had just watched a documentary about a person who had a very similiar story as Cal(physically) so it almost seems to fill in the blanks that show left. I'll post more when I finish.
Shade
New Member
My thoughts:
I thought it was a grand achievement, a vigorous and full-flavoured epic. Eugenides said in an interview that "when I was writing Middlesex, my wife told me that people would think I was a hermaphrodite. I told her she was crazy, but in fact I get letters now from people thanking me for the book and for telling my story." And who can blame them, since the narrator of the book is Greek-American man born in the same year as Eugenides, now living in Berlin, whose very physical description matches our author to a (goa)T(ee)? Except that Cal is not really a man, having been born a girl, Calliope; only to discover at the age of 14 that she wasn't really a girl either.
Hermaphroditism is a pretty rare topic in literature so far as I know, so Eugenides scores points immediately for tackling an original subject. And he does it well too: the style is quite deliberately filmic, with plenty of traditional techniques like flashback and scene linking, but also tricksier but equally pleasing stuff like the prose version of a fast-reverse to bring the story back to an earlier era:
And he does cover all this and further back in the story, dealing with three generations altogether from 1922 to the present day, and the incest, inbreeding and coincidence which led to the surfacing in Callie of one gene deficiency historically established in the family to make her what she is and isn't. Oddly, I found the chapters dealing with Callie's grandparents and parents the most vivid, and Callie's own trials and errors seemed oddly pale and non-urgent in comparison (though as far as the details of hermaphroditism goes, Eugenides has clearly done his homework). Compare it with John Irving's The Cider House Rules, which also deals with three generations over several decades, all coming beautifully to life with matching force, and Middlesex suffers. But Eugenides is a better stylist than Irving, and the prose is dense and lush but not too difficult to keep a hold of. I did think though that it lacked some of the emotional oomph - even tragedy - that we might expect in a tale of a sexual misfit, and the one bit of proper drama which ends the backstory narrative seems a bit tacked on.
All in all it's a good read though, and can only enhance Eugenides' fandom. But - Jeffrey! what were you thinking! - the atrociously punning title will never be forgiven.
I thought it was a grand achievement, a vigorous and full-flavoured epic. Eugenides said in an interview that "when I was writing Middlesex, my wife told me that people would think I was a hermaphrodite. I told her she was crazy, but in fact I get letters now from people thanking me for the book and for telling my story." And who can blame them, since the narrator of the book is Greek-American man born in the same year as Eugenides, now living in Berlin, whose very physical description matches our author to a (goa)T(ee)? Except that Cal is not really a man, having been born a girl, Calliope; only to discover at the age of 14 that she wasn't really a girl either.
Hermaphroditism is a pretty rare topic in literature so far as I know, so Eugenides scores points immediately for tackling an original subject. And he does it well too: the style is quite deliberately filmic, with plenty of traditional techniques like flashback and scene linking, but also tricksier but equally pleasing stuff like the prose version of a fast-reverse to bring the story back to an earlier era:
And he does cover all this and further back in the story, dealing with three generations altogether from 1922 to the present day, and the incest, inbreeding and coincidence which led to the surfacing in Callie of one gene deficiency historically established in the family to make her what she is and isn't. Oddly, I found the chapters dealing with Callie's grandparents and parents the most vivid, and Callie's own trials and errors seemed oddly pale and non-urgent in comparison (though as far as the details of hermaphroditism goes, Eugenides has clearly done his homework). Compare it with John Irving's The Cider House Rules, which also deals with three generations over several decades, all coming beautifully to life with matching force, and Middlesex suffers. But Eugenides is a better stylist than Irving, and the prose is dense and lush but not too difficult to keep a hold of. I did think though that it lacked some of the emotional oomph - even tragedy - that we might expect in a tale of a sexual misfit, and the one bit of proper drama which ends the backstory narrative seems a bit tacked on.
All in all it's a good read though, and can only enhance Eugenides' fandom. But - Jeffrey! what were you thinking! - the atrociously punning title will never be forgiven.
mamabookworm61
kickbox
Well put!
Shade,
Interesting comments--particularly about the book's filmic aspects. I enjoyed the playfulness of Eugenides' narrative techniques--the "rewind," the first-person narrator with an omniscient view of his own grandparents' lives, the narrator's repeated hints that he isn't omniscient, but in fact the creator of his grandparents' story. . .
Like you, I found parts of Cal's own story to be less compelling than that of his grandparents. (I didn't find the Milton/Tessie story to be particularly compelling either, though I did appreciate the depiction of the Detroit social fabric and historic moments such as the race riots.) Spoiler: I was enthralled, however, with Cal's relationship with the Obscure Object. Wonderful erotic scenes, evoking all the tension, wonder, and naivety of an adolescent discovering sexuality and exploring an entirely unknown territory.
I was disappointed with the story of Cal's "transition." The scenes with Dr. Luce were very effective, and some elements of the transition section worked well, but it just wasn't enough. Since the whole novel seemed to be leading up to this moment, it needed to be explored with more depth. And while JE depicts Cal's vulnerability to exploitation and violence, it seems likely that the experience would have been more traumatic and complicated, both emotionally and psychologically, than was conveyed. I wondered about Milton's sudden death, which made it unnecessary for Cal to face his father in his new identity. Was Milton's death a cop-out, allowing JE to avoid this difficult issue?
Shade,
Interesting comments--particularly about the book's filmic aspects. I enjoyed the playfulness of Eugenides' narrative techniques--the "rewind," the first-person narrator with an omniscient view of his own grandparents' lives, the narrator's repeated hints that he isn't omniscient, but in fact the creator of his grandparents' story. . .
Like you, I found parts of Cal's own story to be less compelling than that of his grandparents. (I didn't find the Milton/Tessie story to be particularly compelling either, though I did appreciate the depiction of the Detroit social fabric and historic moments such as the race riots.) Spoiler: I was enthralled, however, with Cal's relationship with the Obscure Object. Wonderful erotic scenes, evoking all the tension, wonder, and naivety of an adolescent discovering sexuality and exploring an entirely unknown territory.
I was disappointed with the story of Cal's "transition." The scenes with Dr. Luce were very effective, and some elements of the transition section worked well, but it just wasn't enough. Since the whole novel seemed to be leading up to this moment, it needed to be explored with more depth. And while JE depicts Cal's vulnerability to exploitation and violence, it seems likely that the experience would have been more traumatic and complicated, both emotionally and psychologically, than was conveyed. I wondered about Milton's sudden death, which made it unnecessary for Cal to face his father in his new identity. Was Milton's death a cop-out, allowing JE to avoid this difficult issue?
Ronny
Well-Known Member
I finished today and I liked the second half with Cal's story just as much as the first half with Lefty's & Desdemona's. The story of Milton and Tessy is a bit bland but I thought that made it feel a bit more real to life, I mean must people don't think of their parents in a way much more than what directly effects them, kind of a just the facts approach, no romance, few details.
All in all I thought that the book was great all the way through and I loved all the descriptions given of places, times and people. I think the whole story stayed consistant with how Cal would view it.
All in all I thought that the book was great all the way through and I loved all the descriptions given of places, times and people. I think the whole story stayed consistant with how Cal would view it.
Prairie_Girl
New Member
Reading this from the point of view of someone who's loved someone who had a genital surgery at a young age, and knows many people who have transitioned I loved this book. I though Eugenides handling of the subject was spot on, and I loved how deep I felt we got into Cal's mind. I havne't read the Virgin Suicides, but think I might after reading this book.
scooter13
Member
This is one of only two books that I ever listened to via audio. My wife and I were heading to Detroit to see my family, and I figured it would be cool to pass the time during the 10 hour drive (and what better then to "read" a story about the city we are going to). And much credit to Kristoffer Tabori and his reading style, he really brought things to life.
This will probably long be one of my favorite books. I want to re-read this (or should I say "actually read"). And I concure with other people's opinions that Cal's life was a bit less interesting then Lefty and Desdemona's. But is was still a captivating story.
mamabookworm61 said:
I didn't see it as a cop-out. I saw it more as appropriate, because Milton didn't want to lose his "daughter." He almost appeared in denial. And this way, he didn't lose his daughter. Sure, for Cal to face Milton could have taken this story to another level. But I don't think that the issues facing Cal or dealing with his transformation and his father was the main issue of the story. Though dealing with each other was a main theme, and how it affected the characters later on. (I think I just talked myself out of what I thought.)
Anyway, I read "The Virgin Suicides" recently, too. Different from "Middlesex" by far. But both are excellent books.
This will probably long be one of my favorite books. I want to re-read this (or should I say "actually read"). And I concure with other people's opinions that Cal's life was a bit less interesting then Lefty and Desdemona's. But is was still a captivating story.
mamabookworm61 said:
I didn't see it as a cop-out. I saw it more as appropriate, because Milton didn't want to lose his "daughter." He almost appeared in denial. And this way, he didn't lose his daughter. Sure, for Cal to face Milton could have taken this story to another level. But I don't think that the issues facing Cal or dealing with his transformation and his father was the main issue of the story. Though dealing with each other was a main theme, and how it affected the characters later on. (I think I just talked myself out of what I thought.)
Anyway, I read "The Virgin Suicides" recently, too. Different from "Middlesex" by far. But both are excellent books.
WoundedThorns
New Member
i reeeeeeeally wanna read it. i was so disappointed when it wasn't available in the library..
JMS
New Member
WoundedThorns said:
I was able to order it at my Library, (waiting for it to arrive) its a shame if yours wont get books in for you, mine do charge a small amount for this service.
My sister got a good 2nd copy on ebay last week
Also worth looking around 2nd hand book shops etc.
Hope you find a copy
Ms.
New Member
I have read Middlesex and it's a great read but my enjoyment of the novel was hampered because I was continuously expecting some 'crazy twist', which of course never happened. I will have to re-read it to honestly form a proper opinion on it. I thought it was well written except a tad verbose in parts but still definitely worth the read.
WoundedThorns
New Member
i fiiiinaly got my hands on a copy. the library's copy is always taken out so i just bought a copy in Borders. i dunno when i'll get around to reading it though.. i have one hell of a list of books to get too =P
i just bought a copy at borders. it's always out in my public library. my school library doesn't even have it. stupid censorship
JMS said:
I was able to order it at my Library, (waiting for it to arrive) its a shame if yours wont get books in for you, mine do charge a small amount for this service.
My sister got a good 2nd copy on ebay last week
Also worth looking around 2nd hand book shops etc.
Hope you find a copy
i just bought a copy at borders. it's always out in my public library. my school library doesn't even have it. stupid censorship
curiouswonder
New Member
I just finished last night and really enjoyed it. I felt like Eugenides for the most part worked hard to make his characters honest and real.
Agreed. The whole last "book" with Cal's story felt rushed to me. I wondered if it was a device to help convey that fact that it was being told as remembered by a fourteen year old or if some editor said, "Enough already" at 500+ pages.
Overall a good read.
mamabookworm61 said:
Agreed. The whole last "book" with Cal's story felt rushed to me. I wondered if it was a device to help convey that fact that it was being told as remembered by a fourteen year old or if some editor said, "Enough already" at 500+ pages.
Overall a good read.