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Middlesex

Middlesex

by Jeffrey Eugenides

September 30, 2003 | Trade Paperback

Based on 31 ratings | Rate this | 25 reviews
""I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of l974. . . My birth certificate lists my name as Calliope Helen Stephanides. My most recent driver''s license...records my first name simply as Cal.""
So begins the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City, and the race riots of l967, before they move out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. To understand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret and the astonishing genetic history that turns Callie into Cal, one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction. Lyrical and thrilling, "Middlesex "is an exhilarating reinvention of the American epic.
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Reviews of Middlesex

25 reviews from our community
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  • 2 years ago
    Epic
    This is one of my favouite books. I can't describe how much I loved the story, the characters, the everything. It takes a bit of time to get into it but once you do, it's an epic read. And those are rare and totally worth the effort.
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  • 3 years ago
    Fiction disguised as fact
    This book begins with the words, “I was born twice,” and perhaps for that reason I feel completely justified in having read the first chapter numerous times. You see, the story simply demanded more of my attention than I was prepared to offer and required serial segments of uninterrupted time. As you probably know, Middlesex is the story of Calliope’s remarkable transformation into Cal. A story which documents the history of a genetic mutation which stretches back for generations but is documented in detail for three. It begins with the story of Cal’s grandparents – Greek immigrants who came to live in Detroit, it is followed by the story of their children and ends with the story of Cal, who is one of their grandchildren. In delectable prose accompanied by vivid imagery, Cal unveils the family history which led him to his present existence. One which he slowly reveals as the story progresses. Seeming to be impeccably researched, Middlesex is both eye opening and endearing. Tragic and triumphant. It is well worth the read if you have the time to savour the vignettes and appreciate the many layers of the stories. It is truly fiction disguised as fact.
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  • 3 years ago
    Thought-provoking, engrossing story
    I picked up this book for $5 or $10 at Coles, figuring that, as an Oprah's pick, it would be a pretty good book. I was right. It was an interesting subject and the story was very well-written. I must say that at first, the topic took me out of my comfort zone, but I really felt for the main character and as I got into the story, I could not put this book down. I will definitely read this again.
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  • 5 years ago
    Two stories for the price of one
    An amazing novel, one just as much about immigration as the story of a hermaphrodite, which is perhaps why some readers are discouraged by the constant narration changes between the past and the present. Well worth the read, and a stunning Pulitzer-Prize winning text that I have been re-reading ever since.
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  • 5 years ago
    GOOD!!!
    Very good read! The story takes you behind the story of a whole family and how time and a secret has changed them. I enjoyed it very much and recommend it to anyone who wants a nice and interesting novel.
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  • 5 years ago
    Very, Very Good
    One of the best books I have read. The book is rich in its meanings and creativity. It is not only a book exploring one's own sexuality, but a book about family values, familial pressures and social conformity. Euginides has created characters so real and lovable that you're a little disappointed that book ends.
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  • 5 years ago
    Fantastic
    This is a beautifully written book. The narration is phenomenal as it subtly changes as the character's changes are revealed.
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  • 5 years ago
    Interesting and Engrossing
    Amazing story, and so involving. The main subject of the novel and aspects of incest aren't really something I may necessarily be comfortable with, but the story just pulls you in. It's so frank and gives you wonderful american historical anecdotes without being tedious. Well worth the read.
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  • 5 years ago
    An amazing novel
    This is a novel that immediately grabbed me. Despite addressing some topics that in some novels may turn the reader off or be considered to be taboo, the writing is so beautiful that these things are easily overlooked. The story of Cal is told in such a way that it is genuine, heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time. I definitely didn't stop thinking about this novel when I put it down.
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  • 5 years ago
    Bizarre theme
    Absolutely hated this book. I struggled to get through the first 100 pages of wandering storyline then finally gave up.
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– More About This Product –

Middlesex

Middlesex

by Jeffrey Eugenides

Sold Out

From the Publisher

""I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of l974. . . My birth certificate lists my name as Calliope Helen Stephanides. My most recent driver''s license...records my first name simply as Cal.""
So begins the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City, and the race riots of l967, before they move out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. To understand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret and the astonishing genetic history that turns Callie into Cal, one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction. Lyrical and thrilling, "Middlesex "is an exhilarating reinvention of the American epic.

Format: Trade Paperback

Dimensions: 544 Pages, 5.51 × 7.87 × 0.79 in

Published: September 30, 2003

Language: English

The following ISBNs are associated with this title:

ISBN - 10: 0312422156

ISBN - 13: 9780312422158

From the Critics

"Part Tristram Shandy, part Ishmael, part Holden Caulfield, Cal is a wonderfully engaging narrator. . . A deeply affecting portrait of one family''s tumultuous engagement with the American twentieth century." --"The New York Times"
"Expansive and radiantly generous. . . Deliriously American." --"The New York Times Book Review" (cover review)
"A towering achievement. . . . [Eugenides] has emerged as the great American writer that many of us suspected him of being." -"-Los Angeles Times Book Review "(cover review)
"A big, cheeky, splendid novel. . . it goes places few narrators would dare to tread. . . lyrical and fine." --"The Boston Globe"
"An epic. . . This feast of a novel is thrilling in the scope of its imagination and surprising in its tenderness." --"People"
"Unprecedented, astounding. . . . The most reliably American story there is: A son of immigrants finally finds love after growing up feeling like a freak." --"San Francisco Chronicle Book Review"
"Middlesex is about a hermaphrodite in the way that Thomas Wolfe''s Look Homeward, Angel is about a teenage boy. . . A novel of chance, family, sex, surgery, and America, it contains multitudes." --"Men''s Journal"
"Wildly imaginative. . . frequently hilarious and touching." --"USA Today"
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