Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides - Book Review

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides is told by Cal, a hermaphrodite who was raised as a girl until adolescence. Cal tells the story of his family of Greek immigrants over three generations, weaving a tale of mythic quality that is at the same time as down-to-earth as the motor city in which they live. Like Cal, Middlesex defies classification. It is more than a sex/gender story, more than an immigrant story, more than a coming of age tale. Eugenides' superb writing and well developed characters create a novel that is large, engrossing and enjoyable.

Middlesex won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2003 and was selected as Oprah's Book Club's summer selection in 2007. Why the acclaim? Before reading Middlesex, it is easy to think you can guess what this coming of age tale about a hermaphrodite will be like; however, you are likely to be wrong and to get a much bigger story than you bargained for.

A large part of the appeal of Middlesex is definitely the narrator, who takes on an omniscient voice, inhabiting the minds of his grandparents, parents, siblings, in order to tell his family's story and allow us to become intimately acquainted with these characters. Cal is witty, with a great ability to tell a story and tell it well.

Another appealing thing about Middlesex is the way it covers so much contemporary American history, using one family's experience to explore the evolution of a society.

Middlesex is more literary than a lot of bestsellers, and there were points in the middle of the book when I was afraid it was slowing down too much; however, in the end Middlesex is a good read that speeds to a climax and does not disappoint.