Middlesex: A Novel (edit title)

something witty edited the characters of Middlesex: A Novel 2 weeks ago.

• Changed the section title: Cast of Characters/Important People
• Added the description of Michael Antoniou: Father Mike, assistant priest at the Greek Orthodox church the family attends, married Zoë, Milton's sister, after Tessie broke off her engagement with him. He is sweet-natured before he marries Zoë, but her constant nagging about how successful her brother is compared to him wears him down and turns him bitter. In a desperate attempt to get enough money to leave Zoë and to get even with Milton for his success in business and in marriage, Father Mike tries to blackmail him.
• marked the description of Michael Antoniou as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Chapter Eleven: Chapter Eleven is the only name that Cal gives to her older brother. As a child, he likes to shoot, hammer, and smash things. He becomes geeky and nerdy as a teenager but turns into a "John Lennon look-alike" at college where he adopts anti-war and anti-establishment views. He ignores Cal for most of her life since they are far apart in age, but the two become closer when Chapter Eleven faces the Vietnam draft. He ultimately shows his loyalty when he rescues Cal from jail in California. His lack of business sense, however, causes him to ruin his father's hot dog franchise.
• marked the description of Chapter Eleven as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Jerome: Jerome, the Object's brother, is the first boy with whom Cal has sex. He seems to want to have a relationship with Cal, but after Cal rebuffs him, he turns on her and his sister with cruel epithets when he catches them together.
• marked the description of Jerome as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Zora Khyber: Zora Khyber, a hermaphrodite that works at the sex club, is sympathetic to Cal's gender confusion and so spends a lot of time sharing her extensive research with her. She has a marked violent streak, however, that frightens Cal.
• marked the description of Zora Khyber as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Julie Kikuchi: Cal's relationship with Julie Kikuchi, a thirty-six-year-old Asian-American living in Berlin, appears in brief glimpses throughout the text. She is straightforward, asking Cal as soon as she meets her if she is gay. Julie's open-mindedness is evident when she is willing to begin a relationship with Cal after Cal admits that she is a hermaphrodite.
• marked the description of Julie Kikuchi as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Peter Luce: Dr. Luce diagnoses Cal in New York and writes up her case and publishes it. Although he is considered the world's leading authority on hermaphroditism, he misdiagnoses the causes of the condition. Extremely confident in his medical theories, the "brilliant, charming, work-obsessed" Luce, nevertheless "prayed," Cal assumes, that she "would never show up to refute them."
• marked the description of Peter Luce as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Object of Desire: Cal names the Object of Desire after a famous European film. The Object is part of the popular clique in Cal's private school, whose members ordinarily shun ethnic girls like Cal. But the Object's loneliness, caused by parents who pay little attention to her, encourages her to begin a friendship with Cal that eventually turns sexual. The Object gives into her feelings for Cal but expresses her insecurities and frustration about her lesbian tendencies when she declares, "You understand everything I say. Why can't you be a guy?"
• marked the description of Object of Desire as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Bob Presto: Bob Presto runs the sex club where Cal works. He appears to be sympathetic and kind-hearted when he rescues Cal after she is beaten up by the homeless men, but his ultimate goal is financial.
• marked the description of Bob Presto as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Clementine Stark: Clementine, Cal's first friend in Grosse Point, teaches her how to kiss properly and causes Cal's first feelings of gender confusion.
• marked the description of Clementine Stark as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Calliope Stephanides: Calliope, who changes her name to Cal when she assumes a male identity, is the narrator of the story. She claims that she has a male brain but was assumed to be female at birth. Cal establishes a connection between herself and her family when she admits, "my grandparents had fled their home because of a war. Now, some fifty-two years later, I was fleeing myself." She joins the foreign service because she cannot have children and because she does not want to stay in one place for too long, fearing that her gender will be discovered.
• marked the description of Calliope Stephanides as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Desdemona Stephanides: Cal's grandmother, Desdemona, is "perfectly designed for blocking people's paths" as she tries to maintain her family's ties to the old world. She reveals a sense of the dramatic whenever she is crossed by fanning herself with her "six atrocity fans" that list crimes committed against Greece. Cal notes: "the ominous, storm-gathering quality" of her fanning becomes "her secret weapon" in this battle.
• marked the description of Desdemona Stephanides as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Eleutherios Stephanides: Eleutherios, or Lefty as he was known, is Cal's grandfather and Desdemona's husband. His nonconformist nature becomes evident when he frequents gambling and prostitution houses in Greece and convinces his sister to marry him. After he gambles away his money, he and Desdemona live in the attic of Cal's house; he spends his mornings translating Greek poems, while at night he smokes hash in a hookah. Cal develops a close relationship with her "Chaplinesque papou," with his elegant clothes and playful nature.
• marked the description of Eleutherios Stephanides as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Milton Stephanides: Milton is Cal's father and Desdemona's son. He possesses "a flinty self-confidence that protected him like a shell from the world's assaults." Of the family members, he assimilates most successfully: he learns American jazz and business sense. He distances himself further from his homeland when he adopts right-wing politics, identifies with Nixon, and supports the United States so much that he denounces his Greek heritage. His obsession with the American dream distances him from his family as he becomes more preoccupied with his business worries. Cal notes "he began to leave a little more of himself at the diner each day" until he "wasn't really there at all."
• marked the description of Milton Stephanides as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Sourmelina Stephanides: Sourmelina, called Lina, is Desdemona's and Lefty's cousin. Her parents send her to the United States when they discover that she is a lesbian. She successfully assimilates American culture yet retains some ties to her heritage. When she thinks her husband, Jimmy, is dead, she grieves in the Greek style.
• marked the description of Sourmelina Stephanides as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Tessie Stephanides: Tessie Stephanides, born Tessie Zizmo, is Cal's mother. Milton is attracted to her "all-American looks." She is quiet and, like Cal, enjoys watching people. After building her world around her family, she starts to feel useless when Chapter Eleven goes off to college and Cal matures. After Cal leaves, Tessie becomes depressed because her intense motherly devotion is frustrated. That same devotion, however, causes her to accept Cal's sex change from female to male, from a daughter to a son.
• marked the description of Tessie Stephanides as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Zoë Stephanides: Zoë Stephanides, called Aunt Zo, is Desdemona's and Lefty's daughter, and Cal's aunt. She marries Father Mike by default when Tessie breaks off her engagement with him. Characterized by her good sense of humor and loud talk, she is uncomfortable with the prospect of being a role model as Father Mike's wife. Her jealousy over her brother's good fortune and Mike's obvious affection for Tessie turns Aunt Zo into a nag who constantly berates Mike for his shortcomings. She "never missed a chance to lament her marriage" to him.
• marked the description of Zoë Stephanides as not a spoiler
• Added the description of Jimmy Zizmo: Jimmy, who is of unknown ethnic origin, is married to Lina. He is an ex-con, drug dealer, and scam artist whose adaptability becomes evident when he turns quickly from rum-running to proselytizing as the head prophet of the Nation of Islam in Detroit.
• marked the description of Jimmy Zizmo as not a spoiler

Timothy Gray approved Timothy Gray’s request to combine 2 books, including Middlesex: A Novel, Saturday, October 31 2009.

Timothy Gray edited the awards of Middlesex: A Novel Monday, October 12 2009.

• Added an award: Pulitzer Prize
• Added category of an award: Pulitzer Prize Fiction
• Added year of an award: Pulitzer Prize 2003

Timothy Gray submitted a request to combine 2 books, including Middlesex: A Novel, Monday, October 12 2009.

Ron A approved something witty’s request to change the contributors of Middlesex: A Novel Thursday, September 17 2009.

• Removed a contributor: Jeffrey(Author) Eugenides: (Primary Author)

something witty edited the contributors of Middlesex: A Novel Thursday, September 17 2009.

• Removed a contributor: Jeffrey(Author) Eugenides: (Primary Author)

Shelfari edited the contributors of Middlesex: A Novel Friday, September 11 2009.

• Added a contributor: Jeffrey(Author) Eugenides: (Primary Author)

Amanda approved Timothy Gray’s request to combine 35 books, including Middlesex: A Novel, Friday, September 11 2009.

Colleen C edited the ridiculously simplified synopsis of Middlesex: A Novel Monday, September 7 2009.

• Added: -Colleen Castonguay, good story, bizaarre gene...

Timothy Gray submitted a request to combine 35 books, including Middlesex: A Novel, Sunday, September 6 2009.