Middlesex: A Novel (edit title)

• Rated 4 stars

“What a different premise! Cal (Calliope) Stephanides is a hermaphrodite, but the book is really not so much about Cal as about the history of his immigrant family, told against a background of historical events. The flashbacks are a distraction to some readers (it is not MY favorite technique). Still, this is an extraordinary book and well worth reading. I kept reading passages out loud to people.”

• Rated 5 stars

“beautiful.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Middlesex is intriguing and creative. It's about genes and family histories and the effect of a certain recessive gene on the fifth chromosome of Calliope Stephanides. She/he is a hermaphrodite and Middlesex tells the wondrous story of his life.

From the 1922 burning of Smyrna to the Detroit race riots of 1967. From San Francisco in the '70's to Berlin in 2001. This story does a lot of time traveling as we follow the story of Calliope's incestuous grandparents to the modern day Calliope who becomes just plain Cal. There is a lot of family history here which makes for very interesting reading.

Middlesex is beautifully written as it invokes images of the life of three generations of a Greek family. I loved all the different settings in this novel. All the different places and times made Middlesex an exhilarating story with some very original characters. It's no wonder it won the Pulitzer. ”

• Rated 5 stars

“What a fantastic read! Eugenides is a masterful writer. As he chronicled the lives of the Stephanides family, I felt like I knew them. Even the most mundane of events was described so beautifully. Cal was such a great character and following him from beautiful young girl, to awkward confused teenager, to the adult male he becomes was written perfectly in the beautiful often painful prose of someone torn between gender identities.”

• Rated 1 stars

“Difficult to get through. Wasn't my favorite”

• Rated 5 stars

“Awesome”

• Rated 5 stars

“Wonderful writing, wonderful story.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Eugenides is a genius. A mixture of a historical and family narrative, Middlesex tells the story of a hermaphrodite with eloquence and poignancy. I loved this book. I was glad it was long because it meant I got to enjoy it for a long time! The characters are so real and it is easy to get caught up in Calliope's world. An exquisite coming of age masterpiece exploring gender and sexuality, family relationships and history with a tender approach. ”

• Rated 5 stars

“Wonderfully written. Unexpected story. Great read!”

• Rated 4 stars

“fascinating....”