Spanning eight decades and chronicling the wild ride of a Greek-American family through the vicissitudes of the twentieth century, Jeffrey Eugenides' witty, exuberant novel on one level tells a traditional story about three generations of a fantastic, absurd, lovable immigrant family -- blessed and cursed with generous doses of tragedy and high comedy. But there' s a provocative twist. Cal, the narrator -- also Callie -- is a hermaphrodite. And the explanation for this takes us spooling back in time, through a breathtaking ...
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Spanning eight decades and chronicling the wild ride of a Greek-American family through the vicissitudes of the twentieth century, Jeffrey Eugenides' witty, exuberant novel on one level tells a traditional story about three generations of a fantastic, absurd, lovable immigrant family -- blessed and cursed with generous doses of tragedy and high comedy. But there' s a provocative twist. Cal, the narrator -- also Callie -- is a hermaphrodite. And the explanation for this takes us spooling back in time, through a breathtaking review of the twentieth century, to 1922, when the Turks sacked Smyrna and Callie' s grandparents fled for their lives. Back to a tiny village in Asia Minor where two lovers, and one rare genetic mutation, set our narrator' s life in motion. Middlesex is a grand, utterly original fable of crossed bloodlines, the intricacies of gender, and the deep, untidy promptings of desire. It' s a brilliant exploration of divided people, divided families, divided cities and nations -- the connected halves that make up ourselves and our world. Justly acclaimed when it was released in Fall 2002, it announces the arrival of a major writer for our times.
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Add this copy of Middlesex to cart. $1.39, good condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Knopf Canada.
Add this copy of Middlesex to cart. $2.30, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Knopf Canada.
Add this copy of Middlesex to cart. $22.99, very good condition, Sold by Bibliodditiques rated 2.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waterloo, ON, CANADA, published 2002 by Alfred A. Knopf.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good + in very good + jacket. Tight binding. No chips, tears, creases on pages. Dust jacket is NOT price-clipped. A 1.25" tear on rear panel of jacket at top near fold. Previous owner's name written on front free endpaper. Size: Sm 4to (9" to 11"). 529 pp.
Add this copy of Middlesex: a Novel to cart. $23.00, very good condition, Sold by Hourglass Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Vancouver, BC, CANADA, published 2002 by Knopf Canada.
Add this copy of Middlesex to cart. $23.44, good condition, Sold by FirstClassBooks rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Little Rock, AR, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Knopf Canada.
Add this copy of Middlesex to cart. $33.00, very good condition, Sold by Hourglass Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Vancouver, BC, CANADA, published 2002 by Knopf Canada.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good + in Very Good, Not Price Clipped jacket. Book Complete number line from 1 to 10; some edge wear to dust jacket; otherwise a solid, clean copy with no marking or underlining; collectible condition.
Add this copy of Middlesex to cart. $36.69, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Knopf Canada.
Difficult to get into...bogs down with esoteric language and thoughts but...worth the effort just to see how the author pulls it all together.
Catherine G
Nov 17, 2011
Good but Different
This story is the coming of age of a hermafrodite, And also the story of his grandparents, which is quite colorful. It is easy reading and keeps your interest.
pamela1717
Jun 29, 2008
Surpisingly, I liked it! 4.5 stars!
I'll have to join the ranks of many of the other reviewers here and say I probably never would have read this book if it hadn't been chosen for my book club. I, too, thought the story would be a one dimensional search for gender identity--not so. I was hooked from the beginning. I would describe the story as one of an American family through generations--their journey just happened to produce a certain side effect compared to other families' journeys. Being just a few years younger than Cal I appreciated the nostalgic references to the cultural symbols, products, events, and fashions/styles of the day. I thought the author also chose an interesting omnicient narrative style (by Cal) for the story as well. I did have a couple of squirmy moments (the scenes with Dr. Luce really creeped me out). I only give it 4.5 stars simply because I would really have to know someone fairly well to recommend the book.
Nana38
Jan 11, 2008
Y E S ! ! !
I was hooked by the opening sentence and taken on a journey into another world. This is an outstanding example of how fiction can educate and enlighten us. The author has created a hero (heroine) we can admire, empathize with and laugh with through a difficult life changing self discovery.
A perfect book for Book Club discussions!
bookboy
Jan 10, 2008
Underwhelming
Although it's a well written novel and moves along at a brisk pace, I never got the "wow" factor that so many others seemed to get from this novel. Truly I was amazed that not only was this a bestseller but also a Pulitzer prize winner too.
Essentially Middlesex is two novels in one. The first half is a historical emigrant novel against the back drop of historical events and the second half is a coming of age novel of an awkward girl who just so happens to be a hermaphrodite.
I was really expecting something more, something edgy, something gritty. Middlesex is a novel for middle America who want to read a "safe" novel without feeling uncomfortable about the subject matter. In that regard it succeeds.
The only thing I enjoyed was the realization why Cal's brother is called Chapter Eleven. Ultimately I was extremely underwhelmed with it all.
