Middlesex

A Novel

Paperback, 529 pages

English language

Published Nov. 7, 2002 by Picador.

ISBN:
978-0-312-42215-8
Copied ISBN!

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (11 reviews)

A unique coming of age story. While the main character in this novel is dealing with gender identity issues the main focus of this brilliantly written story is the confusion we all face as we grow into the person we were meant to be. The reader finds himself identifying with the main character's experiences. This is a brilliantly written story. The prose is honest in a way that few authors dare to write. Every word, every action, every thought, is symbolic of the common human experience.

32 editions

2022 #FReadom read 13/20

4 stars

I just finished Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex, the 13th book in my 2022 #FReadom reading list of books removed or threatened in Texas libraries and schools. I found Cal Stephanides to be a truly scintillating narrative voice for a fascinating story.

Eugenides offers rich, multithreaded explorations of Detroit, Greek-American family life, and other areas near his own experience. And he may lead some readers to reflect on the meaning of sex & gender, despite rooting the story overall in rather binary notions of gender.

But I believe the novel's insights on gender identity and intersex reality would have been deeper & more insightful had Eugenides actually spoken with intersex people when writing the novel. Sadly, he didn't - a disappointing missed opportunity. www.intersexinitiative.org/popculture/middlesex-faq.html

avatar for ahynes1

rated it

5 stars
avatar for faticake

rated it

4 stars
avatar for nocalla

rated it

5 stars
avatar for liambean

rated it

3 stars
avatar for jeffbenner

rated it

4 stars
avatar for SpaceCamel

rated it

3 stars
avatar for ctaymor

rated it

3 stars
avatar for Susanna

rated it

4 stars
avatar for ahynes1

rated it

5 stars

Subjects

  • Greek Americans -- Fiction.
  • Gender identity -- Fiction.
  • Hermaphroditism -- Fiction.
  • Teenagers -- Fiction.
  • Grosse Pointe (Mich.) -- Fiction.
  • Detroit (Mich.) -- Fiction.