Middlesex

This is a classic novel in the classic American novel sense, not some postmodern thing full of joky references and artificial limitations.   Although the PoV character's sex is undoubtedly the point of controversion the first half of the novel at least is the history of a Greek-American family from emigration just after WWI up until the 1970s when the third generation of the family in the US is growing up. And as this it is quite probably Eugenides' own family though how much I don't know. I seem to recognise the author also in his comments about San Francisco being 'where young Americans go to retire' - Eugenides has said elsewhere that his five years spent in that city in his late 20s - early 30s, before he moved to New York, were a waste of time. One could feel the same if one had moved from an outer suburb, where one's self was bound to wordless exile for six years, back to a proper city. 
Eugenides' most recent novel is also getting some spotlight for having an apparent portrait of the much-missed David Foster Wallace as one of its main characters though in Middlesex the narrator's brother (strangely called "Chapter Eleven"*) is similar to the later fictional character (and not necessarily that much like DFW any more than to any number of brainy, counter-cultural midwesterners). 
The sex thing is interesting and works as a character driver for confused Cal/Callie, and then the whole book is about split identity and whether you can't in fact be two things - male and female, American and Greek. The thing about presidents and their names - this was written pre-Obama but Obama does seem to bear it out (cf. Dukakis, a contender with an odd name with plenty of vowels in it being an exemplar of the idea that anyone could, really, be President. Alas Michael D didn't make it but he could be seen as an Obama-precursor).   * this seems to have to do with his bro's later bankruptcy, i.e. 'filing for Chapter 11'.

Oof, I haven't reviewed this one either? It's been even longer since I've read most of this one. Goodness.



This book...what can you say about a book like this? It's an epic - Calliope sheepishly admits to her intentions right off the bat, but she fulfills them well - spanning four(ish) generations, and a wide range of cultures, subjects, and individuals. It makes for a packed book, but at over 500 pages, there is ample room for everything that ends up packed in here.



As the title not-so-subtly implies, this book features, and is narrated by, Cal(liope) - an intersexed individual who, having transitioned from female to male, writes a retrospective of her family - not just his parents, but his grandparents, and even great-grandparents, tracing his ancestry - and the genetic mutation that made him who he is - back to its roots in Greece.



But this book is not about an intersexed person. It's not even really about the mutation, or Cal's transition. Cal's ambiguous genitalia serve not as the subject of the narrative, but as a background to what the book is really about - family, identity, tradition, non-conformity, uniformity, commonality, individuality. It's about Greece, it's about immigration, it's about Chicago, about race, about alcohol, about the great melting pot that while promising to accept and celebrate the many colors and cultures that make up this nation, too often ends up just conforming all cultures to a drab grey.



The themes through this book are rich and multifaceted to the extreme. The most noticeable theme, a desire for uniformity and conformity faced with messy, diverse reality, is approached and examined from every angle, shows up in every subplot, as everything is woven together into the narrative.



It was a fascinating book, beautifully written, powerfully thoughtful. One can tell that it was exhaustively researched - no small feat for a book that spans a century of history across three continents - but its settings, both visually and historically, are vivid and rich, and the books' large cast of characters are well-developed.



This book is a delight to read, and an ambitious work of fiction that delivers wonderfully. I want to give it five stars, as it ranks up there with Foer's writing that I simply love. But as others have noted, the last 100 pages are a bit incongruous. Others have suggested that this book was a good short novel, weighed down by the first 500 pages, but I disagree. The bulk of this book is indeed purportedly wrapped around and leading to the end, and we get glimpses of the moments leading up to Cal's current life throughout the book. But after so much fantastic story and investigation of the themes that Cal writes back into his history, after reading the rich retrospective investigation of the themes that Cal traces back through his genealogy, the actual application of those themes is sorely lacking. The book peters out, putting together the necessary components that we've been waiting for, and then exits, as if sorely aware of the fact that it is already nearing 600 pages and doesn't want to bother you with much more than that.



And I'm not really sure that it could have done much better without another 100 pages, and I'm not sure if I would have the energy for that. Perhaps we should chop this book in half - I'll take the first 500 pages, and avoid the blatant, almost mechanical getting-the-pieces-together ending and instead leave it to my imagination, and those who felt weighed down by the bulk of the book can have their short novel, and both groups would probably both be happier.



That said, however, I highly recommend this book. It is fascinating, it is incredibly well-written, and it is a gorgeously put together novel, one whose length you don't feel until the very end. I wouldn't blame you if you gave up on the last few chapters, but don't let that discourage you from reading the rest of them, because they more than make it worth it. And really, at that point, you've already invested so many pages - what's another several dozen?

Oof, I haven't reviewed this one either? It's been even longer since I've read most of this one. Goodness.



This book...what can you say about a book like this? It's an epic - Calliope sheepishly admits to her intentions right off the bat, but she fulfills them well - spanning four(ish) generations, and a wide range of cultures, subjects, and individuals. It makes for a packed book, but at over 500 pages, there is ample room for everything that ends up packed in here.



As the title not-so-subtly implies, this book features, and is narrated by, Cal(liope) - an intersexed individual who, having transitioned from female to male, writes a retrospective of her family - not just his parents, but his grandparents, and even great-grandparents, tracing his ancestry - and the genetic mutation that made him who he is - back to its roots in Greece.



But this book is not about an intersexed person. It's not even really about the mutation, or Cal's transition. Cal's ambiguous genitalia serve not as the subject of the narrative, but as a background to what the book is really about - family, identity, tradition, non-conformity, uniformity, commonality, individuality. It's about Greece, it's about immigration, it's about Chicago, about race, about alcohol, about the great melting pot that while promising to accept and celebrate the many colors and cultures that make up this nation, too often ends up just conforming all cultures to a drab grey.



The themes through this book are rich and multifaceted to the extreme. The most noticeable theme, a desire for uniformity and conformity faced with messy, diverse reality, is approached and examined from every angle, shows up in every subplot, as everything is woven together into the narrative.



It was a fascinating book, beautifully written, powerfully thoughtful. One can tell that it was exhaustively researched - no small feat for a book that spans a century of history across three continents - but its settings, both visually and historically, are vivid and rich, and the books' large cast of characters are well-developed.



This book is a delight to read, and an ambitious work of fiction that delivers wonderfully. I want to give it five stars, as it ranks up there with Foer's writing that I simply love. But as others have noted, the last 100 pages are a bit incongruous. Others have suggested that this book was a good short novel, weighed down by the first 500 pages, but I disagree. The bulk of this book is indeed purportedly wrapped around and leading to the end, and we get glimpses of the moments leading up to Cal's current life throughout the book. But after so much fantastic story and investigation of the themes that Cal writes back into his history, after reading the rich retrospective investigation of the themes that Cal traces back through his genealogy, the actual application of those themes is sorely lacking. The book peters out, putting together the necessary components that we've been waiting for, and then exits, as if sorely aware of the fact that it is already nearing 600 pages and doesn't want to bother you with much more than that.



And I'm not really sure that it could have done much better without another 100 pages, and I'm not sure if I would have the energy for that. Perhaps we should chop this book in half - I'll take the first 500 pages, and avoid the blatant, almost mechanical getting-the-pieces-together ending and instead leave it to my imagination, and those who felt weighed down by the bulk of the book can have their short novel, and both groups would probably both be happier.



That said, however, I highly recommend this book. It is fascinating, it is incredibly well-written, and it is a gorgeously put together novel, one whose length you don't feel until the very end. I wouldn't blame you if you gave up on the last few chapters, but don't let that discourage you from reading the rest of them, because they more than make it worth it. And really, at that point, you've already invested so many pages - what's another several dozen?

Oof, I haven't reviewed this one either? It's been even longer since I've read most of this one. Goodness.



This book...what can you say about a book like this? It's an epic - Calliope sheepishly admits to her intentions right off the bat, but she fulfills them well - spanning four(ish) generations, and a wide range of cultures, subjects, and individuals. It makes for a packed book, but at over 500 pages, there is ample room for everything that ends up packed in here.



As the title not-so-subtly implies, this book features, and is narrated by, Cal(liope) - an intersexed individual who, having transitioned from female to male, writes a retrospective of her family - not just his parents, but his grandparents, and even great-grandparents, tracing his ancestry - and the genetic mutation that made him who he is - back to its roots in Greece.



But this book is not about an intersexed person. It's not even really about the mutation, or Cal's transition. Cal's ambiguous genitalia serve not as the subject of the narrative, but as a background to what the book is really about - family, identity, tradition, non-conformity, uniformity, commonality, individuality. It's about Greece, it's about immigration, it's about Chicago, about race, about alcohol, about the great melting pot that while promising to accept and celebrate the many colors and cultures that make up this nation, too often ends up just conforming all cultures to a drab grey.



The themes through this book are rich and multifaceted to the extreme. The most noticeable theme, a desire for uniformity and conformity faced with messy, diverse reality, is approached and examined from every angle, shows up in every subplot, as everything is woven together into the narrative.



It was a fascinating book, beautifully written, powerfully thoughtful. One can tell that it was exhaustively researched - no small feat for a book that spans a century of history across three continents - but its settings, both visually and historically, are vivid and rich, and the books' large cast of characters are well-developed.



This book is a delight to read, and an ambitious work of fiction that delivers wonderfully. I want to give it five stars, as it ranks up there with Foer's writing that I simply love. But as others have noted, the last 100 pages are a bit incongruous. Others have suggested that this book was a good short novel, weighed down by the first 500 pages, but I disagree. The bulk of this book is indeed purportedly wrapped around and leading to the end, and we get glimpses of the moments leading up to Cal's current life throughout the book. But after so much fantastic story and investigation of the themes that Cal writes back into his history, after reading the rich retrospective investigation of the themes that Cal traces back through his genealogy, the actual application of those themes is sorely lacking. The book peters out, putting together the necessary components that we've been waiting for, and then exits, as if sorely aware of the fact that it is already nearing 600 pages and doesn't want to bother you with much more than that.



And I'm not really sure that it could have done much better without another 100 pages, and I'm not sure if I would have the energy for that. Perhaps we should chop this book in half - I'll take the first 500 pages, and avoid the blatant, almost mechanical getting-the-pieces-together ending and instead leave it to my imagination, and those who felt weighed down by the bulk of the book can have their short novel, and both groups would probably both be happier.



That said, however, I highly recommend this book. It is fascinating, it is incredibly well-written, and it is a gorgeously put together novel, one whose length you don't feel until the very end. I wouldn't blame you if you gave up on the last few chapters, but don't let that discourage you from reading the rest of them, because they more than make it worth it. And really, at that point, you've already invested so many pages - what's another several dozen?