Reviews with content warning for Violence - Middlesex

Usually I deeply enjoy a multi-generational tale. This one, though, felt oddly shallow. The themes and issues presented included incest, severe intergenerational trauma, forced immigration, and the narrators’ experience as an intersex person. But it all feels shallow. At least in the first part. I decided to end my journey with this book early because it felt as if these topics were not handled with the gravity they deserve.

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elenaj15's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Incredible writing and such an interesting subject matter! Even though the book starts out slow, it kept my attention the entire time and had an incredible plot line and characters.

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dada0407's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Eugenides's writing is really striking and well-woven. It brings his questionable characters to life, and manages to drag us through decades of events, from the greatest tragedies to the utmost pedestrian.
I was deeply moved by the narration of the greek genocide and the migration of the Stephanides family, and the description of the subsequent lives of the greek and turkish diaspora in the US, the portrayal and history of the city of Detroit. This felt real, and this is what I will keep from this book.

I am embarrased, though, by the treatment of the novel's protagonist, Cal, and the way their intersex identity is handled.

First: although I get the "greek tragedy" fatum plot device, it is unacceptable that this character's intersex identity is presented as a fatal punishment, subsequent to the family's wrongdoing and

incest

. While the rest of the book can be informative on many parts, this (ever-present, hovering) bit is incredibly offensive AND disinformative. Also, I was unsettled by the sex scenes in the book, and in restrospect, I think it comes from the fact that an adult man writing a detailed account of (very young) teenage girls' experiences IS questionable, and from a feeling of fetishization - the very same that Eugenides seems to point at (from the doctors, the club...) of intersex genitals. This is a shame.

I will end on the fact that this book still holds interesting information of the mistreatments of intersex people that still happen today, with forced genital surgery and amputation, imposing a binary frame on people who do not fit it. I don't understand how Eugenides managed to raise that critic while still pushing back Cal into this same binary frame. (

"I am OK as a girl. I like a girl! (And more precisely "boobs" -_-) That's because I have a high level of testosterone. I don't want to undergo an operation to be a "proper", binary girl... Thus, I am a man!

)
This feels really awkward. Let's keep in mind that this was written in 2003, by someone who was not informed about intersexuality. While I would still encourage people to read this book, it is really NOT for its portrayal of an intersex character.

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thelaurasaurus's review against another edition

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The only time I remember I'm meant to be reading this book is when I log in to review another book. It's fair to say it hasn't grabbed me.

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manatad's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I had read this book once before nearly ten years ago and absolutely loved it. For some reason I wasn't sure if it would hold up as well for me today, but I have to say I enjoyed it almost equally as much.

I think this is an ambitious novel. The blending of the generational family saga and (fictional) memoir within one book reminds me somewhat of John Steinbeck's East of Eden, as does its similarly slow-paced and rambling style (which I love); however, there are just a few areas where the novel fell short for me.

There are several historical events interjected within the story, and the characters' involvement with them did not always feel natural or cohesive with the rest of the plot. A couple of these moments were a bit jarring for me as a reader. Jeffrey Eugenides's prose is also a bit too flowery for my usual taste. For the most part, I loved his writing (Obviously, otherwise I would not have enjoyed the novel at all.) but there were several instances where I had some difficulty interpreting his metaphorical use of language, especially during descriptions, and found it necessary to look up a photo of what was being described. (One may simply attribute this to my own poor reading comprehension.) And unfortunately, the many heartfelt descriptions of the city of Detroit were mostly lost on me because I have never been there.

This last bit is purely my own personal preference: I don't very much enjoy media about awkward teenagers, and this was largely what the second half of the book was made of. I was a teenager when I read this book for the first time and must have found it all relatable, but reading it again forced me to remember all of the tumultuous emotions, insecurities, infatuations, and humiliations I had to endure at that age. It was at times a bit uncomfortable for me, to be perfectly honest.

This is not entirely a bad thing from my point of view, though. I appreciate the blunt honesty of Eugenides's writing and his willingness to describe even the uncomfortable moments of life using his graceful, sensual prose. And while I personally wasn't able to visualize his beloved Detroit, my imagination flourished in his descriptions of the places I am more familiar with.

I think that Middlesex is an immigrant story at its heart, and this is my favorite thing about the novel. Maybe I'm biased, being the child of an immigrant myself, but I do believe this. Eleutherios and Desdemona's story, which was completely unrelatable and without context for me during my first read, was so compelling to me this time around. I just loved this section of the book. And the way that those two, with their children and grandchildren, try to maintain their Greek roots through the generations speaks to me as well. It's harder for me to articulate my feelings here because there is emotion involved, so suffice it to say that I see a resemblance in my own life and upbringing.

I would love to recommend this book to my friends. It has many interesting themes relating to gender identity and transformation, and it contains numerous allusions to Greek mythology. It is a deeply intimate and thoughtful story, and I think that the author, not being an intersex man himself, shows great sensitivity and empathy in his depiction of the character, Cal. I did not feel that there was anything manipulative or exploitative about this book. To me, it was a story full of love.

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mareike9's review against another edition

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I expected a very different story and I did not enjoy the writing style.

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