Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Middlesex

If you're looking for a graceful, reflective handling of intersex people and issues, never touch this book. Intersex people have said what I'm about to say better and in more detail if you're interested, but in short, this book seems deadset on painting intersexuality as some kind of monstrous deformation, and it is not lighthanded in this treatment either (for example, the main character's intersexuality is a direct consequence of incest). Furthermore, for a book all about living inbetween categories, it absolutely refuses to look at gender as anything other than binary. I didn't find out until after reading that Eugenides refused to research anything about intersex people for "authenticity" (!?). Its a real pity, because the first half of the novel speaks very poignantly about the experience of immigration and growing up an immigrant, and the prose (whilst sometimes a little overworked and cringey) works in its favour most of the time.
If it's possible for you to only read the first half of the book and then return it to your local library once the main character gets born, that would be ideal.

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kibiiiariii's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

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hunkydory'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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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bootsmom3's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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finleigh's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

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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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lief_'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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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myantigone's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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