Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

15 reviews

thursdd4y's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Gore, Car accident, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Dementia, Grief, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Murder, and Violence

yakukiro's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident and Incest

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, War, Medical trauma, and Dementia

cinnaminskies's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: War, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Outing, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Homophobia

dada0407's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual content, Violence, and Medical trauma

kibiiiariii's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Classism, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, War, Abandonment, Car accident, Death, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Sexism, Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Genocide, Grief, Infertility, Islamophobia, and Pregnancy

bootsmom3's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Body shaming, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Death, Incest, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexual content, Transphobia, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Dementia and Grief

teaxmillions's review against another edition

challenging funny 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Sexual content

Minor: Transphobia

lief_'s review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Death of parent, Incest, Sexual assault, Deadnaming, and Dementia

Moderate: Racism, Transphobia, Gun violence, and Body shaming

Minor: Lesbophobia, Medical content, and Outing

mpswans1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Medical trauma, Genocide, Dysphoria, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Grief, War, and Death of parent

Minor: Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Body shaming, and Drug use

sastork's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

Moderate: Homophobia, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Dysphoria, Medical trauma, Incest, Transphobia, Body shaming, Car accident, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Sexual content, Dementia, and Racism