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chinomi's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Incest, Hate crime, Body shaming, and Death of parent
ada_elisabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Let's start out with some basics: This book is long. While it's not actually any longer than a usual book I would read, this book is also slow. It's a family saga that unwinds generation after generation of drama, heartbreak, and triumph. It follows Lefty and Desdemona, two Greek immigrants to the United States, and then their son, Milton, and his wife, Tessie, before switching over to their child, Cal, who is the protagonist and narrator of the story. Lefty and Desdemona's story started out very, very slowly, and I found myself wishing that it would end. The first hundred to two hundred pages of this book felt like exposition, but the very beginning part was especially slow and dull. Eugenides created a witty, charming narrator in Cal, but that wit and charisma doesn't come out until Cal's own part of the story.
On top of being a little dull, the beginning of this book is also somewhat concerning: Lefty mentions that he's not attracted to any of the girls in his village in Greece. When I read that, I was like, 'Oh, okay. He's gay. That's a little challenging for this time period, I'm sure, but I think he'll work it out.' But no. He's
After Desdemona and Lefty, the story transitions to their son, Milt, and his wife, Tessie. The whole family moves out of the small house they're living in and into a house named Middlesex in a fancy Detroit neighborhood. Milt and Tessie's kids, Chapter Eleven and Cal, are shipped off to college and a fancy prep school respectively. (Milt owns a hot dog chain that allows him to do all of these costly things.) Lefty dies. Desdemona becomes bedridden with grief. Cal develops a crush on a girl at school, the Obscure Object.
My favorite part of this book was the relationship between Cal and the Object. It was perfect. The Object was the opposite of Cal: Aloof, dramatic, emotional. The back of the book compares Cal to Holden Caulfield, but I think the Object is the real Holden of this story. She even has the wealthy but uninvolved parents and smoking addiction to match. I could read a whole book of Cal x the Object. 10/10 for that alone.
After that the story gets a little more boring. Cal realizes that she's intersex and shares more qualities with a biological male than a biological female despite being raised as a girl. She's shipped off to New York so doctors can take notes on her complicated genetics. She runs away and begins to live as a boy before eventually coming back to Middlesex. The story concludes.
Overall, one of my favorite aspects was how grown-up Cal narrates his entire life story with a sense of omniscience. It makes the story more interesting, and a lot funnier. (Side note: this was one of the funnier things I've read. I never actually laughed, but the writing was witty and humorous and I could definitely see other, more lighthearted people laughing at this.) I did really like the entire thing, but the Obscure Object was my favorite part, so just for her, this is getting a 4.75/5 instead of a 4. (Oh, also +.25 for Clementine Stark's kissing lessons lol.)
HONORABLE MENTION PLOT TWISTS
2. That girl (Rachel? Rebecca?) dying in the middle of the school play.
3. Cal in Bob Presto's club in California.
4. Milton's death.
5. Desdemona revealing that she and Lefty were siblings.
"Biology gives you a brain. Life turns it into a mind."
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
thursdd4y's review against another edition
- 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
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
esophagus18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Incest, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, and Deadnaming
Minor: Pregnancy and Death of parent
yakukiro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Car accident and Incest
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, War, Medical trauma, and Dementia
itsmelaurenc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Incest, Racial slurs, Car accident, Child death, Infertility, Death of parent, Outing, Racism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, War, Death, Deportation, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, and Body shaming
kibiiiariii's review against another edition
- 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
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
bells_shelves's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Incest, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Police brutality and Death of parent
Minor: Racism and Islamophobia
aisabel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Incest, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Transphobia and War
hunkydory's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Incest
Moderate: Medical content and Xenophobia
Minor: Homophobia, Car accident, and War