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A review by jonmayb
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.0
I went in to this book genuinely expecting to enjoy it, but really didn't. While I felt as though it added interesting depth to their characters, I found the 200 introductory pages of Cal's inbred family to be unnecessarily long.
Additionally, it is never described quite how Cal, who narrates these 200 pages, knew with such detail their events. While he does learn that Desdemona and Lefty were brothers, it is never clear when he learns of his parents' own inbred nature. At a certain point, he mentions that his father never knew that his parents were siblings, which just seems really unbelievable.
Additionally,"Callie's" transition to "Cal" goes practically unexplained. For the 250 pages pertaining to Callie that precede her instantaneous transition, it is described how, despite her physical attributes, she seems to fit in with girlhood, and that she attempts to align herself more with it. Then, with absolutely no explanation, no reflection, nothing at all, Cal emerges instantaneously from Callie and solidifies himself within his new, assured gender identity. No character-driven narrative precedes this. By the time he arrives to this conclusion, the book is less than 100 pages from over.
The narration, at times, felt unnecessarily convoluted. Cal's reference to his childhood friend as "the Obscure Object" seemed entirely artificial. He cites his reasonings for referring to her as such for "protecting her identity," but does not fail to name-drop every other character in the book.
Ultimately however, while it did build up to a painfully unfulfilling anticlimax, for the most part, I enjoyed reading the chapters on Cal's own life growing up.
Additionally, it is never described quite how Cal, who narrates these 200 pages, knew with such detail their events. While he does learn that Desdemona and Lefty were brothers, it is never clear when he learns of his parents' own inbred nature. At a certain point, he mentions that his father never knew that his parents were siblings, which just seems really unbelievable.
Additionally,"Callie's" transition to "Cal" goes practically unexplained. For the 250 pages pertaining to Callie that precede her instantaneous transition, it is described how, despite her physical attributes, she seems to fit in with girlhood, and that she attempts to align herself more with it. Then, with absolutely no explanation, no reflection, nothing at all, Cal emerges instantaneously from Callie and solidifies himself within his new, assured gender identity. No character-driven narrative precedes this. By the time he arrives to this conclusion, the book is less than 100 pages from over.
The narration, at times, felt unnecessarily convoluted. Cal's reference to his childhood friend as "the Obscure Object" seemed entirely artificial. He cites his reasonings for referring to her as such for "protecting her identity," but does not fail to name-drop every other character in the book.
Ultimately however, while it did build up to a painfully unfulfilling anticlimax, for the most part, I enjoyed reading the chapters on Cal's own life growing up.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Transphobia