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Title: Middlesex: A Novel
ISBN: B0013TFBDI
Author:
Jeffrey Eugenides
Publicate Date: 2002-09-16
Publish: 2002-09-16
List Price: $15.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $6.74
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.70
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Pretty good but flawed
I enjoy reading this novel, but it would be a lot better told from a different (consistent) perspective. The mingling of 1st person narrative with an omniscient narrator jars me from my belief in the story. Also the characterization is pretty loose and 2D. These are not very convincing people - they're more like minor characters on television. For a much better book with some similarities in the story line (immigrant families, race mingling in the lower classes, a period covering the early to the late 20th century)I recommend I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb, which is an amazing book and far superior to this one, which is more dependent on its gimmicky hero/heroine and basically just a fun read at best.
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2: What's all the hype about?
I expected so much from this book! People at my book club RAVED about it. I trudged through it, expecting it to get better, and it finally did--in the last quarter of the book. Why did I have to trudge through 350 pages of Greek history to get to the meat of the book? I don't get it, and I certainly don't get what makes this book Pulitzer-worthy.
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3: Good plot
This book has a large mid book lull. For me it started out great and I enjoyed the background material from the "Old Country". Then in mid book I nearly gave up finishing. Glad I didnt, because it picked up speed nearing page 291, and actually I suppose a person could start reading on page 291 to get most of the points of the book. I however, did enjoy the initial setting of the plot. And how many people are voting on the author actually being Cal?
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4: Stellar character development...
On the surface, a story about a Greek-American hermaphrodite. Calliope/Cal narrates this tale of birth and rebirth.
Cal describes the family history and traces the journey of a rare, recessive gene over about 80 years. Cal's grandparents flee from their burning home in a small village in Turkey. Desdemona and Lefty, brother and sister, reinvent themselves during their journey to America and get married. When their son marries his cousin, two recessive genes collide. The result? Calliope, raised as a girl until an emergency room doctor notices something different about her. A visit to a famous specialist in New York sets Calliope on a completely new path and she is reborn as Cal.
Excellent character development and the intricate details of Cal's convoluted family history will keep readers turning pages. The normal adolescent angst and sexual exploration take on a whole new dimension, yet these issues are handled with grace, sensitivity, and, often, humor.
I did not expect to like this book, as it was on my "have to read" list, rather than the "want to read" list. Nevertheless, Cal's story grabbed me from the very first lines. Excellent read.
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5: Wonderful audio book!
I drive 2 hours round trip each day to work. As such, I listen to LOTS of audio books. Middlesex was a treat!!! The story itself is beautiful, but it really comes alive with the narrator's depiction of the characters.
If the book is too big and time is too short, try the audio version. You won't be sorry!!
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