Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

 Middlesex

by Jeffrey Eugenides

 

What a great book!

Middlesex tells the story of Calliope/Cal Stephanides as she/he navigates the realization and acceptance of intersexuality, tracing the origins of the recessive gene that caused the mutation to her/his body.

We follow the incestuous relationship of Cal's grandparents and Greek family through the early to mid-1900s, and the often-funny antics of the cast of characters, which includes the death-obsessed Desdemona, the American Dreamer Lefty, and Cal's Americanized, yet Republican father Milton and her mother Tessie. Cal's sciency-turned-hippie brother Cal and Cal's girlfriend nicknamed The Object round out story's central characters. A cast of side characters populates the book, set mainly in Detroit (a character in itself), and gives the story a vital and diverse richness that delves deep into the ideas of otherness in America.

Cal as a young girl navigates her bodily differences with the rest of the girls she knows, constantly comparing herself to them and focusing on her lack of breasts and menstruation as she enters puberty. The story continually cuts back to the lives of her grandparents and parents before her birth, contextualizing the travels and cultural factors of her recessive gene through their stories. Intercut are scenes of Cal living as an adult male in search of bodily acceptance to the point of being able to be open about his body with a lover. The search for acceptance both within the psyche and with others is a prominent theme of this book.

Middlesex tackle the themes of life, sex, and inheritance--what gets passed down from one generation to the next and how we live within the confines of our sex. It is also about reinvention; about becoming Americanized, as well as becoming another gender.

The story is funny and moving. The characters are interesting, their flaws are laid bare and we empathize with them while we chuckle at their beliefs and bad decisions. Cal is likeable and we root for her/him to gain that self-aceptance and place in the world. Detroit is alive in Middlesex, full of its own rich history throughout the decades.

Middlesex gets 5 stars. One of the best books I've read so far.