Quite the Compelling Tale

"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974."

From the moment I read that very first line, I was hooked on this book. This is the perplexing tale of how a hermaphrodite raised as a girl named Calliope Stephanides becomes a 41 year old man named Cal. Yet, Cal's existence isn't explained at the very beginning. First, the author, Jeffrey Eugenides, must take you through 80 years of family history beginning in 1920's Greece to reveal how Cal's existence came to be. He reveals the disturbing secret of how the genetics of it all came into play, but must do it by telling the story of an incestuous union or two.

In the midst of this family history also comes a bit of American history. From the rise of the Ford Motor Company to the race riots of 1967, Eugenides takes you on an amazing jaw-dropping ride as Cal/Calliope begins to uncover his/her dreaded family secret.

There are moments of comic-relief, sad moments, shocking moments, and happy ones. This book certainly takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride. You become so attached to Cal that when you realize you're almost done with the book, you feel a sense of loss.

I did recommend this book to a friend and she read it in 3 days. This book has well over 500 pages, but she was so awestruck by the story, the history and the stellar writing that she read it in less time than I did. She and I both have had difficulty reading other books since that time, because it doesn't seem like any we pick up compares to the overall quality and fullness of Middlesex.

Jeffrey Eugenides definitely deserved the Pulitzer Prize he received for this book.