Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6409 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Review
'Superbly readable' Sunday Telegraph 'Truly original and compelling' Daily Mail 'A vibrant chronicle wonderful' Independent

An adolescent coming of age, incest, race riots, transgender issues, intermarriage, the cultural isolation of immigrants and chapters called 'The Oracular Vulva', and 'Gender Dysphoria in San Francisco'... too much, surely, for one book? But pass over it at your peril: this is a beautifully written epic tale, spanning eight decades and three generations of a Greek family who migrate to America in the 1920s. The story is told by 41-year-old Cal Stephanides, who has inherited a rare genetic mutation that means that he is part woman and part man. But this is not a sensation to the reader, nor shocking - we are in on the secret from the start, and there are plenty of secrets in the Stephanides family. One of the particular joys of the book is the way we can look in microscopic detail at the intimate hopes and tragedies of individual characters as they are played against great sweeping social and political changes in 20th-century America. Eugenides writes with great compassion and humour of individuals' struggles to find a place within the world and to thrive within conventional boundaries. All the characters are vividly and memorably drawn and the reader really cares about each of them. A brilliant achievement. (Kirkus UK)

Sunday Times Books of the Year
'This year's most sumptuously enjoyable book ... superb'

GQ
'The best American novel since The Corrections ... exuberant, ambitious, deeply compassionate and wildly funny'

Customer Reviews

Lost in Middlesex
This is a very special book, wonderfully composed with true skill using flowing prose and marvellous insight; both researched and I suspect experienced. I feel my life has been enriched for having read it, few books have left me with such a lingering, sleep disturbing feeling of fulfilment. High Praise maybe, and the subject matter is original to say the least, but either way I would recommend this as essential reading to anyone.

Middlesex
This is quite a tricky book to review. I felt the first half of the book was worth 3 stars, yet the second was easily worth 5. The first half seemed overlong, with needlessly flowery prose and I kept thinking that it could have done with a really good edit. It also seemed to be a history lesson in places rather than a novel - as though the author had a list of dates and events and was fitting the plot around them, rather than the other way round. I also have to say that Desdemona seemed a bit cliched and became worse as the book progressed! I understand that this book was more than just Cal's story, but I felt the book really came to life and was completely engrossing once Cal was on centre stage. Overall, a really good read - highly recommended.

modern classic
I read this book after seeing it on so many'most loved'lists,i wasnt sure what to expect as i'd read The Virgin Suicides,and although i enjoyed it,didn't think it lived up to all the '5 star' reviews.This book'however was the real deal.The style of writing reminded me a little of Louis de Bernieres latter offerings,and even,dare i say,Salman Rushdie's later works.I would heartily reccomend it to anyone, it was one of those books which i found myself reading at any given opportunity,which for me lately is pretty rare.Although the chapters aren't exactly small,I still seemed to race through them in no time.I read on average 20 books a year,and only good fiction,and this would easily make the Top 5 of probably the last 2 or 3 years.I'm not a big lover of all things American, but she certainly produces some top writers.I've been reading reviews on Amazon for a lot of years and this is the 1st time I've felt compelled to write one.Give it a go,if you enjoy good fiction,you won't be dissappointed.