Middlesex in Overdue Podcast

Oct 11, 2016 Jason rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own

'It's Complicated' as a relationship status has never been more accurate than it is for the Stephanides family. Calliope/Cal Stephanides might also wish to use that as the descriptor for their sex.

A friend told me a while back that, 'this is definitely your type of book', by which I am not completely certain that their intent was to be complimentary to myself or the book, but right he was none the less. If I had to guess what my friend meant, I would imagine he was trying to convey that it was 'It's Complicated' as a relationship status has never been more accurate than it is for the Stephanides family. Calliope/Cal Stephanides might also wish to use that as the descriptor for their sex.

A friend told me a while back that, 'this is definitely your type of book', by which I am not completely certain that their intent was to be complimentary to myself or the book, but right he was none the less. If I had to guess what my friend meant, I would imagine he was trying to convey that it was a slow burner with a human interest sort of story line, that tends toward the depressing, and while that may be an oversimplification of both what I enjoy to read and this book in particular, I can not honestly completely refute the sentiment. When the dust is settled, the cover closed, and the Stephanides family left in peace I will say that while this three-generation tale is certainly worth while, the first half was a bit of a laggard, I feel like the story could have been at least as effective in a slightly leaner condition. This was not a perfect novel, but it was an excellent one and I found it worthy of being rounded up to five stars.

Love is probably the largest theme - complicated love, familial love, and self-love. This was also a book about immigration, feelings of belonging and not belonging, passion and desperation. This is a book meant to make you think about people, humanity, love from a slightly different perspective. It's a beautiful book, it's a humanizing book, it is 'my type of book'. Another way to put it is - who wouldn't love a book about incest and with an intersex person for a primary character? I suppose there are quite a few actually... but again while that description is not inaccurate, it is an overly simplified version of the truth that replaces a rich diversity of grey hues with a wide swathe of cheap black and white. Come bathe in the fifty shades of grey with me (wait, not that book - this is nothing like that book) and let your little grey cells get to work (as one Hercule Poirot might say), because this is a story that will stick with you for a long time to come. ...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Amber rated it it was amazing

To start out with I really loved this novel, I thought it was a brilliant story about a unique (and oftentimes hilarious) family, growing up and defining oneself, and finally about gender identity. I do not put this last carelessly. I really did not see this as a novel purely based on the author's desire to publish a commentary on gender-defined roles. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. (Also, at this point I feel to be fair I should say it will be hard to write this without any spoilers, so To start out with I really loved this novel, I thought it was a brilliant story about a unique (and oftentimes hilarious) family, growing up and defining oneself, and finally about gender identity. I do not put this last carelessly. I really did not see this as a novel purely based on the author's desire to publish a commentary on gender-defined roles. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. (Also, at this point I feel to be fair I should say it will be hard to write this without any spoilers, so read ahead at your own risk and know the book is still worth reading.)

The book is broken up into four very distinct parts and this is what makes it hardest to explain or define. To sum up, it could be called a sprawling Greek-American family's epic that segues in the second half into a unique coming-of-age story for a third generation child. What starts out as an immigration story becomes something completely different.

The easiest way for me to explain my feelings about this book is separate it into generations. The story of Lefty and Desdemona's flight from Turkey, clandestine marriage, and beginning a life in America enthralled me. I particularly thought Desdemona's feelings, reactions, and changes were realistic and humorous. Her neuroses played out similarly to my own grandmother's making it easy to imagine her. Lefty was also a well-drawn dimensional character. While he could have easily been flat and boring, his details made him very lifelike.

The second generation lost this a bit. Milton, while an interesting idea, seemed too unbalanced to be real, but was a good foil for Tessie's similarly unlikely character. Milton's personality was too strong too often, while Tessie's simpering, depression bored me. Their teenage selves did not match their grown selves well and the change over was too quick to allow me a chance to adjust. I liked Tessie during her adolescence, but she too quickly disappeared and became her annoying adult version.

Finally, the third generation of Cal and Chapter Eleven once again brought me into the story. I think they need to be looked at together, because while the story is mainly Cal's, Chapter Eleven plays his own part. I liked in particular Chapter Eleven's metamorphosis while at college as it was similar to those I've seen in many of those in my own generation. College is partially about throwing off the box you've been defined by for the past 18 years and partially about finding out where you actually fit. Calliope, later Cal, goes through a similar process, but at an earlier age.

Now to discuss the major plot point of the second half of the book: I saw Calliope's sexual awakening and later gender identity reversal as symbolic (but much more drastic) of the changes all kids go through during adolescence. While the scientific aspects of his case were interesting to read and added a flair of drama not usually present in coming-of-age books, I found the similarities to a normal pubescent teen more striking than the dissimilarities. I think if you read this with the idea that the author is aiming at making grand statements about gender roles in modern life, than you'll be disappointed. If you read it as a narrative about a girl who doesn't know who or what she is, then it becomes an impressive piece of literature.

In all, I really believe you can get out of this book what you want. There will be those who are not impressed with it or are disgusted with the story or will be disappointed that it's not a diatribe against the modern idea of gender. I went into this book knowing a minimal amount about the plot and having no expectations and was very happy with it. I think the author has done an admirable job at following up his first novel, The Virgin Suicides, with another equally well-written novel about a family and coming-of-age while at the same time bringing light to a topic many people know little about. If there is anyone besides me who hasn't read it, I highly recommend it! (Sometimes it seems like I'm the only one who hasn't!) ...more

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