'I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of l974.' So begins the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides and her truly unique family secret, born on the slopes of Mount Olympus and passed on through three generations. Growing up in 70s Michigan, Calliope's special inheritance will turn her into Cal, the narrator of this intersex, inter-generational epic of immigrant life in 20th century America. Middlesex won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
The best book, so far I have read this year, the bildungsroman/coming of age, Middlesex is a beautiful saga that brings to the fore, the angst of a teenage girl as she discovers a biological (life changing) secret that lurks within her. This bitter truth leads to her emancipation and final metamorphosis. The novel tells the tale of the Stephanides family through three generations, spanning from a time in Greece to their final exodus, Grosse Pointe, in the United States of America. The langua...
when i first picked up this book, i was a little apprehensive, given the strong subject matter, however the book itself never gets too heavy or overwhelming, but glides smoothly through out the story. Also it never gets preachy or too sympathetic, but the reader feels how the characters are being normal in their very own way. Strongly recommended.