Review: Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a beautiful book, full of great images and dialogues, filled with prose that is really, really good.
The characters are great and perspire the truthfulness that comes from writing about one's culture to be seen by the "mainstream", whether it's cultural (as the characters are greek-americans) or sexual.

I couldn't suggest any improvements to the book, since it's really solid, though some of the portrayals border on the charicaturesque, maybe due to stereotypes that are not the author's fault but which undoubtedly have their weight on the reader (the old wise grandmother, the selfish second-generation immigrant, etc).

What I missed, as I was approaching the end, was another look at Cal's adult life. We spent so much time on his grandparents and parents that it seems we barely get to know him/her before the book's over. I guess that's just the way it had to be, since most of life's strongest experiences are when we find out who we are, usually in adolescence. But watching the character cope with his condition was like an afterthought in a book that is, ostensibly, about a rather complicated-to-put-your-head-around theme. So I wished we got more than a glimpse at adult Cal and his relationship with Julie, too.

Overall, a must-read for anyone that likes beautiful prose and quirky characters with a good dose of social commentary on the "Americana" circa 1930-1970.

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