................. ..........................Middlesex......................................

by Jeffrey Eugenides / Review by Dan O'Connor

. . . . . I found this to be one of the best written novels I've ever read. I mean this in the sense that the author's craft was stupendous! The dialogue was snappy & precise . . . the narrative voice mesmerizing, confident, consistent and symapthetic . . . the scenes exacting . . . the pacing and momentum of the story with its fits & starts develolped and interwoven beautifully . . . the story substantial and well researched [or I was fooled, which I doubt]. . . the character arc present and the pages turned rapidly. I hated for it to end.

. . . . . . Having said all this, why is it then that this is not a book that everyone has heard of as one of the truly finest works of this century? The reason is unquestionably because this book is about a hermaphrodite, i.e., a person with both male and female sex organs. When people ask me what the book is about and I say this to them, I can see that the vast majority of them are no longer interested in hearing any more about it.

. . . . . .I can't really fault them, because I doubt I would have read this book, had I known what it was about beforehand. I bought it on the strength of recommendations by others. Then, as it dawned on me what the book was about, I already had it in my hand and had paid for it, so I continued, thinking, "I'll pitch this at the first sign of discomfort with the subject matter." This point never came.

.........I discovered that even in the distinctly different life of a hermaphrodite, there are common human hurdles, obstacles, hopes and desires to face and that hermaphrodites are people, too, with all the frailities and sensitivities of others. I could relate with the hero in many ways and often lost track of what he called his freakish qualities.

.........There was a look into the old country of Greece through his grandparents and the present day life in America of his descendant of immigrant parents, his brother and his relatives. I learned a lot about Greek history and their perpetual conflict with the Turks. I also learned about Detroit, the Ford Motor company and life in the Midwest from the 1920's on. The author did a spectacular job of putting the reader in the middle of the action. I was so caught up with the narrative style, depth and voice, that I would have followed along if it were about a trip to the grocery. But, it was not. It was about a brave journey through life by a disadvantaged narrator, first person.

.........There was one major flaw in my opinion and that was an incredible event that occured about 40% of the way through the book. It pulled me so far out of the fictional moment that I remember saying outloud, "What a pile of crap that is!" The unfortunate thing is that it was not an essential part of the story, so it could have easily been avoided. Yet, I found myself thinking in terms of six or seven (outside the list of possibilities) stars for this novel that I eventually forgave the author for insulting my intelligence and by the end had almost forgotten it entirely.

.........This author is capable of great things. The only thing that distinguishes this book from "book of the century" competition is the lack of a profound storyline. If it had been about the genocide in Rowanda, for example, it would be a Nobel Prize competitor. As it is, it's a great book and I encourage you not to draw a hastey conclusion about its potential to appeal to you.

. . . . .

Dan's		Book Review Report Card


		Narration: Even though the POV presumptions were in many ways preposterous and there were a few switches, it worked at a highly professional level.	A+
	Major Character Development	Calliope (Callie, Cal) : Well developed throughout the story; showed growth; was very sympathetic; good sense of humor.	A+
		Lefty, the grandfather: Diverse, well carved & crafted	A+
		Desdemona, the grandmother:definitely believable and impassioned.	A+
		The Father: Believable, a loving villain	A+
Dialogue		Sharp, authentic and distinctive	A

Narration / Prose		First Person / Lead character only -- with occasional third person powers of observation. POV shifts did not detract.	A+

Pacing		Excellent throughout; dramatic action scenes picked up and capitalized on quicker movement. The author was so adept at times that I felt he had my emotions in his hands and was toying with them.	A

Storyline Issues
	Continuity	Storyline outline clear and concise?	A
	Drama	Compelling and ever present.	B+
	Character arc	Was classic protagonist character arc present and compelling?	Yes
	Conclusion (AKA The Ending )	Poetic, appropriate, plausible and compelling ?	Yes

	Social value	Did I learn anything of value, either in terms of knowledge or insight into life?	Yes

	Author rating	Would I rush out and buy another novel written by this author? (I already know this author is capable of more. Review of a finer work (Middlesex) is just around the corner.)	A+

Overall rating		Thumbs up. Three and one-half stars.	A

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