Middlesex

by Jeffrey Eugenides

Wow! I don't really know where to start. . .

Calliope Helen Stephanides is a hermaphrodite. When she was born, the doctor didn't thoroughly examine her genitalia, so nobody knows that she's not a girl. And nobody will know until Calliope reaches her teen years.

How did this happen? That is what the story is really about. We will travel back in time to a small village in Asia Minor and meet Calliope's grandparents. And we will learn the origin of Calliope's "defect."

More than anything else, this is a fabulous family saga. Readers experience the journey of the Stephanides family to Detroit, the development of this family, and the consequences of family secrets.

A riveting and worthwhile novel.

8/2/08