You might have noticed by now that I seem to read more non-fiction than fiction… and then I read a book like Middlesex and wonder why that’s the case. I read the whole thing (500+ pages) straight through over the weekend. And the weather was lovely here! But no swimming for me, just reading.
The story is told by Calliope Stephanides, the grandchild of Greek immigrants, and it leads you through the stories and relationships within her family over three generations. She also leads you through her own life story and her relationships as she realizes she’s not the girl she thought she was, both figuratively (the usual coming-of-ages tropes) and literally (that is to say, genetically — which freshens up the tropes considerably!).
5-alpha reductase deficiency is the name of the condition that Callie, later Cal, is discovered to have. Upon this discovery, things start to go haywire for Callie. I really wish the story had carried on through Cal’s life, up to the present where Cal is narrating this history instead of cutting off when Cal is a teenager. I was pretty invested in this story, all the characters and how they overlapped and intertwined and cheated each other. I could have kept reading for another thousand pages.
The Greek names and history reminded me, when I was reading, of the great philosophies and plays. A book tackling sex and gender and sexuality and big philosophical questions seems an odd choice for a beachy weekend, but I like my fiction heavy, apparently.
Put the Book Down 