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Morgan 's Reviews > Middlesex
Middlesex
by
by
A DIFFERENT KIND OF BEING
“Some people inherit houses; others paintings or highly insured violin bows. Still others get a Japanese tansu or a famous name. I got a recessive gene on my fifth chromosome and some very rare family jewels indeed.� (Pg.401). “Biology gives you a brain. Life turns it into a mind.� (Pg.479). So says Calliope Stephanides.
This sweeping family epic comes down to one family member Callie/Cal who narrates the story of her family from their harried flight from Smyrna, a tiny village in Asia Minor in 1922 to their roots in Detroit, Michigan. It is a story of immigrants and a story of complicated gender issues. A saga spanning three generations that leads this one child to a choice, or perhaps more so ‘an awakening�, compliments of genes and chromosomes. The narrative smartly concerns itself not only with the physical but also, and importantly, the psychological aspects of ‘intersex� people.
What could be a heavy, ponderous book is written with a lightness of being making it immensely readable while imparting serious and deep revelations.
While symbolism plays a part � not the least of which is the title of the book � this is an intelligent well written story with many aspects for the reader to ponder.
“Some people inherit houses; others paintings or highly insured violin bows. Still others get a Japanese tansu or a famous name. I got a recessive gene on my fifth chromosome and some very rare family jewels indeed.� (Pg.401). “Biology gives you a brain. Life turns it into a mind.� (Pg.479). So says Calliope Stephanides.
This sweeping family epic comes down to one family member Callie/Cal who narrates the story of her family from their harried flight from Smyrna, a tiny village in Asia Minor in 1922 to their roots in Detroit, Michigan. It is a story of immigrants and a story of complicated gender issues. A saga spanning three generations that leads this one child to a choice, or perhaps more so ‘an awakening�, compliments of genes and chromosomes. The narrative smartly concerns itself not only with the physical but also, and importantly, the psychological aspects of ‘intersex� people.
What could be a heavy, ponderous book is written with a lightness of being making it immensely readable while imparting serious and deep revelations.
While symbolism plays a part � not the least of which is the title of the book � this is an intelligent well written story with many aspects for the reader to ponder.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
April 9, 2014
–
Finished Reading
May 15, 2020
– Shelved
May 15, 2020
– Shelved as:
read-long-ago
