"; if(is_file("header.php")) include "header.php"; else include "../header.php"; ?>

Wonderful narrative, amazing book Middlesex is one of the most amazing books I have read, ever. It's a Great American Novel about 20th century Detroit. It's the chronicle of three generations of the Greek immigrant family Stephanides. It's the narrative of hermaphrodite Cal Stephanides. Above all, it's a very funny, thoughtful book. Cal narrates the story in a voice that seems to change from feminine to masculine as the story develops. Looking back with the omniscience provided by hindsight and literary freedom, Cal describes Desdemona and Lefty's departure from Smyrna, then their arrival in Detroit; the birth of their children; the rise of Detroit as the Motor City, prohibition, depression and the race riots before switching to Cal's own birth, childhood and discovery. The first half of Middlesex is as colourful as history can be, the second half as amazing as any personal history. The writing is erudite but fluent and the narrative never seems to lag, forcing you to read one more page and then another and another before putting the book away. If the characters sometimes seem caricatures that only serves to enhance the development of history and the narrator. Life subtly and sometimes not-so-subtly changes it's actors, and Cal is the main one in this novel. They all come to life in brilliant tones. And if this review seems overabundant in praise that only reflects my feelings after finishing the book.