What readers think of Middlesex, plus links to write your own review.

Every january Our Martinis and Manuscripts, my book group, reads the Pulitzer-winning novel for the past year.

Over the years we have had some winners and a few big time losers. Then came 2003 and WOW! This book is worth every page...our highest rating is a 5 (Middlesex Equal) (this book is our touchstone for good reading) .

Why?

First,the writing is superb. Eugenides writes like an angel, at times his words are lyrical, his first book The Virgin Suicides was like reading a dream (the movie was awful). His writing makes one read every word no skipping around in this book.
Second, you will care about the characters. A reader will know their thoughts, their desires; their dreams and nightmares, there are times you will cry for Calliope/Cal, others times cheer. Third and last, you will just enjoy the read! There is history: the 1922 war between Greece and Turk; the growth of the city of Detroit's and its decline. There are gangsters and murders, and most of all there are love stories, love of self, love of friends, love of family, and love of survival.

The last sentence makes one weep...you just will be so sorry the book is over and so happy..well you have to read it. This book has everything, please give it a try, you will not be sorry.

I had to read this book for a class, and I was very surprised that it turned out to be one of my favorite books of the semester. It's about a hermaphrodite, but it's about so much more. I would highly recommend it, even to people who are turned off by the subject.

This book was wonderful. I hated it to end.

I wondered about the Chapter Eleven name too. I remembered reading that "Cal" was written into a book. And his/her whole family (I would assume) was also written into the book. Chapter Eleven was a character that was weird and interesting with a little more side of weird. So I think "Chapter Eleven" is a expression for being that weird character.
I loved the story. Fabously written.

I wondered about the name Chapter Eleven too. It becomes clear at the end when we hear the Cal's brother <<edited for potential plot spoiler content>>.

Overall, I loved the book. I did not mind "chapter 11". The thing that annoyed me the most was the drawn out, "every little detail" descriptions throughout the book. At the start of the book, I did not mind as it gave me a feel of Greece and the struggle but by the end I was screaming at the book, "when is it going to end".

Jeffrey Euginides' sophomore effort is more than an effort. It is an electrifying, fantastical narrative that examines the lives of three generations of Orthodox Greek Americans, caught up in their quest to attain the ever elusive American Dream.
The protagonist, Calliope Stephanides is a beautiful, ordinary teenage girl who's also intensely intelligent, but discovers on her sixteenth birthday, that she's indeed a boy. Or rather, hemaphrodite.
Weaving in and out of wonderous day to day parables, Euginides creates a gentle, wry, full, rich comedy of both social errors, social misunderstandings and social injustices.
It is indeed, a marvel of a masterpiece.

I enjoyed Middlesex, but Cal's intersexual nature and his coming to grips with it are oddly the least convincing aspects of the book. The other generations of his family are so much more at the core of the story.
A reader below gave the reason for "Chapter Eleven"'s name, but what does that explain? It seems cruel and taunting to the character to reduce him to this small part of his story, as well as frustrating to readers who don't understand it until the final pages. I kept thinking, "Did I miss his real name?" Minor, but annoying. I wonder if anyone has ever asked Eugenides?