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| Plot Summary of Middlesex |
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"Calliope Stephanides is a fourteen year old hermaphrodite in 1970's era Michigan who was born a girl but realizes she is actually a he. This first-person narrative is about life, sexual identity, and finding a place for all of us at the American table. Eugenides won the Pulitzer prize for this, his second novel."
Christopher J. Stephens, Resident Scholar
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"Calliope Stephanide's story begins in Turkey and Greece, 60 years before her birth with the marriage of her grandparents, siblings desperately trying to avoid war. Their marriage, and a unique genetic flaw they pass through their children to their granddaughter, is the reason she is a hermaphrodite. The book tells her story, beginning with her grandparent's history in Turkey, continuing through their life in Detroit, and the raising of their children. The story continues with Callie's own childhood up through the point of her self discovery at 14. "
Rebecca Reissman, Resident Scholar
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"In 1922, a grown brother and sister flee the Turks' burning of the Greek city of Smyrna and make a new life for themselves in Detroit as man and wife. They and their children make a life for themselves in the new land, working in the car factories, running a tavern, and even teaching members of the nascent Nation of Islam to make silk. The narrator of the entire story, Cal Stephaniades, is in the foreign service in Berlin near the end of the century, but his story involves 14 years as a girl because of his genetic hermaphoditism. Cal was known as Calliope, attended all-girls schools, and developed a crush on a wealthy blonde in Grosse Pointe. "
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Middlesex |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Inside culture (main char)
- Greek
Other aspects:
- immigrant story
Strong "rags to riches" component?
Yes
Kind of sex:
- incest
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society)
- American Midwest
If story of urban/rural...
- Big city life
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Taboo sex story?
Yes
Lover is
- of a different social class
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- diplomat
Age:
- 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Greek
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 2 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
City?
Yes
City:
- dirty, grimy (like New York)
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- touching of anatomy
- lesbians!
- descript. of female anat. (the big V)
- descript. of nude males (the big P)
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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