Maura

//Middlesex//

"Big, funny, flamboyantly imaginative..." ~//The Arizona Republic//   "The book's length feels like its author's arms stretching farther and farther to encompass more people, more life..." ~//The New York Times Book Review//   "Yes, it's that good; and yes, it's about a hermaphrodite..." ~//The Men's Journal//

__About the Author__ The author of //Middlesex// (A Pulitzer Prize winner, 2003) Jeffrey Eugenides was born in Detroit, Michigan, of Greek and Irish descent. He attended Grosse Pointe's Liggett School. He earned his undergraduate degree at Brown University, and graduated in 1983. He later earned an M.A. in Creative Writing from Stanford University. In 1986, he was honored with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship for //Here Comes Winston, Full of the Holy Spirit//, a story. Eugenides is hesitant to disclose details about aspects of his personal life, but does so discreetly through book signings in Michigan. Here, Jeffrey Eugenides expands upon the deep influence from his hometown of Detroit. He has said that he has "a perverse love" of his birthplace. Currently, he resides in Princeton, New Jersey. He has a wife, Karen Yamauchi, with whom he has a daughter, Georgia. He has also written //Baster// (1996), //The Marriage Plot// (2011), and short stories in //The New Yorker//. In the fall of 2007, Eugenides joined the faculty of Princeton’s Program in Creative Writing. He is known as a controversial author that portrays his opinion and purpose in a mysterious manner.

__About the Book__ The book //Middlesex// by Jeffree Eugenides was published in 2002. It takes place in Europe but then shifts to, and focuses primarily on Eugenides’ hometown of Detroit. Here, Eugenides cunningly emphasizes the importance of Detroit to him, while demonstrating its significance on teenage life there through the protagonist, Cal(lie). Cal, or Callie, is a young, Greek hermaphrodite whose incestuous family comes to America in hopes of leading an average life, while striving to conceal their contentious lifestyle. Cal realizes that he is different, and the author takes a satirical standpoint to express his feelings of being an outcast and object of interest to doctors and different health organizations. As Cal grows, he is exposed to ordinary American lifestyles, and comes to the realization that neither he, nor his family fit this mold. The satire of this piece makes a divisive subject, one easier to understand with a less judgmental nuance.

__Character and Conflict__ The protagonist of //Middlesex// is at first, a young girl named Callie whose destiny it is to become a man to be named Cal. There is an abnormal gene in Cal’s family that subjects its members to forbidden love. Cal’s grandparents Lefty (grandfather) and Desdemona (grandmother) have an insatiable yearning for each other, despite the fact that they are brother and sister. However, incest in Cal’s family is not uncommon, for Desdemona and Lefty’s son Milton falls in hopeless love with his parents’ cousin, Sourmelina. The major conflict in //Middlesex// is that of a taboo sequence of love. However, this conflict is overcome in both instances by the pureness of the love each incestuous relationship is made of. Despite the pattern of incest, Callie, the daughter of Sourmelina and Milton is born a seemingly typical young girl. Until the peak of her teenage years, Callie was looked at as a beautiful girl, that would flourish into an even more beautiful woman. Nevertheless, her family’s fate cast its “curse” on Callie as well. A flaw in sexuality, as seen in her parents and grandparents, led to self-realization, and a coming-of-age for Callie. Her class, ironically, read the Greek tragedy //Antigone//, and Callie was chosen to be the part of Tiresias, an all-knowing, future-seeing prophet. Here, Callie comes to the recognition that her future will hold a change for her, physically and emotionally. From this point on, Callie will live her, now “his” life, as a growing male named Cal.

[|I][|nterview with Jeffrey Eugenides]

__Theme__: Jeffrey Eugenides demonstrates through his accepting perspective of a litigious lifestyle, that a person facing trying circumstances should learn self-acceptance. __Book Review:__ Jeffrey Eugenides //Middlesex// is a captivating, compelling, seemingly mythical story of a young, Greek girl turned man that learns to accept his/her circumstances for what they are. Eugenides uses a forbearing tone to entice his readers, creating a non-judgmental atmosphere. He speaks of the trials and triumphs of forbidden love, and proves that a wholesome love is greater than a traditional love. //Middlesex// is an enchanting story of love and coming-of-age, while it includes the perplexing and controversial idea of the subdued sexuality of a hermaphrodite. It takes a look at life through an outsider’s eyes, while teaching the reader self-realization and acceptance.



__Analysis of Style__ In Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides makes a controversial topic one of satire by using an original style. His **diction** can be humorous at times when Cal (the main character) jokingly pokes fun at his gender crisis and uses allusion, while at other times it can be a diction that leaves the reader left to their own interpretation of its meaning. Eugenides diction is undoubtedly the most important aspect of his style that makes his writing so entertaining, enjoyable, and unique. His word choice allows the readers to formulate their own ideas of the meaning and purpose of the work. His diction is elevated and extensive, without being overbearing or overwhelming to the audience. Although his syntax also contributes to the quality of his style, his diction plays the most significant role and all other aspects of style are trivial in comparison. In parts of the book, Eugenides uses a diction that creates an atmosphere of hopelessness and self-hatred, making the reader feel as if they are living Cal's life right beside him. Critically, Jeffrey Eugenides is seen as a writer that should be held with much esteem. His ability to write about such a controversial and hard-hitting topic while maintaining a relaxed tone makes him a writer of great popularity to readers and to critics and other writers.
 * "Everyone struggles against despair, but it always wins in the end. It has to. It's the thing that lets us say goodbye." (Eugenides 479)
 * "Regret, already sogging me down, burst its dam. It seeped into my legs, it pooled my heart." (Eugenides 214)
 * "Emotions, in my experience, aren't covered by single words. I don't believe in 'sadness', 'joy', or 'regret.'" (Eugenides 368)
 * "in Detroit, in July of 1967, what happened was no less than a guerilla uprising. The Second American Revolution." (Eugenides 37)
 * "When he is at the top of his game like this, Eugenides demands respect as one of the finest writers of his generation." (Gioia)
 * "Finding new ways of telling the story, though, is clearly central to Eugenides' project as a novelist." (Lawson)
 * "Beautifully written...Eugenides has an extraordinary sensitivity." (//Publishers Weekly//)