The new couple is now forced out of their home and into a place where they only know one person. These two characters next flee Smyrna because of a great fire and move to America. This is the first rebirth: they must stop thinking about each other as brother and sister and start thinking of each other as husband and wife. The first two characters we meet are Desdemona and Lefty, a brother and sister from a tiny village who end up marrying each other. Parallels of a New CreationĪll over this book there are transitions, renewals, rebirths. As I sit here and think about how the writing was so gorgeous I immediately want to riffle through my bookshelf and read it again.Ī rare number of books have what it takes to draw me back to the bookshelf for their story and their sentences. My favorite novel, The Poisonwood Bible (the number one spot on my top ten list), has this rare combination and it makes such a tragic and amazing story even more beautiful. I think of what the novel All The Light We Cannot Seedid for me in combining good writing with a great story, and I fawn over it.

If a truly good author is lucky, they will come upon a truly good story once in their life. It is to an author’s glory when they can find the balance between being a great writer-a truly great writer-and having a great story. I could read her novels nonstop, sapping in all the glory she packs in one sentence, even though her books are about nothing. Her stories put me to sleep faster than a full glass of Nyquil, but her writing keeps me awake for days. While many of the best authors tell lousy stories. Many of the best stories are told by okay authors. I find that with many authors there’s a disparity between telling good stories and telling them in compelling ways. His writing makes up only half of his genius. I was (and still am) tempted to write to Eugenides, asking him if I could be his slave for a few years and just watch what he does, how he writes-an offer that still stands if you’re reading this, Mr. He had me verbally upset with him at times because I was jealous of how well he could write a sentence or how that sentence led the reader into some greater truth about a character. He is one of those authors I constantly curse because he is such a good writer. Middlesex proves that Jeffrey Eugenides is an absolute master. It is one of the deepest and most compelling novels I’ve ever laid my hands on. It is about immigration, family, gender, identity, and rebirth. It makes you feel the racial tensions during and after the civil rights movement. It is about that same family coming to America and learning how to live and pursue the American Dream. This same family flees Greece after being caught in a massive fire that burns down their entire town. While this book is about an incestuous Greek family who produces an innersex child, it is, obviously, about so much more.

Middlesex book review