Middlesex

By: Jeffrey Eugenides

Narrated by: Kristoffer Tabori

Length: 21 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

In the spring of 1974, Calliope Stephanides, a student at a girls' school in Grosse Pointe, finds herself drawn to a chain-smoking, strawberry-blonde classmate with a gift for acting. The passion that furtively develops between them - along with Callie's failure to develop physically - leads Callie to suspect that she is not like other girls. In fact, she is not really a girl at all.

The explanation for this shocking state of affairs is a rare genetic mutation - and a guilty secret - that have followed Callie's grandparents from the crumbling Ottoman Empire to Prohibition-era Detroit and beyond, outlasting the glory days of the Motor City, the race riots of 1967, and the family's second migration, into the foreign country known as suburbia. Thanks to the gene, Callie is part girl, part boy. And even though the gene's epic travels have ended, her own odyssey has only begun.

Spanning eight decades - and one unusually awkward adolescence - Jeffrey Eugenides' long-awaited second novel is a grand, original fable of crossed bloodlines, the intricacies of gender, and the deep, untidy promptings of desire.

Winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Audie Award for best unabridged fiction, Middlesex marks the fulfillment of a huge talent, named one of America's best young novelists by both Granta and The New Yorker.

Check out more selections from Oprah's Book Club.

©2002 Jeffrey Eugenides (P)2002 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

Audie Award Winner, Fiction (Unabridged), 2003

"Eugenides proves that he is not only a unique voice in modern literature but also well versed in the nature of the human heart. Highly recommended." (Library Journal )

"Not only are his interpretations of the characters astonishingly credible, but his internalization of the narrative is nothing short of amazing." (Publishers Weekly)

"A towering achievement...a story that manages to be both illuminating and transcendent...[Eugenides] has emerged as the great American writer many of us suspected him of being." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)

When will Tabori read the Virgin Suicides?

In the first few minutes I wasn't sure what I'd gotten myself into, I couldn't discern whether Chapter 11 was a child or a dog. But I wasn't going to drop a 20 hour book without at least a 20 minute audition. Am I glad I did. This is one of the best reads of which I've had the pleasure in a long time. The Audible blurb did not mention that Middlesex won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It is justly deserved.

Some customer reviewers didn't understand why so much of the book dealt with Cal's parents' and grandparents' lives. But that is the soul of this book. Cal is and was all these people; he was with them before he was born. The generations culminated in Cal. World history also plays a part in shaping all of us and it was amazing the way the simple Turkish silkworm could be used to lead this Greek family to a meeting with the Nation of Islam.

Kristoffer Tabori's delivery is nothing short of magnificent. He brings so much life to Eugenides' writing that you feel you are right there in the room with the Stephanides family.

I would select any Audible offering written by Jeffrey Eugenides and any book Kristoffer Tabori delivers. So the question is: When will Audible present Tabori reading The Virgin Suicides?

Most memorable book I've listened to this year

First of all the narrator is incredible. I love the Greek flavor he gives the story with his voice. I could listen to him all day tell stories. I found the book difficult to get into. For the first hour I was almosting regretting downloading it, but then after that I was in love with the story. The historical content and the social coming of age were the most interesting themes. I am so glad I listened to this and I plan to listen to it again.

A perfect audiobook

Jeffrey Eugenides is an excellent writer and he’s at his best in Middlesex. Not a dull moment in the whole novel. Plus, absolute five-star narration! This is one audiobook you’ll enjoy from start to finish.

Great book and great narration

The narration is so good I almost want to get into the car just to listen to it. The narrator constantly changes his voice to match the scene. My wife read the book and I keep trying to convince her that it is so good on audio, she should listen to it as well. The story is engaging and easy to follow. The characters are convincing and the historical period described is really brought to life.

A Big Story, A Bit Too Forced

In Vonnegut's Timequake the author mentions that he would have liked to write a novel about his German immigrant family, but concludes there are not enough interested people to read about Germans in middle America. Middlesex proves this point wrong, or maybe right. While this book has received much praise, including The Pulitzer Prize for fiction, I had a hard time sticking with this long book. Much of the imagery used is overly cute, such as TV images ("Now let's see all this in fast forward . . ."). This problem for me is that the reflexive narrative tools are too shallow and have little meaning of their own, but rather are just like candy thrown out to prove the book is post-modern. All that said, the book starts and ends with the interesting story of Cal. What the reader ends up with is not this tempting story, but all the family history that has come together to create the genetic defect. This is a bit interesting. Eugenides uses the genetic defect to lead his story through all the details of the family members who own the DNA.

Great read!

This book should be required reading for everyone! The narration was excellent, Tabori was a perfect choice.

Poignant story told beautifully

What did you love best about Middlesex?

I was drawn in quickly and held, to the very last lovely 'page'.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters came to life through the amazing narration.

Which character – as performed by Kristoffer Tabori – was your favorite?

Desdemona.

If you could take any character from Middlesex out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Callie, of course. Navigating through the first five minutes would be awkward but just imagine the dinner conversation!

Entertaining and Interesting

One of my absolute favorites. Best narration / performance I've heard to date. Well researched.

Fantastic Book with a Jewish Reading (What?)

This wasn't what I expected--more epic than a gender study--but I sure loved it. This was a very well-written, fast-paced, interesting book. I highly recommend it. I did have one caveat, however. What's with the Jewish accents when the people are supposed to be GREEK? Admittedly, the strong Jewish reading was a bit rattling, but once you get by that, the narration was actually excellent. This was one of my favorite listens. I gave up two days to listen straight through and it was worth it!

Fabulous

Fabulous
Interesting, informative, educational, fun, entertaining. Everything I look for in a story.