Middlesex

MIDDLESEX

by Jeffrey Eugenides

 

Award: Pulitzer Winner 2003

 

Nominations: Dublin Finalist 2004, James Tait Black Finalist 2003, National Book Critics Circle Finalist 2002, NY Times Finalist 2002, Oprah Book Club 2007

 

Dates Read: April 8, 2006 & July 10, 2021

 

So beautiful I read it twice, Middlesex delves into the debate about sexual identity, gender identity, and what makes us men and women. Is it genetic? Cultural? Biological? I think the answer is all of the above. This is a debate that is ongoing in the U.S. as some political factions seek to forever identify humans by the gender on their birth certificates while others are embracing they/them pronouns and can comprehend how some humans can be non-binary. I am in the latter camp. 

 

On an aside, I am mystified why some cannot understand that not everyone fits into neatly defined, black and white categories. In the beautiful diversity and vastness of human experience, of course there will be those who are too unique to fit into a nice, neat check-box. Even though I am a cis-gendered, straight female, even I can get this through my head. Now on to a few thoughts about the topic at hand.

 

I believe that Lefty and Desdemona, so incredibly young and isolated, fell in love with the fantasy of each other. The fact that it was utterly taboo may have added some extra shameful heat. But their union was ill-advised, regardless of being siblings. They married the fantasy and taboo, instead of the true being. Watching their marriage slowly deteriorate was heartbreaking. 

 

The narrative keeps asserting that Dr. Philobosian should have noticed Callie’s “difference” when she was born. But I don’t understand why Tessie didn’t notice when she was changing her diapers. Has the author never changed a poopy diaper? You get all up in there to get that baby clean. How could the mother not notice? For me, this is a glaring plot hole.

 

While I understand why Callie ran away, to prevent the surgery they had planned for her, I never believed until this point that she felt like a boy. I find that biology dictated she was a boy and finding this out in Dr. Luce’s report forced her down that path. I don’t believe it is a path she would have sought on her own.

 

All those nit-picks aside, I love this book. I believe Eugenides deals with the subject matter so intelligently, carefully and tenderly that you can feel every embarrassment and shame Callie has growing up with a body that just doesn’t conform to the usual standards.

 

I love this book for furthering much needed discussion about gender identify and what makes us men and women at a time when these topics were continuing to bubble to the surface in the early 2000’s. Our language is continuing to grow to embrace the diversity that human nature has laid out for us, but of course, more growth is needed.

 

I love that Eugenides points out that those that were considered “other” in native tribes were bestowed a holy status and were looked to as shamans or those closer to the spirits than “normal.” When I learned this during a Native American art history course in college I found that fact so beautiful it made me cry. 

 

I love. I love. I love. And instead of judgement, Eugenides opens yet another avenue for all of us to love and to discover other avenues for the diversity and beauty in the human experience.