fantastic video with two of my favorite novels. love the way Eugenides puts out books much like Tartt, far and few in between but crafted so delicately. i remember reading Middlesex ages ago and though i didn't necessarily love it, it was a book i could never stop thinking about. perhaps because it is one of my favorite family saga novels that captures generations of family so realistically without ever missing a beat. though The Marriage Plot is a bit messy in its form, construction, and end result, it's still rich in character study and foils that make it interesting. hope you give it a go one of these days!
Middlesex is one of my all times favs. I’ve read it twice, you may have inspired me to have another go. It’s remarkable all of the social, cultural, familial issues he explores, while writing a fantastic and fully developed character, without it being a mess. And, as you noted, the prose is just fantastic. Re the concern about intersex origins, I think the author is suggesting that for Cal’s specific cause of intersex, there is a rare autosomal recessive gene. Two copies are needed for expression. For ANY autosomal recessive gene, receiving 2 copies is more likely with genetically related parents. In this case it happened to be intersex instead of cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia.
I have read both and still have copies so re reads coming up. It will be interesting to see what I think of them now especially now that gender issues are more widely spoken about and understood now than when Eugenides wrote Middlesex over twenty years ago.
Two of my all-time favorite novels! It's wonderful to hear someone else love them as much as I did; both were 5 star reads for me. I read TVS in 1995, and M in 2004, and I became an evangelist for Eugenides. I still recommend them! You might want to just bask in his glory, because The Marriage Plot is nowhere near these books. As my friend (another bookseller) wrote, "I made the unfortunate choice to read TMP last summer. The writing is lovely, yes, but the story is a f***ing mess. I could not understand why/how this young woman's feelings could be sooooo torn between a spiritual flip-flopper and a manic-depressive dou**bag. Because that's a great idea! Endrant." It worked better for me, as messed up relationships are fascinating to me. My comparison was "The painful sucker-punch of both TVS and M is absent here." I really liked it at the time I read it, but it hasn't aged well. I haven't read Eugenides' short stories, though, because I'm not a short story fan. Do you think you'll try TMP or the short story collections? I'd be so interested in hearing your thoughts. Great review on these two -- I agree 100%!
I had similar qualms about The Virgin Suicides (being kept at arm’s length from the sisters), but what I found over time is that somehow, the Lisbon sisters have positively haunted me anyway. It will be interesting to see if you have a similar experience. I really liked Middlesex when I read it (when it was first published), but admit I’ve been nervous to revisit it in case it didn’t age well. You may have given me some courage. I did not enjoy The Marriage Plot. Have not yet read the story collection, but would like to at some point.
As almost always we have the same reception to books. I love these 2 books. Same set of gripes except in Middlesex I am one of those who didnt research about the intersex thing. You didn’t mention, but Virgin Suicides is also very humorous. Which is really great considering its topic.
I read both of these books years ago (within a year of Middlesex being published and then I read The Virgin Suicides about a year later). While I much preferred Middlesex to The Virgin Suicides, I did marvel at how versatile Eugenides is. My one question is: did you feel like the language in Middlesex was a bit dated? I know that is just something that happens in language, but I wondered if it would impact the reading experience.
oh I’m excited to read Middlesex now! I wanted to grab a copy immediately after reading The Virgin Suicides last year but somehow held off, sounds incredible 🏛️
fantastic video with two of my favorite novels. love the way Eugenides puts out books much like Tartt, far and few in between but crafted so delicately. i remember reading Middlesex ages ago and though i didn't necessarily love it, it was a book i could never stop thinking about. perhaps because it is one of my favorite family saga novels that captures generations of family so realistically without ever missing a beat.
though The Marriage Plot is a bit messy in its form, construction, and end result, it's still rich in character study and foils that make it interesting. hope you give it a go one of these days!
Middlesex is one of my all times favs. I’ve read it twice, you may have inspired me to have another go. It’s remarkable all of the social, cultural, familial issues he explores, while writing a fantastic and fully developed character, without it being a mess. And, as you noted, the prose is just fantastic.
Re the concern about intersex origins, I think the author is suggesting that for Cal’s specific cause of intersex, there is a rare autosomal recessive gene. Two copies are needed for expression. For ANY autosomal recessive gene, receiving 2 copies is more likely with genetically related parents. In this case it happened to be intersex instead of cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia.
OK I'm definitely going to have to read both of these 😍
Before I even watch this I must say: the thumbnail rocks 😄
I have read both and still have copies so re reads coming up. It will be interesting to see what I think of them now especially now that gender issues are more widely spoken about and understood now than when Eugenides wrote Middlesex over twenty years ago.
Nice. Middlesex is in my top five. The Virgin Suicides was good, too. Mr. Eugenides, please write another novel!
Two of my all-time favorite novels! It's wonderful to hear someone else love them as much as I did; both were 5 star reads for me. I read TVS in 1995, and M in 2004, and I became an evangelist for Eugenides. I still recommend them! You might want to just bask in his glory, because The Marriage Plot is nowhere near these books. As my friend (another bookseller) wrote, "I made the unfortunate choice to read TMP last summer. The writing is lovely, yes, but the story is a f***ing mess. I could not understand why/how this young woman's feelings could be sooooo torn between a spiritual flip-flopper and a manic-depressive dou**bag. Because that's a great idea! Endrant." It worked better for me, as messed up relationships are fascinating to me. My comparison was "The painful sucker-punch of both TVS and M is absent here." I really liked it at the time I read it, but it hasn't aged well. I haven't read Eugenides' short stories, though, because I'm not a short story fan. Do you think you'll try TMP or the short story collections? I'd be so interested in hearing your thoughts. Great review on these two -- I agree 100%!
I had similar qualms about The Virgin Suicides (being kept at arm’s length from the sisters), but what I found over time is that somehow, the Lisbon sisters have positively haunted me anyway. It will be interesting to see if you have a similar experience. I really liked Middlesex when I read it (when it was first published), but admit I’ve been nervous to revisit it in case it didn’t age well. You may have given me some courage.
I did not enjoy The Marriage Plot. Have not yet read the story collection, but would like to at some point.
I'll let you know if the book stays with me in that way. Hope you're good greg.
Middlesex is one of my all-time favorite books
As almost always we have the same reception to books. I love these 2 books. Same set of gripes except in Middlesex I am one of those who didnt research about the intersex thing.
You didn’t mention, but Virgin Suicides is also very humorous. Which is really great considering its topic.
I have had the exact same reaction to you spiel on Virgins out of the blue in 1993. Cambridge.
I read both of these books years ago (within a year of Middlesex being published and then I read The Virgin Suicides about a year later). While I much preferred Middlesex to The Virgin Suicides, I did marvel at how versatile Eugenides is.
My one question is: did you feel like the language in Middlesex was a bit dated? I know that is just something that happens in language, but I wondered if it would impact the reading experience.
Loved Middlesex and liked the other two. I actually liked The Marriage Plot better than The Virgin Suicides.
oh I’m excited to read Middlesex now! I wanted to grab a copy immediately after reading The Virgin Suicides last year but somehow held off, sounds incredible 🏛️