Cal Stephanides, narrator of Middlesex, tells the story of the past three generations of his family. He begins with his grandparents' incestuous escape from war-torn Asia Minor, through his parents' all-American courtship, and then through his own childhood. Cal was born Calliope Helen Stephanides, believed by everyone to be a girl until adolescence began to reveal the truth. Cal intersperses the epic of his family's story with updates on his adult life working for the embassy in Berlin, commenting on the world's view of him, and meeting someone to whom he finally might be able to tell his secret.
I read Middlesex for school. In the past year, I have read five books for fun and eleven for school. If you follow IWMCW regularly, then you've probably noticed... But I actually enjoyed Middlesex and have had to do only a bit of work with it so far, so I haven't yet wrung it out. When I had to pick my novel for summer reading, I was down to this one and Cider House Rules by John Irving. My mom said that she thought I'd really enjoy Jeffrey Eugenides' writing style, so I got Middlesex (also, it was the slightly shorter one).
Cal Stephanides, narrator of Middlesex, tells the story of the past three generations of his family. He begins with his grandparents' incestuous escape from war-torn Asia Minor, through his parents' all-American courtship, and then through his own childhood. Cal was born Calliope Helen Stephanides, believed by everyone to be a girl until adolescence began to reveal the truth. Cal intersperses the epic of his family's story with updates on his adult life working for the embassy in Berlin, commenting on the world's view of him, and meeting someone to whom he finally might be able to tell his secret.
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It's been at least a year since I read Nobody's Princess, so I did have some trouble remembering exactly who these characters were and why they were doing what they were doing. Fortunately, Esther Friesner is quite good at reminding you where you left off without making an absolute mess of it. Here's an absolute mess: "So-and-so had gone to This City because he was looking for his little sister Blah, who had been kidnapped by a man named Mr. Whatever." Then, even if you have forgotten what's going on anyway, you feel utterly stupid. Here's a more subtle way: "So-and-so shuddered at the memory of Mr. Whatever's cruel expression as he snatched little Blah from the armchair. So-and-so now found himself in This City, not knowing where to look for the evil Whatever and sweet Blah." Better? I hope so. In the first version, you feel a bit like a five-year-old who has just missed some important family discussion and is now having the details explained painstakingly and way too clearly to you. In the second version, you feel more like you're (gasp) reading a book--and not only that, but like the book was written by an author who can actually write.
In my previous review for Deception's Princess, I did mention Frienser's writing's lack of completely amazing qualities, but I have returned to finish off the story of Helen of Sparta! You might wish to read Nobody's Princess before proceeding to read this review. Helen, hearing of Prince Jason's voyage to seek the legendary Golden Fleece, has disguised herself as a boy named Glaucus, and she and her friend Milo, a former slave, are sailing to Iolkos, where the Argo is supposed to be setting off from. They get work as weapons-bearers for a hero named Iolaus, and soon begin their adventure. But it's not nearly as easy as they had hoped--Helen has to avoid her older brothers, Castor and Polydeucus, lest they should get a good look in and recognize her for who she really is. On top of that, Helen's growing up, and passing as a boy becomes harder and harder with each day. As if that wasn't bad enough, she gets caught up in a horrible love triangle--she has fallen for a beautiful weapons-bearer named Hylas, who loves his master Herakles, who loves Helen's boy identity. More and more people are taken into Helen and Milo's confidence, and the secret is bound to come out soon. Some characters from Nobody's Princess reappear, such as the hero Iolaus and the famous Athenian king Theseus, along with Helen's family, and new characters are introduced, including the Argonauts, mad Princess Medea of Colchis, and the unfortunate Athenian guard Telys--and of course Menelaus, the man who will become Helen's husband, enters the picture near the end. |
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August 2017
AuthorI am Fiona, a 16-year-old person. I write reviews of books that I read. I love reading, writing, spoonerisms, word jokes, accents, In Which chapters, parentheses, long dashes, et ceteras, and acronyms. Categories
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