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.
0 Comments
I'm trying a new thing on my reviews: a read more button! From now on, you'll get to the end of my plot/subject matter description/blurb thing and see that there is no more review. To get to that, click the little teal "Read More" link on the bottom right (I'm annoyed that Weebly won't let me make it more visible...) and see the rest of the review! I'll also implement the button in my old reviews. I'm doing this to make it easier for you to find the reviews you want to see. It's so much broader than looking in tags, but doesn't force anyone to scroll through a huge, great post after determining from the blurb (how I hate that word) that they are really not interested in that particular book. It might also make my site load faster, with less text per page. Let me know in this review's comments how you feel about the button. Does it help you find what you want to see? Does the page load faster? Is it hard to find the button? Do you feel discouraged from reading further? Do let me know!
Now. Onto the book that this is actually about. Since Behemoth is the second book in a series, I'd recommend you check out Leviathan first--the review for context, and the book itself to avoid spoilers. Prince Alek and Deryn Sharp are now aboard the Leviathan together, and they are headed for the Ottoman Empire--Istanbul, specifically. This land at the edge of Asia and Europe has so far stayed out of the war, but can it last? The Clanker Ottomans are furious after a ship promised to them by the British was snatched up before delivery by a nervous Churchill. However, Dr. Barlow claims that her mysterious mission will somehow keep the Ottomans out of the war. Of course, nothing can possibly go that smoothly. From the beginning, diplomatic excursions are plagued by disasters--and there's the small matter of Alek's tutors feeling the need to escape the airship ASAP. Behemoth introduces new places, new people, and new creatures for the next installment of Deryn and Alek's adventures in an alternate WWI universe where countries fight with genetically engineered creatures or huge, moving machines. Wow. Okay. I've been reading this book for a long time (like nearly two months), and so I had plenty of time to think about what I would write for this review.
I randomly picked up this book at Powell's Books in the fall. (The cover is beautiful.) I didn't get around to starting it until late February or early March, because my to-read stack is always so massive... I noticed the profusion of praise on the covers, of course, but I had no idea that Hild would be so amazing. This book isn't thick, but it's heavy--heavy not with ink and paper, I'm sure, but with the story. It's the seventh century in Britain, and a three-year old girl's childhood ends when her mother's companion, Onnen, comes into the woods where young Hild and Onnen's son Cian are playing. Onnen announces that Hild's father--Hereric, the aetheling (potential heir)--is dead. And then Hild is being groomed to be the seer of the king, Edwin, her great-uncle. For a child, she is brilliant. For a child, she has a huge amount of responsibility. One misstep, one "vision" that doesn't come true, one wrong friend, could lead to the loss of everything and everyone she loves, including her own life. Matters grow more complicated when the bishops and priests of the new Christian religion start arriving at Edwin's halls and weaving themselves in the political and religion fabric of the island. Hild is the story of the early life of Saint Hilda of Whitby, drawn from the very slim records of history and Nicola Griffith's brilliant imagination. Hello, readers. Night Vale is now podcast, theatre, and book. That I listen to the podcast and have read the book is entirely thanks to my friends Kyra and Aida, so, thanks, guys. *Makes an unnamed slurping noise and squirms in their general direction.*
N.B.: You don't have to have listened to the podcast to read the book, but it might be helpful. Meaning, reading this review could spoil some parts of the podcast for you. You can listen on iTunes, YouTube, Bandcamp, and I think some other places, too. The podcast is weird and wonderful. You shall not regret it. "It is a friendly desert community, where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome to Night Vale" (1). We fans know these words well. They are, after all, a perfect description of the strange town that we have fallen in love with. In this strange town, Jackie Fierro, the perpetually nineteen-year-old owner of the pawnshop has her life disrupted. One day, a man wearing a tan jacket and carrying a deerskin suitcase, and whose face and name are impossible to remember, brings a piece of paper to the pawnshop to be pawned. The paper reads "KING CITY" in pencil. Jackie gives the man thirty dollars and an idea about time and takes the paper. And can't let go. Jackie quickly realizes that the piece of paper that won't leave her hand and tells her "KING CITY" every time she looks at it has changed her life forever. But tracking down the man in the tan jacket is difficult, considering that no one who has seen him can remember him, or even seems willing to talk about him. Diane Crayton has been struggling to raise her son Josh, who is a fifteen-year-old shape-shifter. But Josh, who rarely talks to her, has begun asking questions about his missing father again. Diane does everything she can to keep Josh from finding his father, but it doesn't help that she's been seeing him all over town, and that everyone at work thinks she's crazy when she insists that an employee who no one can remember has vanished. It's got a rather horrible title and the texture of the cover is shudder-inducing (it's got some weird soft coating on it). Despite these drawbacks, If You Could Be Mine is a wonderful little book, and it was about time that I read it (been sitting around since June).
Sahar and Nasrin have been in love since they were children. They're complete opposites--Sahar is quiet, studious, and steadfast, while Nasrin is popular, dramatic, and spoiled--but their love has lasted in secret for eleven years. The girls both know what the Iranian government thinks of people like them, and so they say nothing of their relationship. But when the string of Nasrin's suitors that they think of as no more than an annoyance suddenly turns into one man--one fiancee--they cannot go on as they always have. Sahar needs a way to take back her girlfriend. She finds a solution that sounds perfect--in Iran, sex reassignment surgery is encouraged for those who feel born in the wrong body. Sahar will do anything for Nasrin, even this. I read this book in a day. I never do that--at least not since second grade, when I begun to realize that I was too old for Magic Treehouse if I went through the books that fast. To be fair, I stayed up until 1:30 AM to finish Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, but perhaps that's even more impressive.
It is so hard to describe this book. The back cover sounds so dreadfully ordinary and dull, and I don't blame whoever wrote it. It's nearly impossible to do it justice without just going into detail about everything in the book. It cannot be summarized, let alone in the way that back covers do it--designed to entice, not describe. AaDDtSotU is made up of all its parts, which is what makes it so wonderful and unique. Summer of 1987 and Ari Mendoza is fifteen and miserable. For the past eleven years, his brother has been in prison and no one will talk about him, especially not his parents. Ari doesn't even know what Bernardo did. Ari's father fought in the Vietnam war before Ari was born, and he barely knows him, silent and inexpressive as he is. But when Ari, who can't swim, goes to the pool one day to float and listen to the older lifeguards say stupid and creepy things about girls, he meets Dante, whose voice is squeaky with allergies. Dante offers to teach him to swim, and Ari accepts. Dante seems so perfect and happy. He laughs all the time. He loves art and poetry and reading. He has a wonderful relationship with his parents. He gets along with everyone. He is almost the exact opposite of Ari, and yet they become friends. Neither one of them has ever really had a friend. As the summer goes by, Dante and Ari spend time together and get to know each other better each day. But one rainy evening, a terrible accident results in a hospital visit and a lot of confused feelings on all sides, changing Ari and Dante's relationship. In the course of a year, Ari and Dante learn much about each other, their families, and living. |
Archives
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
All
|