Dec/Jan 2013- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Middlesex gave us a lot to talk and think about. Most of us loved the depth of history from Greco-Turkish War to the rise of The Church of Islam and the Detroit riots, the narrative going back and forth but never losing its thread. As Cathy pointed out the ongoing story of the silkworm weaving throughout the story also kept it all together and moving at the same time. Annette found the historical context a bit much and was keener to find out how Calliope was coping with the changes to her body and life. Phil loved the way Eugenides successfully wrote in the first-person and then in the third and again didn’t lose track of where he was going. There were poignant moments like the teenager Calliope’s horror at seeing her identified as a ’monster’ in a library reference book.

And I’ve got to mention of Cheryl’s eureka moment when she realized the title of the book had something to do with Cal’s confused gender. Good work Cheryl!

So the scores are:

Alison 8

Anna 9.5

Annette 8

Cathy 8

Cheryl 9

Genevieve 10

Kristy 9

Megan 10

Phil 10

Average 9.05