Middlesex
A unique coming of age story. While the main character in this novel is dealing with gender identity issues the main focus of this brilliantly written story is the confusion we all face as we grow into the person we were meant to be. The reader finds himself identifying with the main character's experiences. This is a brilliantly written story. The prose is honest in a way that few authors dare to write. Every word, every action, every thought, is symbolic of the common human experience.
Where Middlesex keeps showing up
Two of our editors' lists feature this novel.
Books in conversation with Middlesex
A few of the closest reads from our full list.
What you might want to know about Middlesex
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Cal Stephanides, an intersex Greek American narrator, traces a single recessive gene from a 1922 Asia Minor village to a Detroit suburb, the 1967 riots, and his own teenage discovery of his body in the 1970s.
Yes. Middlesex won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Jeffrey Eugenides also won the WHSmith Literary Award and was a finalist for several other major awards.
Middlesex is around 540 pages spanning three generations of a Greek-American family. The shifting voice and detailed history take adjustment. Most readers find rewards once Cal's narrative voice settles in.
Middlesex was written by Jeffrey Eugenides, published in 2002 by RBA.
Middlesex is 546 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Middlesex takes most readers 8 to 12 hours to finish.
Middlesex is a standalone novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, not part of a series.
Middlesex is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
