Middlesex Entry Two

Eugenides writing style is very detailed and descriptive. I like how he really begins the story with Calliope not even born yet. However, Calliope is telling the story of what life was like before she was born. I find it interesting how throughout the novel, Calliope does not really mention anything about herself. She always goes into vivid description about her grandmother's life and how she feels. I wonder how Calliope developed such insight into her grandmother's life, but I imagine that Eugenides wanted Calliope to narrate the book and give information about each member of her family in detail.

Calliope has been born, and her parents are relieved that they gave birth to a baby girl instead of another boy. The book goes into detail about how the parents tried so many theories and methods just to have a baby girl, which definitly shows that during this time many women wanted daughters so that they may be able to help around the household. This book takes place in the 1970's, so it may be possible that the whole idea of women being the household leader and men going off to work astigmatism may exist, just not to the extent that it used to. Calliope immediately states as soon as she is born that "I was extracted, spanked, and hosted off, in that order. They wrapped me in a blanket and put me on display among six other infants, four boys, two girls, all of them, unlike me, correctly tagged." Thus, this proves that Eugenides did not want the main concept and idea of the novel to be lost within the shorter and side stories occurring in the novel as well. As soon as Calliope is born, she then informs the reader that she will "rewind the film, so that my pink blanket flies off, my crib scoots across the floor..." Clearly, it seems as if Calliope wants the reader to not find out certain pieces of information in the beginning chapters of her life...could it be because she is constanly describing herself as a hermaphrodite and will not really give the reader any other information on her personality?? Is the author's message that a hermaphroditic disorder, or any other genetic disorder, defines you right away as soon as you are diagnosed with it, but possibly as you continue to live with the disorder you begin to define yourself with other things?? All the concepts explored in this book are so complex and analytical, and it surely will allow the reader to form their own forms of analysis on certain characteristics of the book.

So far, this book has eagerly grabbed my attention but certain attributes to the novel still leave me pondering....what could the significance of having Calliope tell her story even before she is born to then telling the story of her grandmother? I think Euglenides wants the reader to have an in depth look at each of the characters so that when the family learns of the news that Calliope is a hermaphrodite, the reactions that each of the family members will have will go along with the description that Calliope provided.

I would definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy novels that have a lot of complex meaning behind the story and one that forces the reader to look at all aspects of the novel in order to discover hidden meanings of the book Euglenides may have left the reader.