Pulled together by isolation, sympathy, and, perhaps, fate, Lefty and Desdemona become husband and wife, and a recessive genetic condition begins its journey toward eventual expression in their grandchild Calliope. In 1922, Desdemona Stephanides and her brother, Lefty, whose parents were killed in the recent war with the Turks, are living alone in their nearly abandoned village.

Cal traces the story of his transformation and the genetic condition that caused it back to his paternal grandparents, who happen also to be brother and sister, and the Greek village of Bithynios in Asia Minor. 'I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960 and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974.' So begins Jeffrey Eugenides 's second novel, Middlesex, the story of Calliope Stephanides, who discovers at the age of 14 that she is really a he. Watch him talk more about The Obscure Object, reading the book as a man or a woman, and more.Ī dazzling triumph from the best-selling author of The Virgin Suicides, Middlesex is the astonishing tale of a gene that passes down through three generations of a Greek-American family and flowers in the body of Calliope Stephanides. The conversation kept going after the show was over! Jeffrey Eugenides answers questions from an audience full of Middlesex readers. How much of Middlesex is autobiographical? How long did it take Jeffrey Eugenides to write the book? Where was he when he found out he won the Pulitzer Prize? Oprah sits down with the man behind Middlesex! Then, watch exclusive Q&A video with the author. Read them all, plus get the inside scoop on his next book. Jeffrey Eugenides answers your questions about his quirky character names, Greek myths and more in Middlesex. He began with best-seller The Virgin Suicides and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Middlesex. How much do you remember about Middlesex? Test your knowledge of the book with this quiz! Get your summer reading calendar and thought-provoking questions to ponder during your literary journey on this exclusive Oprah's Book Club bookmark. Embark on your own journey for answers with your book club! Get the conversation rolling with discussion questions from each section of the book.

In Middlesex, Cal is on a quest for the truth.

Start at the very beginning of the epic journey of Calliope's Greek-American family. Middlesex is a story about what it means to occupy the unnamed middle ground between male and female, Greek and American, past and present. On the road to self-discovery, family secrets are exposed and an astonishing genetic history is uncovered. As a child, Calliope Stephanides never felt like other girls her age.

Eugenides jeffrey middlesex