This book was and is very popular. I doubt there are many people who haven't heard of it (especially after Oprah added it to her book club). It is also a Pulitzer Prize Winner. I had heard about it on a television show about hermaphrodites. However, I never would have read it had it not been for the list. Can I just say, thank goodness for this list! This book was perhaps one of the most amazing books I have read ever!
It is narrated by present day Cal, telling his life of how he started out a typical girl of Greek descent, Callie, and came to be who he is today. He starts from the beginning - the very beginning, which means starting with his grandparents, Desdemona and Lefty. When we first meet this couple, they are brother and sister (and also third cousins), but, as you can tell, later on they get married. This allows them to pass on the mutated fifth chromosome that they have been carrying to their children. However, their children do now experience the deformities.
The gene that causes the hermaphrodite 'syndrome' (for lack of a better word) is not dormant or recessive, but it more picks and chooses when it will rear its ugly head. The fact that Cal[lie]'s parents are first cousins helped the gene pass to Cal. It skipped her brother, Chapter Eleven (yeah, that's really his name, what a crack up!). It just chose Cal.
Now mind you, this story is, in fact, a NOVEL. Novel being a fictional story. However, it is based on true events, sort of. Jeffrey Eugenides did a lot of research when writing his novel, and coordinated with experts all along the way. However, one thing he made certain not to do was associate with any real life hermaphrodites. He wanted to make his own character - without basing any characteristics on any one else.
I believe he did an excellent job! I was so unsure about reading this at first. In fact- I started this one because I had enjoyed A Fairy Tale Of New York so thoroughly, I thought I should read something that I wasn't so excited about. Also - I wanted to read something that was a little more modern in its writing. This was an excellent book! I would recommend it to every adult (There are some sex scenes and drug use that you may want to shield children from). An easy read (530 pages that I read in just 4 days!) and an all around excellent book!
You feel that you're reading a real story, a true account. Also - I love how it switches between modern day Cal and the past, the story that got him there. That way you're constantly trying to find out how and why. You become intrigued with the modern character and want to learn more about him. Also - it includes great information about hermaphrodites. This is a real condition! People live with this every day, but they are too afraid to tell the world about it, they do not want to be viewed as monsters. It's not their fault, it's now they were built. I believe it is important to understand others, and this book I believe gives a realistic account of a hermaphrodite.
This book easily gets FIVE OUT OF FIVE stars! There was not one moment that I was bored with the book! There was not one moment that I wanted to put it down, or that I was iffy about reading it. If you are unsure about the sexual scenes, be assured that they are easily skipped through, but they do contain information that is vital to the outcome of the book, and there is no intense imagery that would force you to skip through it.
Reading Next: A Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
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