<p>I reserved this book at the library at the beginning of the summer and my name just came up. I’ve got a million other things going on now, but I will take the time to squeeze it in if it’s highly recommended. </p>
<p>Your opinions?</p>
<p>one of the best i’ve read this year</p>
<p>It’s great for people between 45 and 55 who can remember the real-life events that occured in the period of the novel. The main character would be about that age right now. The events of the 60s and 70s are important in the plot.</p>
<p>I think it is well written and I know many people who really enjoyed it, however I couldn’t get past a major aspect to the story.
It is a quickish read though.</p>
<p>Very good… definitely worth it!</p>
<p>I thought it was fabulous.</p>
<p>I loved it, too.</p>
<p>for me…I did not like it…the writing was well versed–but I found it scattered in the story line-jumping from one time period to another, and like emeraldkity I had trouble with a key aspect/element. My two cents…</p>
<p>I thought it was excellent! Well written, loaded w/ historical events of the time period, and thought provoking in so many ways.</p>
<p>I thought it was a great book and I gave it to DD to read but I agree with APOL that the story was sometimes hard to follow because of all the fastforwards/flashbacks.</p>
<p>I really liked it. The flashback aspect didn’t confuse me, and I thought overall it read very smoothly. Eugenides writes great scenes, and the characters are fascinating (albeit there are some issues that are startling. I think, if I’m right about which is the one that stuck for some people, it is obviously very out there, but the author made the characters very believable, though discussing actions antithetical to most people. I am assuming that the plot point refered to here is that about the older generation rather than the younger one–hope that is vague enough!)</p>
<p>I also loved this book…thought it was well-written and handled the ‘taboos’ very deftly. Gave it to ldgirl to read after I finished and she devoured it. We both think it is the best book we’ve read in a long while. </p>
<p>(Just finished Devil in the White City…also very good, but not on the level of Middlesex.)</p>
<p>i couldn’t put it down. neither could my d, 17</p>
<p>I liked it a lot. It’s a serious literary novel, but very readable and fun. There aren’t so many books that combine those qualities.</p>
<p>For my daughter, it’s one of her favorite books ever (and she’s VERY well-read for a 20 year-old). I think I remember her writing one of her college-application essays about it.</p>
<p>while we’re on the subject, I’d love some recommendation for other “good reads” – i.e. literary novels that are hard to put down. Will check out devil int he white city. others?</p>
<p>I just finished it a few minutes ago and thought it was terrific. Eugenides writes beautifully and his characters are so vivid.</p>
<p>Callie never did explain why she called her brother Chapter Eleven, though – I assumed that he ran the restaurant chain into bankruptcy based on what was said near the end of the book, but I kept waiting for a real explanation. Did I miss it?</p>
<p>patsmom - I think it was the bankruptcy thing too…but also am not sure.</p>
<p>Devil in the White City was great! I love nonfiction historical stuff…and the details about the Chicago World’s Fair were fascinating (alternating current, Shredded Wheat, Pabst Blue Ribbon and the Ferris wheel…had no idea…lol!) But it was very creepy that the murders were also true. Good read.</p>
<p>I just finished reading The Memory Keepers Daughter, In the Lake of the Woods (currently reading The Things They Carried also by Tim O’Brien) and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I recommend all of them.</p>
<p>The Time Traveller’s Wife is a great summer read too!</p>
<p>I loved this one, and the Virgin Suicides.</p>
<p>Middlesex was the first book I read during our summer vacation. I thought it was great. I went on to Kiterunner and Time Traveler’s Wife, both of which were good and highly recommended reads. I also loved Inheritance of Loss, which won last year’s Man Booker prize. I had also liked The Sea, the 2005 winner of that prize, so I am eagerly awaiting the 2007 list of finalists for new ideas of things to read. My current book is one I learned about on CC==Instance of the Fingerposts, a murder mystery set at Oxford in the 17th century…very good so far.</p>