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A review by davinareads
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I think because of the previous books I've read - The Book Thief, We, the Drowned - I couldn’t find myself getting into this read because I landed myself in reading slump alley. This book's pacing and writing style wasn't strong enough to catch my attention to drag me out.
Middlesex is a 500 some page read that felt long for numerous reasons. One of them being the writing style. I couldn't get myself into it because it felt very dry and emotionless. It was easy to read, but it felt monotone in delivering its story.
Around 50 pages in, I wasn't sure if I wanted to countinue and perhaps that may have been my sign to stop. However, because this was a longer read and very highly rated by others, I decided to stick with it for a little while longer to the point where I was too many pages in to DNF it.
While the plot moved in a slow but relatively seamless timeline, I didn't see the need to jump back to the present from time to time with who Cal is now and what's he up to. There felt like there was no real need for it and I felt like it didn't add much to the book. The events that took place was written in a way that it was being told to me - in a style where it went "this happened and then this, and then this"- rathed than adding descriptions to make me feel like I was there with our main characters.
With all of this said, the thing that I liked most would be part 4 of this book. That is what I wanted but it was too short and too late having been the last part of the story. I felt like here was what I came. I think while it was good to include parts of the previous sections, I felt like they were too long and perhaps not everything was as relevant as it needed to be.
If you're looking for a book that spans three generations and has true girth and emotion, I would suggest checking out We, the Drowned over this. This comparison may not be overly fair considering We, The Drowned is an adventure book while this is more on the literature side. I just feel like We, The Drowned did a much better job at incorporating three generations of story into a cohesive and meaningful read over what was done here.
However, if you love the pacing and writing style of The Goldfinch (which I also didn't enjoy as much as others), this book may be for you. The pacing felt similar and it's a character based story as well.
Overall, this story wasn't for me because I didn't feel as emotional or invested in it as I have been with other books I've read so far this year.
Middlesex is a 500 some page read that felt long for numerous reasons. One of them being the writing style. I couldn't get myself into it because it felt very dry and emotionless. It was easy to read, but it felt monotone in delivering its story.
Around 50 pages in, I wasn't sure if I wanted to countinue and perhaps that may have been my sign to stop. However, because this was a longer read and very highly rated by others, I decided to stick with it for a little while longer to the point where I was too many pages in to DNF it.
While the plot moved in a slow but relatively seamless timeline, I didn't see the need to jump back to the present from time to time with who Cal is now and what's he up to. There felt like there was no real need for it and I felt like it didn't add much to the book. The events that took place was written in a way that it was being told to me - in a style where it went "this happened and then this, and then this"- rathed than adding descriptions to make me feel like I was there with our main characters.
With all of this said, the thing that I liked most would be part 4 of this book. That is what I wanted but it was too short and too late having been the last part of the story. I felt like here was what I came. I think while it was good to include parts of the previous sections, I felt like they were too long and perhaps not everything was as relevant as it needed to be.
If you're looking for a book that spans three generations and has true girth and emotion, I would suggest checking out We, the Drowned over this. This comparison may not be overly fair considering We, The Drowned is an adventure book while this is more on the literature side. I just feel like We, The Drowned did a much better job at incorporating three generations of story into a cohesive and meaningful read over what was done here.
However, if you love the pacing and writing style of The Goldfinch (which I also didn't enjoy as much as others), this book may be for you. The pacing felt similar and it's a character based story as well.
Overall, this story wasn't for me because I didn't feel as emotional or invested in it as I have been with other books I've read so far this year.