Currently reading
Hieroglyph: Stories and Blueprints for a Better Future
Ukraine: Zbig's Grand Chessboard & How the West Was Checkmated
The Girl on the Train: A Novel
Our Souls at Night: A novel
Above the Waterfall
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction
The Homicide Report: Understanding Murder in America
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
The Gods of Mars
This is a family saga with a twist. The main character, Calliope, the product of a lengthy family history with some incestuous elements, was born a hermaphrodite. Yet the narrator (Calliope him or herself) despite telling in some detail about the concerns of being of dubious gender, somehow, by tone, makes it all seem like a personal oddity on the level of something much lesser, like a pair of webbed toes. Still, there is the family, and their background in Turkey, or Greece, or Turkey, depending on which was the most recent invader, then immigrating to the USA, to Detroit, and environs. We are treated to a view of history from the early 20th century to today, with nods to many of the intervening events, WW I, the Depression, WW II, the beginnings of the Nation of Islam, the Detroit riots, school busing, white flight. There is a rich cast of characters, some of whom make sense, many of whom are interesting, and many of whom vanish in a puff of smoke once their mission is complete. The tribulations of the adolescent Cally, fearful of being found out are entertaining and engaging. There are plenty of holes in this work. One character in particular morphs from one sort into another with no apparent basis. A few close relations seems to drop off the edge of the earth. There is a wealth of very self-conscious symbolism and the author is more than happy to point it out to us. One may not like that Eugenides treats his tale with such a playful tone and switches from first person to omniscient observer quite frequently, but it did not bother me. Should a book that has the rash of flaws present here win a Pulitzer? Maybe not, but because it may not have been a deserving winner of a major prize does not mean that it is not a good book. Family sagas that offer a view of passing history have always been popular. That long view is certainly a positive presence here. That Cally is bi-gender was probably unnecessary to the telling of a family saga, and seems a long way to go to add spice. But such concerns notwithstanding, I rather liked it.