Middlesex was a strange book for me, in that I was bored by the first half but absolutely loved the second half. I didn't care much about Desdemona and Lefty (in fact, I got really sick of Desdemona), but enjoyed their story. It was around Milton and Tessie's story that I got antsy for Callie to be born. Once she was, and when she got to her relationship with The Object was when I started really enjoying the book. It was really interesting seeing the world from Callie's point of view, from her self-consciousness in that what she was feeling was wrong, through when she had her transformation.
When we discussed the book in class though, being assigned to book 1 gave me a better appreciation for the first half of the book. I hadn't noticed how much went into it, and how much symbolism there was there. All the connections between Desdemona's life and Cal's life amaze me. I really admire authors that are able to put that much work and connections into their writing. Now that we've discussed it, I want to reread it, though I can't right now because I'm busy preparing for Deathly Hallows by rereading the entire Harry Potter series :)
Your dislike for the first half is so interesting. Others report that they're over the story by the time Cal/Callie takes the stage.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you were able to take meaning out the second time through. Revisiting really can change analysis, interpretation, and appreciation.