That I’m kind of indifferent about it? Yes. That seems to be the most a3.5
What can I say about Middlesex?
That I loved it? Almost.
That I hated it? No.
That I’m kind of indifferent about it? Yes. That seems to be the most appropriate.
First of all, I would like to thank my gal pal, Lisa for her generous gift to me. She gave me this book on audible and I hope I am not doing her a disservice for not being head-over-heels about it. To be fair, she told me that I was to be honest and so, here I am; in the dreaded middle ground.
Here are a few things that stuck out to me:
Our main character, Calliope Stephanides, tells the story of how she was born twice. She was born the first time as a female and later in her life as a male. I won’t go into too many details as to how that comes to be- and not to worry, that is told to you, I believe, in the opening line of the book. Right off the bat I knew I would enjoy this story. And I did. The storytelling was incredible. The deep history of Calliope’s family going all the way back to when her grandparents were children fleeing a war was fascinating!
I found myself completely wrapped up in the story. I loved the historical references; it made me feel as if I were taking a history lesson-which in this case I didn’t seem to mind. I was invested in the storyline. What I seemed to enjoy the most was watching as each generation was born, watching the family develop into what it came to be.
Family life is so personal. I mean, when you really break it down, how much of your home life do you disclose with those around you? The inner workings of a family are concealed, protected and typically aren’t disclosed outside of the family unit. Learning about each generation in this book then, made me feel almost as if I were imposing on this family. There were parts that had me laughing, parts that made me shake my head, parts that downright angered me and parts that just had me baffled.
The writing was excellent. The narration was perfection. So, why the 3.5 star rating?
Here’s the thing. I felt like Calliope was telling a story that didn’t pertain to her. I felt a huge disconnect between her and her own life. (I apologize for continuously referring to her as a female, for the sake of ease, I will continue on that way.) The realization that she has both male and female parts along with her female upbringing made for some truly incredible storytelling, but where was the outrage, the anger, the grief, the reaction at all that one would think would come along with this? Instead, Calliope, to me, felt as if she were numb to the whole experience. It felt as if it had happened to someone else, and I guess in some ways, once she accepts her male identity, it did happen to someone different.
Overall, it was a great story paired with great writing. I just wanted more of an emotional impact, a sucker punch to the gut that made me feel what she might have felt at those cruicial moments in her life. I will still recommend the book- especially the audio version, but I don’t think this will be on my favorites list. (Hopefully you can forgive me, Lisa?) ...more
I had vague impressions of what Peter Pan was about from watching the Disney movie as a child. I remembered bits and pieces but not really the whole tI had vague impressions of what Peter Pan was about from watching the Disney movie as a child. I remembered bits and pieces but not really the whole tale. I decided to read(listen to) Peter Pan and see what it was really about rather than relying on Disney’s interpretation.
What a delightful tale from start to finish!
First let me say that I am huge Jim Dale fan and he did an amazing job with the narration. The voices blew me away. He brought each and every character to life in a way few others could. I know others aren’t as fond of Jim Dale as I am, but after listening to his reading of the Harry Potter series I will basically listen to anything he has read. I was bursting at the seams with excitement when I saw that he narrated Peter Pan.
The story of Peter Pan’s life was sad to me. It is heavily overshadowed with humor, wit and adventure so I think as a child I may have missed the heavy background. Here we have a child so intent on not growing up that he despises anyone who does grow up. He has sacrificed any and all to remain youthful and spends so much of his time acting on his childlike impulses that he scarcely remembers any of it. It broke my heart when he went back to Wendy all those years later and she was grown and he refused to accept it..
I am so glad that I decided to read this book! A great piece of children’s literature that has enough complexity lying within that adults are able to enjoy it too. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys children’s lit and a good old fashioned story. This is a timeless piece that will be cherished in the hearts of many for centuries to come. If you get the chance to- check this one out on audio. ...more
What a disappointment. I listened to this on audio, so I am willing to give this one another shot…eventually. Right now, I f16 hours of my life gone.
What a disappointment. I listened to this on audio, so I am willing to give this one another shot…eventually. Right now, I feel as if I missed something. I listened to all 16 hours of this book and I am fairly certain it was about absolutely nothing. I couldn’t tell you the point of the book if I had to.
I saw so many reviews where it said how funny this book was. I never laughed once. In fact, I grimaced a lot. I don’t get it. Maybe it’s one of those times where it’s me and not the book, but I really am so disappointed. I am truly at a loss.
When I saw Stephen King speak at Harvard last September, he spoke highly of his son’s book. Obviously. What father wouldn’t? But, I guess I always expected him to be more objective about it than he was. Or maybe I just didn’t get it- the book that is. I really haven’t got a clue what the book was saying.
It makes me sad to give out this one star rating to one of Sai King’s children. But I have to do what I feel is right, even if it breaks my heart.
Someday down the road, I will give this book another shot. I will pick up a copy at the library and hope that I find some sort of redeeming quality in it. I don’t know. Like I said, it could just be the subject matter. It could just be me (probably is). I just know I don’t feel good about this book or about the rating I had to give it. ...more
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