Middlesex

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of racism, gender and/or transgender discrimination and sexual content.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Middlesex blends an immigrant family saga with a coming-of-age story and a meditation on gender identity. Which of these narrative threads resonated most strongly with you, and why?

2. Jeffrey Eugenides incorporates elements of epic storytelling in Middlesex: Cal invokes the Muses and presents himself as a modern-day Tiresias. How does this approach compare to the way other literary works blend mythology with contemporary stories, such as Donna Tartt’s The Secret History or Eugenides’s first novel, The Virgin Suicides?

3. The novel opens with Cal stating, “I was born twice: first as a baby girl…and then again as a teenage boy” (3). How effective did you find this opening, and what expectations did it establish for the story that followed?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Cal’s journey involves reconciling his cultural heritage with his personal identity. In what ways have you navigated gaps between familial or cultural expectations and your own sense of self?