Middlesex

About the book

Callie Stephanides grows up in mid-century Detroit as a girl, unaware that she carries a rare genetic mutation inherited from her Greek grandparents. The narrative follows her ancestors' flight from a burned village in Asia Minor to the assembly lines of the American Midwest. This genetic history culminates in Callie’s adolescent realization that she is intersex. Reborn as Cal, he transitions into living as a man while investigating how silk-trade incest, inherited biology, and the 1967 Detroit riots shaped his physical and social identity.

Readers who value sprawling family sagas and historical accuracy find a detailed account of the Greek-American immigrant experience and the evolution of twentieth-century gender medicine. Individuals interested in the intersection of biology and biography read this to see how specific genetic traits interact with historical chance. The reader walks away with a technical understanding of 5-alpha-reductase deficiency and a clear view of how ancestral secrets manifest in the physical body of a descendant.

Details

Published

2002

Publisher

Picador USA

ISBN

9780312422158

Language

EN