Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Middlesex is a richly detailed novel on a unique subject. There can’t have been a lot of background information on late-discovered hermaphroditism for the author to research to arrive at this level of apparent authenticity. Greek heritage provides a richly painted background canvas against which Callie’s odd story unfolds at just the right pace.
If I had to quibble with the book, I would say that the story got less interesting once Callie’s true gender was discovered, which is when the author really had to get into the head of someone unexpectedly changing genders. I’m not sure he captured how a real person would react, but what do I know? Callie was a girl who never questioned being a girl aside from her attraction to other girls. Sounds more like a lesbian than a man in a woman’s body. It might have been interesting to see it play out that way, though perhaps also not true to a real life scenario. From what I’ve read, boys raised as girls usually have very strong boy feelings. If you start with the wrong premise, perhaps there’s no right place to end up.
Quibble aside, this is fiction and it was enjoyable fiction on many levels.