Middlesex follows the Stephanides family through 3 generations. The story of the Greek-American family starts in Turkey with the grandparents (Lefty and Desdemona), moves to America and watches their children grow (Milton and Tessie) and finally finds Callie Stephanides. Callie's story tells how she got to be a Hermaphrodite, how she discovers and how she finally accepts. The story told from Callie's perspective jumps back and forth from the present to the past as the story is recounted. Resolution is found because the narrator includes his story in the present, we know that she will be ok.

This story moves so seamlessly from one generation to the next. It is so easy to be carried away. You live each person's life with them, only to follow their ending to the next story to be told.

The story is entertaining with interaction from the Narrator and lots of secrets, twists, love and humor. It makes the "normal American family" seem like it is not so "normal". Stories can be found anywhere and that is part of this book's appeal.

I am just about done with book 1 of Middlesex and have to admit that I am really enjoying this strange, yet capturing, story. Book 1 is basically a background and history of what I assume is leading up to the actual story of a person dealing with gender identity issues.... I can't wait to find out what happens!

This story line is interesting to me because it deals with a very controversial sub-culture topic that I have studied and debated many times in college. As a major of cultural communication this book has definitely captured my attention.

I fell in love with Lahiri after reading "The Interpreter of Maladies" and credit her with drawing me in to a love of well written short stories. This book did not disappoint. In fact, a few weeks after finishing it, the characters are still very much with me--a true sign of a great book.

I started out reading a few pages every night before bed and, about a third of the way through, sat down and read the whole thing. It was a good read - evoked all kinds of emotions and stayed with me for a long while after I read it. Certainly it gave me some insight into the politics of Afghanistan but, more, it was a wonderful, if sad, story about human nature.

This is a wondeful story that gives insight into the culture of Afghanistan. It is a sad and meaningful story that also shows us something of an immigrants experience in the US. We need more books like this in the US today.

This book was excellent. I loved it, all the way until the end, when it was completely ruined for me. It's too bad, because until the last couple of minutes, I was loving the story.
It's very well told, even if parts of it are exceedingly unbelievable (a bit too much coincidence for my taste). I couldn't put it down, but the end just made me feel sick and made me regret reading it. Just months after finishing it, I can barely remember anything about the book that I liked, just that I liked it in general. All I can remember is how horrified I was at the end. It really wasn't necessary.

I love stories of enduring friendship and this is a classic. Two boys from two different worlds although they live together -- drawn together by circumstances and then pushed apart by similar circumstances. Includes favoritism, betrayal, retribution, redemption -- and a bit of history about the Sunnis and the Shiites. Recommended for mature readers -- rape scene; severe beating scene.

"The past claws its way out." (p.1)

"When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness." (p.18)

"Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favourite colors." (p.21)

"Better to get hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie." (p.58)

"What happens in a few days, sometimes even in a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime." (p.142)

"It always hurts more to have and lose than to not have in the first place." (p.211)

"The desert weed lives on, but the flower of spring blooms and wilts." (p.249)

Let me begin by saying…..WOW!
This is a powerful book, sometimes overwhelming and painful to read, but so well written and enticing that it is difficult to put down. It was illuminating and emotionally charged.

After the roller coaster ride, the ending left me satisfied, but wanting to learn more about the author.

I loved this book -- until the end. But until then, it was wonderful.

This novel relates the demise of friendship and the precipitous decline of Afghanistan at the end of the 20th century. Amir, a Pashtun, and his Hazara servant, Hassan, have grown up not only as master and servant but also as inseparable friends. Yet Amir is jealous of his father's affection for Hassan, who, though poor and illiterate, has many talents. Amir abandons Hassan at a time of extreme need and then, motivated by guilt, brutally betrays him. After he and his father escape to the United States following the Russian invasion, Amir continues to suffer from regret and guilt. In the latter half of the novel, Amir returns to Afghanistan and begins to atone for his childhood mistakes. Although the narrative suffers from an overreliance on coincidence, it provides a vivid glimpse of life in Afghanistan over the past quarter century. The characters of Amir and his father, their relationship, and the relationship of Hassan and Amir are all carefully and convincingly described and developed. Hosseini, now a doctor in California, is possibly the only Afghan author writing in English.

One of my favorite books, if not the best I've read in a long long time. It's a fairly long book, but it flies by. Hosseini has a way of relating to the reader, even people who have no idea what it is like to grow up 50 years ago in Afghanistan. Hosseini makes the reader relate and understand. Superb character development, and an honest look at life. A must read!

Am I the only person who found this book completely predictable and unworthy of such high public praise?

Khaled Hosseini is a wonderful author; so much takes place in his novels that is often impossible to foresee. Hosseini captures the attention of a lot of people; proof: There were so many requests at the library for the book that I waited for months before it became available.