Saturday, November 17, 2007

A greek hermaphrodite you say?

One of the unexpected pleasures of hooking up with my small and wonderful group of ladies for book club is the joy of discovering books that I may not have otherwise.

I felt slightly guilty this morning, finishing Middlesex furtively while Brandon played quietly beside me (which was quite endearing, we were both flipping through books, and at one point he climbed up on my lap and I swooned with a wonder that perhaps my boy will come to love books nearly as much as I do)... I finally finished this great novel, and when I flipped over that last page, I actually caught myself flipping through the last few that were blank, checking to make sure that this book was actually done!!

What a read!!!! For me, one of the best books I have read all year, hands down. I never would have imagined a story told through the eyes of a second generation Greek-American hermaphrodite would capture my imagination, but have me turning page after page, waiting to see what juicy tidbit would be revealed next! I thoroughly recommend this book (even if it became a selection of the month by a certain famous lady) and was sad to have turned that last page.

A few one liners that really stuck out, such as when "confronted with the impossible, there was no option but to treat it {Cal's hermaphroditism} as normal." Which is a page from the book "it's amazing what you can get used to"and come to call normal. I think this describes my life - normal is what normal does... in your life... there are many gems of insight in this novel, and it is a journey of a book that doesn't look at life freakishly, rather it embraces people, warts and all, offering no excuses, just the way it could be. This is a refreshing work, enlightening at times, other times a bit melancholic, but a worthwhile story indeed. I am sad that I have already put this book behind me, but I really enjoyed the trip.

Now I am diving in to familiar territory before I head back for another somewhat literary read. Back to Agent Pendergast, the uncanny agent penned by Lincoln and Child.

That is one of the things I love about reading - it never has to be the same. You can read a Pulitzer prize winner and then follow it up with a suspenseful thriller that could keep you up at night, and then delve in to the autobiography of a Canadian wrestler. If I am addicted to anything, it is reading.

1 comment:

Kittyfish said...

don't know you..but i clicked next blog and came across yours.
anyways.. i totally understand what you mean about books never being the same, and reading being an addiction! It is definitely my worst addiction. and what bothers me is when a good book ends.. I always want more :D