what i'm reading

[Cathy Edwards]

Hello, everybody, pleased to meet you.
 
I'm galloping (for the first time) towards the end of Mason & Dixon, which I'm finding to be magnificent, especially the Mechanickal Duck.
 
I'm also starting to read Pepys' Diary - it is most excellent, and good to read alongside M & D... 

 -----Original Message-----
From: Bekah [mailto:bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net]
Sent: 30 January 2005 00:57
To: Mark A. Douglas; 'Otto'; pynchon-l at waste.org
Subject: RE: what i'm reading



At 9:38 AM -0600 1/29/05, Mark A. Douglas wrote:

Anyone who can weigh in positively on 'Middlesex' and tell me that I didn't
waste time reading it would be appreciated.
Did not read Virgin Suicides, but thought that - what with the Pulitzer and
all - I ought to at least try Middlesex; finished it; was sort of mad at
myself afterwards for buying in to the hype.


Any positive thoughts on the novel?




I'm not going to go so far as to say it was a "good" novel but, in the manner of the Pulizters for literature, it provided insight into, and was representative of, American life, contemporary or historical.  I appreciated the background on  20th century Greek immigrants, the Henry Ford's company policies, De-troit burning and other historical parts of the book; it was very accurate, if not perfectly.   I felt that Eugenides' language was nicely evocative of the rhythms of an industrial inner city.   (That was my positive thought.)

I was not real appreciative about reading the details re the sex life of an hermaphrodite.  (And that's the rest of the story.)


I really saw this one as being very similar in ways which are important to the Pulitzer committee to Kavalier and Clay.  Taking the Pulitzer does not indicate a great novel (shock) but I tend to like the historical and/or sociological aspects of the winners. 


Bekah


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