Desdemona still fears genetic issues and tries to keep them apart. When they reach twenty, their friendship turns into something more. Milton and Tessie grow up, becoming closer. Lefty runs an illegal bar in the basement, and when prohibition ends, it becomes a legitimate bar called The Zebra Room. Lina and Desdemona give birth to healthy children - Theodora or Tessie, and Milton, respectively. Philobosian meets them again, and his comments make Desdemona fear that her child will be born with defects due to inbreeding. He goes into the bootlegging business with Jimmy. Both Desdemona and Lina become pregnant, and Lefty is desperate for money. However, Jimmy’s reputation soon gets him fired. Lina agrees to keep their relationship secret, and Jimmy, a bootlegger, helps Lefty get a job at a factory. In America, they arrive at Ellis Island and travel to Detroit to live with their cousin Sourmelina (Lina), a closeted lesbian married to Jimmy Zizmo. As no one knows who they are, they don’t tell anyone they’re siblings, pretend to court each other on the ship, and marry. Philobosian, whose family was massacred by the Turks. They travel to Smyrna and get a boat to America. It’s clear this brother and sister have an unhealthyattraction to one another. A brother and sister named Lefty and Desdemona Stephanides have lost their parents in the war with Turkey, and flee the advance of the Turkish army.

The first half of the story focuses on the Stephanides’ family history and begins in 1922 in Bithynios, Greece. Middlesex is told from the perspective of Calliope (Cal) Stephanides, as the young intersex individual tries to understand the strange family history that eventually resulted in their unique birth.

It has also been adapted into an award-winning audiobook narrated by Kristoffer Tabori. Most notably, Eugenides won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and was a finalist for the fiction category of the National Book Critics Circle Award. Middlesex debuted to widespread critical acclaim and was a best-seller, although its sales didn’t pick up until it began winning awards.

It also explores themes of the American Dream and is one of the most in-depth and acclaimed novels to look at concepts of gender identity. Primarily a bildungsroman, or coming of age story, Middlesex also explores themes of nature versus nurture, rebirth, and the differing ways men and women experience society. As they delve into their heritage and learn about their family history, they come to terms with their own complex gender identity and find peace and happiness. The protagonist is an intersex individual known as both Cal and Calliope whose life has been affected by a mutated gene that worked its way through three generations of their family’s bloodline. Middlesex is a 2002 novel by American author Jeffrey Eugenides, loosely based on elements of the author’s life and inspired by his Greek heritage.

Middlesex audio book