Book Club Discussion: Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides

Welcome to our first Hope Studios' Book Club Discussion!

Our book for this month was Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides.  I followed this book club outline  to help guide this discussion.

I will go ahead and post the discussion questions and then answer them in the comments just like you to get the discussion rolling.  I have a "reply" button at the end of each comment, so you can feel free to respond to any comment you wish.

Middlesex Discussion Questions:

1.     Cal wasn't even born until Book III, more than half way into the book, why do you think he felt compelled to tell so much of his parents' and grandparents' stories before telling about his own?

2.     Were you surprised by Lefty and Desdemona's courtship and marriage? Could you understand why they fell in love? Do you think their marriage was morally wrong? 

3.      Why do you think Tessie was drawn to Milton? 

4.     When Tessie and Milton decide to try to influence the sex of their baby, Desdemona disapproves. "God decides what baby is," she says. "Not you" (p. 13). What happens when characters in the novel challenge fate?

Do you believe this decision to influence the sex of the baby resulted in Cal's being of the "middlesex" or was it influenced by decisions of his parents and grandparents generations before he was ever conceived?

6.     How was it possible that Callie lived 14 years without someone catching on to the physical differences of her genitalia?  Could you imagine missing the physical clues as a parent to a baby born like Callie?

 5.     Why did Callie feel the need to run away after reading Dr. Luce's report? Do you think her parents could have accepted her decision not to have the surgery? Could Callie have changed her identity if she did not go out on her own?

6.      What is your opinion of Dr. Luce? 

7.     Was there any value to Cal working in the peep show?

8.      What is next for Cal?  Do you predict his relationship with Julie to last?

 ***Announcement for next book up for discussion at the end of November:  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn***

Juniper's Book Club

I can't tell you how many times I've heard or said "I wish I were in a book club..."

So let's do this thing!  Let's make our own club, and choose our own books, and tell our own stories!  Let's make it casual, where you can drop in if you like the book and no problem if you don't.

Are you in???

I'm thinking that the last Friday of each month could be Hope Studios' Book Club where we can discuss that we've read.

Let's begin with a roll call of everyone interested and your vote for our first book...

September Book Choices:
 
 Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

The Fifty Shades Trilogy

It's Feedback Friday...

Would you like to start our own online book club?

What title would get your vote for the first discussion?

Is one book a month too ambitious?