London Area Book Club - 24 October 2009

Our book selection for October is Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides.

"I was born twice:  firs, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August on 1974"

So begins the breathtaking story of Calliope Stepanides and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family, who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City, and the race riots of 1967, before they move out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Point, Michigan.

To undertand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret and the astonishing gentic history that turns her into Cal, one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction.  Lyrical and thrilling, Middlesex is an exhilarating reinvention of the American epic.

We will be meeting at 2pm at   Cafe Reale, 23 Grosvenor Gardens .  It is within walking distance of Victoria Station.

The group is very fluid, so don't be shy!  We welcome the addition of new members.

Thanks! I'll finally be in London by then!

Lisa

This book only just arrived yesterday (despite ordering on the 1st ), so hopefully I can finish it in time!

I started reading the book well in advance of the meeting, and finished in a little over a week.  It was really compelling, and I can't wait for the discussion!  I am sure you will be fine.

Bumping as a reminder for Saturday.

I am realling looking forward to discussing this book.  It was a fascinating story.