Middlesex (2002)

1. 102
   The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (sipthereader, sturlington)
2. 81
   Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters (_debbie_)

   _debbie_: Both are (at least partially) historical novels with strong themes of identity, coming of age, and going against the mainstream to stay true to what you feel is right. Although one is set in Victorian England and the other isn't, they both have that same feel of rich language and descriptive place.… (more)

3. 81
   The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving (Othemts)

   Othemts: Multi-generational eccentric families, entrepreneurship, incest, the average made epic - yep, these books have it all!

4. 82
   A Widow for One Year by John Irving (readerbabe1984)
5. 83
   The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides (bookmomo)

   bookmomo: share the same exquisite sense of setting: boring, but not terrible suburban America, second half of last century.

6. 51
   As Nature Made Him by John Colapinto (librorumamans, librorumamans)

   librorumamans: The connection of this book to Middlesex is Eugenides' character, Dr Luce, who appears to be modelled on Dr John Money of Johns Hopkins University. As Nature Made Him is a non-fiction account of Money's experimental (and unsuccessful) sex reassignment of David Reimer, whose botched infant circumcision left him genitally mutilated. Both books compellingly look at the complexity of gender identity.… (more)

7. 20
   Anywhere but Here by Mona Simpson (ainsleytewce)

   ainsleytewce: Both are very American stories, about families in the 20th century, fighting wars, starting businesses, raising families, and both feature a teenage protagonist.

8. 64
   The Human Stain: A Novel by Philip Roth (sarah-e)

   sarah-e: A character 'passes' in society - dealing with culture and identity.

9. 10
   Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a City by Marjorie Housepian Dobkin (Anonymous user)
10. 10
    How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States by Joanne Meyerowitz (jacr)
11. 10
    The Hours by Michael Cunningham (sturlington)
12. 10
    The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit by Thomas J. Sugrue (jacr)

    jacr: A scholarly discussion of the decline of Detroit and its race riots. People who liked Eugenides's fictional account of Detroit might be interested in this historical version.

13. 32
    Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (someproseandcons)

    someproseandcons: Both books are family and community sagas centered around secrets, and both books are carried by a strong and compelling voice.

14. 32
    The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich (ainsleytewce)

    ainsleytewce: Both begin with immigrants who come to America at approximately the same time.

15. 22
    Intersex: A Perilous Difference by Morgan Holmes (boat-song)

    boat-song: Contains an amazing chapter on Eugenides and Middlesex, and for those interested in gender, a must read.

16. 00
    Getting Ghost: Two Young Lives and the Struggle for the Soul of an American City by Luke Bergmann (paulkid)

    paulkid: Get a little history of Detroit from the stories of the people who lived there.

17. 11
    Labor of Love: The Story of One Man's Extraordinary Pregnancy by Thomas Beatie (infiniteletters)
18. 00
    Sugarless by James Magruder (amberwitch)

    amberwitch: Similar topic and era

19. 23
    Annabel by Kathleen Winter (BookshelfMonstrosity, JooniperD)

    BookshelfMonstrosity: Annabel follows the life of a hermaphrodite who was not masculine enough to please his father. The novel explores themes of family relations, gender roles, and sexual identity similar to those in Middlesex.

    JooniperD: While reminiscent of Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex, Annabel is a compelling and accomplished debut novel about one person’s struggle to discover the truth in a culture that shuns contradiction. Annabel offers some hard themes for readers. It is the story of an intersex child born in a remote coastal Labrador village in 1968. Primarily, I feel, Winter has written an homage to self-determination and self-preservation. An intersex child is born with atypical reproductive anatomy – both male and female anatomy are present. Advocates for intersex infants argue against surgical alterations of gentalia and reproductive organs being performed in order to accommodate societal expectations of what it means to be male or female in the world. This choice forms the centre of Winter’s novel.… (more)

20. 01
    The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides (2810michael)

(see all 31 recommendations)