Defining Detroit series brings J Eugenides

MiddleSex is one of my favorite novels. If you are in Detroit, come to Marygrove College and hear him read. If you have not read his novel, check it out. Moorishgirl has an interesting discussion about Eugenides and multicultural writing.

"Marygrove College hosts the return of Detroit-area native and second-generation Greek-American author Jeffrey Eugenides on Sunday, October 29, 2006, at 4 p.m. in the MadameCadillac Building in Detroit. In a presentation titled “’All Swirl and Hubbub’: Jeffrey Eugenides and Detroit,” he will read from his 2003 Pulitzer Prize winning novel.

The novel cannot be reduced to one issue--the complexities of gender and sexuality although Calli's sexual identity is at the center of the novel-- the writer gives us a portrait that is painful, playful, seering, and sly. It is a must read.