Book review by Tracey
This interesting tale by the author of The Virgin Suicides: A Novel (which I haven’t read but feel compelled to do so after reading this one) is an account of a androgynous male who grows up as a girl. The story starts in Greece with Calloipes’ (main character) grandparents who emigrate to America. They settle in Detroit, Michigan among others of their kind. The tale progresses through her parents’ childhoods, courtship and the birth of their two children, one of which is Calliope. I thought it was an interesting story because no one ever wondered what gender Calliope was until she has a freak accident as a teen and ends up in the hospital. The doctor who sees her there realizes that she is not a female. I will say that I can’t imagine this particular scenario, but who among us has not willed ourselves to believe something is true even when all the evidence flies in the face of that belief? I’d like to say it wouldn’t happen to me but in truth it already has.

I reviewed a similar story a year or two ago. I liked this one much better. The writer has a smooth humorous style that I found easy and inviting. Having been born in Michigan made the details more familiar to me, as did the fact that Calliope was raised (and thought she was) a female, with the thoughts and actions of a female. The conclusion of the story is not a surprise but rather an end that fit well for me.

Tracey.