This is a compelling narrative that weaves a web of understanding around the three complicated generations of the Stephanides family and the historical turmoil surrounding them. Through it all the daughter Callie (who turns out to be a hermaphrodite) tells it with wit and a eye for detail. You can dissect the inner meaning or just let it flow into you. It is a tale of sexuality, culture clash, history and the characters display all of this in a manner that does not seem unrealistic. After all they are human.
This book is a masterpiece. I love this book with all my heart and it is my second favorite in the world. (After Jane Eyre.) I’ve wanted to read it since I was seven, but my mother wouldn’t let me. One day when I was eleven I picked it up and read it anyway. Now I have to re-read it at least every three months.