I first read this book at 16 and absolutely adored it. It was one of my favorite books at the time. I just reread it, a decade later, and while I don't think it's quite as amazing as I did as a teen, I still found a lot to enjoy in it.

To start with, this is a painfully slow read. It took me two weeks to get through and normally I can get through books in 2-3. Two weeks is kind of an absurd length of time, but I love how slow it is. It definitely drags as it covers the family history two generations back from the main character, but I like that. It covers every single detail, unnecessary or not, and makes it part of the story. It definitely picks up a lot more once it focuses solely on the main character Cal, but I don't think that necessarily makes it better. I like both equally, even if the first 300 pages took me 10 days and the last 200 pages took me three.

As a teen, I think Cal's time as a teen feeling out of place and different meant a lot to me. There are a lot of books that do that, but something in Cal's character and the graphic way it was discussed made me relate more to it. I think I really appreciated having an adult Cal looking back on their youth seriously, and accepting that those differences were important at the time and still important in their present. It felt validating.

As an adult, I really appreciate the depth Cal's character has. He's just an incredibly well developed character with a lot of nuance. I don't often like the story within a story trope, but I like the way Cal told his family's story. I think it actually contributed to the book in a way that just the story existing on its own wouldn't have. Cal is telling this story from the future as an adult, interspersed with moments from his current life.

I do wish there had been more time with Cal's specific story. We spend a lot with his parents and grandparents, but then it speeds up when it's Cal's turn. I would have like more of both his youth and his adulthood. The romance he experiences in his present day narration only shows up occasionally and I definitely think it could have been more developed.

The intersex representation is something that does concern me in this book, but as someone who isn't intersex, I don't really have anything to say on it except I don't know. I wasn't able to find and thorough own voices discussions of it, but I did find out that Eugenides didn't speak with any intersex people before writing this book (he preferred medical professionals and experts). He also uses the term "hermaphrodite" which is an offensive and inaccurate word today, although I'm not sure if it was largely considered so at the time (this book being almost 20 years old). I'm pretty much left with 'I don't know' and I think it is something to consider/research further when reading this book.

I still really enjoy this book. I think it's one I'll definitely reread in the future as well. I love the way the story is crafted and I enjoy the prose, pretentious as it may be. I don't think this is a book for everyone, but it sucks me in so thoroughly to the story that I can't help but love it.