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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is my first retelling of a Greek myth and I enjoyed the writing style and the story, it’s made me intrigued to read others in this genre which I was unsure of before.
I throughly enjoyed this - an interesting perspective and retelling. It read really easily and I'll definitely be reading more of her books.
Found it hard to care about the sisters’ plights. Phaedra was interesting at times but I was never compelled by Ariadne’s incessant inner dialogue. Other books like this retelling (Circe, The Witch’s Heart) did the job of telling the plight of women in mythology better.
As retellings often do, I hoped that Jennifer Saint would edit women's classic suffering at the hands of men in Greek lore into something more than a compilation of plot points. Alas, behold just more women's suffering disguised as feminism under the argument that they are consciously aware of their suffering.
I love Greek mythology, so of course I had to read this proclaimed feminist novel. Unfortunately, I only enjoyed this book because it featured Greek mythology. Which is more tragic than everything that happened in this novel. Typically, retellings build upon the original story, so I was intrigued to see what would happen to Ariadne's story during and after her time with the Minotaur. I was surprised at the brief duration the book spent on Crete, but was hoping that promised a delightful future for Ariadne and Dionysus. I was wrong.
My two biggest issues with this book revolve around the options the author took with selecting the path of the mythology, as there are multiple variations from the original myth. If you aren't going to add something new to the retelling, at least pick the best possible retelling. If we want to go the "men cause all suffering for selfish gain" route, which is where this book took us, the author missed the opportunity to use Dionysus as the cause for Theseus's departure from Naxos and Ariadne's following sadness. This is literally in the mythology. I would rather my beloved Dioynsus have a bad reputation from the very beginning than suffer the terrible character arc this book gave him. OR, the author could have easily compensated Ariadne for her suffering by having Dionysus immortalize her through Zeus's blessing - as was done in the mythology - not just as a star in the sky to watch over other women's suffering for eternity.
I gave this book 2 stars because it did not leave me with hope or a feminist spark, it forced me wallow in the suffering of women that has been ever-present since the dawn of man. If I wanted more of this, all I have to do is turn on the news. The story did not veer from myth, or even incorporate the aspects of the myth that I wanted it to. It painted Dionysus as a deceiver, when in fact Ariadne in the mythology knew of the rites and participated in them.
This wasn't a retelling where things were added, it was a retelling where things were stripped away. No amount of forced flowery writing can hide that.
I love Greek mythology, so of course I had to read this proclaimed feminist novel. Unfortunately, I only enjoyed this book because it featured Greek mythology. Which is more tragic than everything that happened in this novel. Typically, retellings build upon the original story, so I was intrigued to see what would happen to Ariadne's story during and after her time with the Minotaur. I was surprised at the brief duration the book spent on Crete, but was hoping that promised a delightful future for Ariadne and Dionysus. I was wrong.
My two biggest issues with this book revolve around the options the author took with selecting the path of the mythology, as there are multiple variations from the original myth. If you aren't going to add something new to the retelling, at least pick the best possible retelling. If we want to go the "men cause all suffering for selfish gain" route, which is where this book took us, the author missed the opportunity to use Dionysus as the cause for Theseus's departure from Naxos and Ariadne's following sadness. This is literally in the mythology. I would rather my beloved Dioynsus have a bad reputation from the very beginning than suffer the terrible character arc this book gave him. OR, the author could have easily compensated Ariadne for her suffering by having Dionysus immortalize her through Zeus's blessing - as was done in the mythology - not just as a star in the sky to watch over other women's suffering for eternity.
I gave this book 2 stars because it did not leave me with hope or a feminist spark, it forced me wallow in the suffering of women that has been ever-present since the dawn of man. If I wanted more of this, all I have to do is turn on the news. The story did not veer from myth, or even incorporate the aspects of the myth that I wanted it to. It painted Dionysus as a deceiver, when in fact Ariadne in the mythology knew of the rites and participated in them.
This wasn't a retelling where things were added, it was a retelling where things were stripped away. No amount of forced flowery writing can hide that.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
”However blameless a life we led, the passions and the greed of men could bring us to ruin, and there was nothing we could do.”
“I would not let a man who knew the value of nothing make me doubt the value of myself.”
Jennifer Saint easily and flawlessly illustrates these two points by crafting the narrative of Ariadne and her sister Phaedra (and those of countless other women including Hippolyta and the women of Argos) with beautiful story (re)-telling. If you like classical mythology— highly recommend.
“I would not let a man who knew the value of nothing make me doubt the value of myself.”
Jennifer Saint easily and flawlessly illustrates these two points by crafting the narrative of Ariadne and her sister Phaedra (and those of countless other women including Hippolyta and the women of Argos) with beautiful story (re)-telling. If you like classical mythology— highly recommend.
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a captivating book telling the story of ariadne and encompassing a whole new dynamic to the view of theseus and the lesser known deeds surrounding the minotaur etc
Basically men ain’t shit, and women have deserved so much better since literally the dawn of time.