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preciouslittleingenue's review
adventurous
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I read this so remarkably fast. I was completely enthralled almost right away. I knew very little about the original myth so I definitely went in spoiler free, except for what I already knew about Iphigenia because of Song of Achilles. I saw a few people say it was an odd choice to set this in the timeline with the Trojan war, especially because ALL other Greek myth seems to center around it, and had I gone in knowing the original, I might be inclined to agree, but I seriously thought nothing of it. And, in fact, now that I know the things that were added/changed, I think it was brilliant. The use of Iphigenia in this story was stunning. I know Psyche had sisters in the original tale that were the reason she began to doubt Eros, but firstly, using one character instead of two is just better narratively, like that's just common-author-sense. Secondly, Iphigenia, to me, is the very epitome of soft, fragile femininity, and the horror inflicted on those girls. And to use that familiar character with a recognizable archetype to contrast Psyche was brilliant. Having Psyche and Iphigenia love each other so deeply despite being on the opposite ends of girlhood/womanhood was feminism in and of itself. And for Iphigenia's fate to be the conduit through which Psyche makes the groundbreaking realization that she does...chef's kiss. And the general emphasis on the beauty of girlhood in the early chapters was so sweet. The high priestess letting little Iphigenia run around with her cousin when I expected her to be scolded or even hit…ugh. Loved that. You don’t often get to see girls just be girls in stories set during this time.
Anyone who thinks this is a one-dimensional ~girlboss story is completely brain dead. The way the author delivers gut punch after gut punch about the plight of women...yes, all women. Even Clytemnestra, who is characterized so unlikeably in this retelling...once she reveals (after the sacrifice) how she was raped into marriage by Agamemnon (which should not have been shocking, by the way, but it was) you just immediately realize how easy and obvious it is for any woman ever to just be completely miserable. Especially after birthing daughter after daughter...Psyche's quotes in chapter 30 that I listed below sum it up beautifully. Just so completely devastating. And the way Psyche comes to realize, through Medusa firstly, that being a "hero" by other people's standards is just...not it, after witnessing horror after horror against WOMEN...it was just chef's kiss. If that nuance flew right over your head enough for you to think this was just a girlbossification story...then I'm sorry, you're just brain dead.
Eros's character growth was just stunning to read. He went from being so completely apathetic to everything and everyone for his entire, extremely long life, to learning how to care about someone. He had to go through all of that to realize he not only needed Psyche, but needed SOMEONE. He even realized that the sister he spent his whole life despising was someone he actually needed as well. The actual romance itself, to me, was not front and center, and THAT'S OKAY. Some people listed that as reasons their reviews lost stars, and I get that, that's valid. But to me, this was a character piece, and an examination of the Greek Myth as a whole through a retelling of one popular one, and I don't mind that the "romance" suffered because of it. I wasn't shipping then any less or squealing any less loudly once they got their happily ever after. Which, by the way, was REALLY NICE. BECAUSE THAT SIMPLY NEVER HAPPENS IN GREEK MYTH LMAO.
10/5 stars. I can't wait to buy the stupid expensive limited edition hardcover and annotate and tab it and have it on my shelf. I adore it. I hope McNamara does more stories like this. This is right up there with Madeline Miller's work for me. Cannot recommend enough.
The following are direct quotes from the book, and the way I've formatted it is not allowing me to hide it with the spoiler feature, so you've been warned. These are quotes that made me go "OH MY GOD" and rewind to make a bookmark. Will be marking these up once I get my physical copy:
Chapter 4 Eros:
Anyone who thinks this is a one-dimensional ~girlboss story is completely brain dead. The way the author delivers gut punch after gut punch about the plight of women...yes, all women. Even Clytemnestra, who is characterized so unlikeably in this retelling...once she reveals (after the sacrifice) how she was
Eros's character growth was just stunning to read. He went from being so completely apathetic to everything and everyone for his entire, extremely long life, to learning how to care about someone. He had to go through all of that to realize he not only needed Psyche, but needed SOMEONE. He even realized that the sister he spent his whole life despising was someone he actually needed as well. The actual romance itself, to me, was not front and center, and THAT'S OKAY. Some people listed that as reasons their reviews lost stars, and I get that, that's valid. But to me, this was a character piece, and an examination of the Greek Myth as a whole through a retelling of one popular one, and I don't mind that the "romance" suffered because of it. I wasn't shipping then any less or squealing any less loudly once they got their happily ever after. Which, by the way, was REALLY NICE. BECAUSE THAT SIMPLY NEVER HAPPENS IN GREEK MYTH LMAO.
10/5 stars. I can't wait to buy the stupid expensive limited edition hardcover and annotate and tab it and have it on my shelf. I adore it. I hope McNamara does more stories like this. This is right up there with Madeline Miller's work for me. Cannot recommend enough.
The following are direct quotes from the book, and the way I've formatted it is not allowing me to hide it with the spoiler feature, so you've been warned. These are quotes that made me go "OH MY GOD" and rewind to make a bookmark. Will be marking these up once I get my physical copy:
Chapter 4 Eros:
- “…a young woman at that brief age when mortals seem almost as beautiful as the Gods.”
- “Prometheus had designed humanity in the Gods’ image, but he had only succeeded in wrapping all our worst traits in their flimsy mortal shells.”
Chapter 6 Eros:
- After he pricks himself with the arrow while looking at Psyche: “Oh,” I whispered. “Fuck.”
Chapter 25 Eros:
- “My heart broke upon itself like a crashing wave, throwing up a glittering swarm of needle-sharp diamonds that embedded themselves in my chest like arrow points.”
Chapter 29 Psyche:
“A woman had been taken by the Trojans, and a woman had been sacrificed here, and that was how it should be. It was merely the appetizer before the feast.”
Chapter 30 Psyche:
- “I did not want to live in a world where a daughter was worth less than a fair wind to Troy.”
- “I thought of my naivety upon hearing the tales of the blind poet all those years ago, when I thought a glorious kill was what made a hero. I saw now that the legends were drenched in blood: the blood of women.”
Chapter 35 Eros:
- “I never chose Psyche, you know. She was foisted upon me by the curse, like…like my immortality” … “You’ve chosen her now, haven’t you? You could’ve gone anywhere once you slipped Aphrodite’s chains…”
Chapter 41 Eros:
- “I may not deserve her, but this world does.”
Chapter 42 Eros:
- “Psyche reached out a hand to touch me, running her fingers lightly over the contours of my face. That was how she had known me in the darkness, and that was how she truly recognized me now. … ‘It really is you.’ “
- “ ‘It [the curse] is gone, and I am still here.’ ... The Greeks have three words for love, and that night, we knew them all.”
Chapter 43 Psyche:
- “ ‘She’s so small, and wrinkled! What did you do to her?’ ... ‘Nothing,’ I replied. ‘She’s a baby.’ “
- “Well, some girls becomes Goddesses, and some Gods become more than they were.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Death, and Misogyny
Minor: Death of parent
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