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stormeno's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Death, Sexual harassment, Child death, Sexual content, Abandonment, Gore, and Suicide
Minor: Incest, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
jedore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"I would not let a man who knew the value of nothing make me doubt the value of myself."
In general, I'm not a huge fan of Greek mythology...mostly because of the rampant misogyny and bad behavior of men and their Gods—which is why Ariadne sat on my shelf unread until several days ago. I really, really liked it!
Written from the perspective of two strong, but very different, sisters—Ariadne and Phaedra, daughters of King Minos of Crete and sisters of the half-man/half-bull Minotaur whose diet was comprised of human sacrifices—this book kept me turning the pages quickly from start to finish. Although it was still filled with the tragic behavior of men and gods, the women were the focal point.
Although I admired and loved both of them, I related more to fiery Phaedra who went after what she wanted with passion...often without the benefit of adequate life experience or deep thought...and was justifiably pissed off at the men. Been there.
I love learning history through books like this. Whether you're a fan of Greek mythology or not, it's a worthy read.
Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Violence, Sexism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Classism, Death, Gore, and Cannibalism
Moderate: War, Abandonment, Blood, and Slavery
Minor: Incest
hannahbailey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Self harm, Abandonment, Animal death, Suicide, Slavery, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcoholism
catorureads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood and Misogyny
Moderate: War, Sexual content, Violence, and Child death
Minor: Slavery and Rape
kelburke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Animal death, and Child death
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, War, Sexual violence, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Death, Slavery, and Genocide
leahkarge's review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Pregnancy, Gore, Rape, Violence, Infidelity, Slavery, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Child death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Grief, Sexual violence, Death, Murder, and Sexual assault
biancafrancisco's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Buuuuut this one disappointed a bit. I enjoyed reading it, the writing is as pointed out in my cover "lyrical".
However, it does not do what it sets out to do.
Ariadne as a character lacks luster as she is very passive.
While she lives in Naxos with Dionysus she also shows no interest in the sister she left behind or on what her husband does on their island.
When the two sisters came to be reunited I thought the story's purpose might be revealed, that it would be about these two woman and their bond (once again pointing to the supposed feminist undercurrent of the book), but the only reason Phaedra went to Naxos was to further her plot and they seemed to add nothing to each other.
Through the book there is an emphasis on the gods being careless and cruel and innocent humans, particularly woman, suffering for it. This attempt at criticizing the treatment of woman in classical myth falls short as the plot of the book goes by. You would think Ariadne would go against this and, even if the ending had to be as in the myth, she would be shown fighting her fate.
At the beggining of the book Ariadne
speaks of seizing her destiny for herself, but we see her do nothing of the sort throughout the book. In her own words, after a decade of marriage, she says "I had been trusting and obedient. I had thought that was the right way to be". She ends up being disappointed by Dionysus also and it seems the only lesson to be learned is a weird dichotomy of men are bad and woman good mixed with a Madonna-whore complex where woman who reclaimed and used their power were seen as evil (Medea and Hera, for example) while passive woman like Ariadne were good.
I realize this is to be a tragedy, but why retell a story if not to shine a new light on it? The women end the story the way they began, Ariadne without purpose and Phaedra miserable and heavy with humiliation.
It is not a terrible book, it was enjoyable to read - it just didn't convey its own message. If you have started it searching for something akin to Madeleine Miller's Circe, you will not be totally satisfied.
Graphic: Suicide, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Murder, Grief, Violence, Blood, Mental illness, and Sexual violence
Minor: Confinement, Slavery, Death, Child death, Incest, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, and Infidelity
niyou's review against another edition
Graphic: Sexual violence, Slavery, Pregnancy, and Misogyny
Moderate: War
emmyy15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Rape, Slavery, Animal death, Infidelity, Murder, and Misogyny
bectothebooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Suicide, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Child death, and Grief
Minor: Slavery and Incest