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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
"Women hold knives more often in the day than men ever do, yet it is not women who stab their husbands to death when they fear adultery."
Many of us learned of the Greek myth of Medusa for the first time as children, and it went a little like this: "Medusa was a dreadful monster who sat around for a long time doing dreadful monster things, like having snakes for hair and turning people to stone. One day, a brave hero named Perseus put a stop to her monstering, and everyone lived happily ever after." However, there's a little more nuance to it than that. Ovid's [b:Metamorphoses|1715|Metamorphoses|Ovid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1420818932l/1715._SY75_.jpg|2870411] claims that Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden, punished by Athena for having sex with Poseidon in her temple, and many feminist critics have begun to interpret Medusa's story as either a symbol of feminine rage or a victim-blaming narrative.
In Athena's Child, Lynn follows suit, showing us how a young Medusa stood up for the voices of women until Poseidon, liking her fire, forced himself upon her, and how Athena in her wrath cursed her. This Medusa is anything but monstrous; forsaken by her goddess, she wants to be left in peace on her island, though of course, a sporadic stream of glory-hungry would-be heroes insist on landing and attempting to kill her. No one is willing to listen to Medusa's story, but she longs to be heard. I challenge anyone to read this one and come away feeling unsympathetic!
Lynn also writes from the point of view of Perseus, who sets out to decapitate Medusa in order to bring her head to the cruel King Polydectes, hoping to kill Polydectes with her gaze and save his mother from having to marry him. I found his perspective far less engaging, and while his intentions were noble, I couldn't bring myself to care for him.
While the prose here was perhaps a little too sparse and quick to jump around in perspective for my tastes, Athena's Child is a simply told reimagining in the style of Madeline Miller's [b:Circe|35959740|Circe|Madeline Miller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565909496l/35959740._SY75_.jpg|53043399] or Pat Barker's [b:The Silence of the Girls|37969723|The Silence of the Girls|Pat Barker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519448688l/37969723._SY75_.jpg|59693763]. It asks us to reconsider how we view villainised women, to listen to their stories, and to stand up for ourselves and for others. Fans of Greek mythology may appreciate this one, but I think it's also a read worth considering for a younger audience (especially if they grew up hearing the "Medusa was bad and then Perseus relieved her of her head, the end" version of the myth)!
Many of us learned of the Greek myth of Medusa for the first time as children, and it went a little like this: "Medusa was a dreadful monster who sat around for a long time doing dreadful monster things, like having snakes for hair and turning people to stone. One day, a brave hero named Perseus put a stop to her monstering, and everyone lived happily ever after." However, there's a little more nuance to it than that. Ovid's [b:Metamorphoses|1715|Metamorphoses|Ovid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1420818932l/1715._SY75_.jpg|2870411] claims that Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden, punished by Athena for having sex with Poseidon in her temple, and many feminist critics have begun to interpret Medusa's story as either a symbol of feminine rage or a victim-blaming narrative.
In Athena's Child, Lynn follows suit, showing us how a young Medusa stood up for the voices of women until Poseidon, liking her fire, forced himself upon her, and how Athena in her wrath cursed her. This Medusa is anything but monstrous; forsaken by her goddess, she wants to be left in peace on her island, though of course, a sporadic stream of glory-hungry would-be heroes insist on landing and attempting to kill her. No one is willing to listen to Medusa's story, but she longs to be heard. I challenge anyone to read this one and come away feeling unsympathetic!
Lynn also writes from the point of view of Perseus, who sets out to decapitate Medusa in order to bring her head to the cruel King Polydectes, hoping to kill Polydectes with her gaze and save his mother from having to marry him. I found his perspective far less engaging, and while his intentions were noble, I couldn't bring myself to care for him.
Spoiler
The ending adds to this, but it's very realistic, too. Perseus tells Medusa that he will make sure her story is heard, but gives up at the first hurdle after returning to his ship and realising that his men want to hear about valour and bloodshed and not a wronged priestess, reflecting how even with the #MeToo movement, many women's stories still aren't being listened to.While the prose here was perhaps a little too sparse and quick to jump around in perspective for my tastes, Athena's Child is a simply told reimagining in the style of Madeline Miller's [b:Circe|35959740|Circe|Madeline Miller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565909496l/35959740._SY75_.jpg|53043399] or Pat Barker's [b:The Silence of the Girls|37969723|The Silence of the Girls|Pat Barker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519448688l/37969723._SY75_.jpg|59693763]. It asks us to reconsider how we view villainised women, to listen to their stories, and to stand up for ourselves and for others. Fans of Greek mythology may appreciate this one, but I think it's also a read worth considering for a younger audience (especially if they grew up hearing the "Medusa was bad and then Perseus relieved her of her head, the end" version of the myth)!
It's very interesting reading this take on Medusa after Jessie Burton's Medusa. Hannah Lynn takes a more literal interpretation of the myth, but does flesh out Medusa's character. The young woman is caring, principled, and strong, but that means nothing to Athena, who blames and curses Medusa for Poseidon's rape.
We also meet Perseus, who is forced by his stepfather to kill Medusa to save his mother, putting him and Medusa in awful positions.
While this wasn't a radical retelling, it did give us a powerful indictment of patriarchy and how damned women are no matter what they do.
We also meet Perseus, who is forced by his stepfather to kill Medusa to save his mother, putting him and Medusa in awful positions.
While this wasn't a radical retelling, it did give us a powerful indictment of patriarchy and how damned women are no matter what they do.
3.5 stars rounded down. Just recently read the shadow of perseus and stone blind, and I like how each retelling differs while staying true to the story. Perhaps just because of timing, this one didn't hit as hard but I did appreciate focus on her sisters development into Gorgons.
The POV changed and I didn’t care about the others when I was so invested in one. I’ll finish one day but I need a break lol
⭐️ 4 Stars ⭐️
I really liked this book! The authors writing style is great. I loved reading her work, I could picture everything that happened based on what she was saying. There were so many details but not so many that it was overwhelming.
I felt so many things reading this. I had empathy for pretty much everyone except Athena. Though some characters didn’t end up the way I thought, it was still interesting to see how it all turned out. I have many thoughts on Medusa and Perseus, the latter mostly. For a character to have such a solid arc to then crash at the end, it was disheartening for sure.
Also, there are some questions that remain unanswered (in the book itself. Some of them are answered by the knowledge of the mythological stories this is based off of). I hate when that happens because you never get full closure. I wanted so much more for Medusa and so much less for Athena. A girl can dream!
Overall, I enjoyed the book a lot. It was a quick but meaningful read. I look forward to reading more about this author.
I really liked this book! The authors writing style is great. I loved reading her work, I could picture everything that happened based on what she was saying. There were so many details but not so many that it was overwhelming.
I felt so many things reading this. I had empathy for pretty much everyone except Athena. Though some characters didn’t end up the way I thought, it was still interesting to see how it all turned out. I have many thoughts on Medusa and Perseus, the latter mostly. For a character to have such a solid arc to then crash at the end, it was disheartening for sure.
Also, there are some questions that remain unanswered (in the book itself. Some of them are answered by the knowledge of the mythological stories this is based off of). I hate when that happens because you never get full closure. I wanted so much more for Medusa and so much less for Athena. A girl can dream!
Overall, I enjoyed the book a lot. It was a quick but meaningful read. I look forward to reading more about this author.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It was definitely a good book, but it just didn’t really click for me. Maybe because it’s shorter than what I usually read, or just something about how it was written… idk. It was definitely good, though, and I especially liked how it ended (for Medusa in particular).
I picked up Athena's Child because it is described as a retelling of Medusa's mythology, told from her point of view. I'm not a big mythology reader, but Medusa has always fascinated me. The beginning was strong - humanizing Medusa and explaining how she became a priestess for Athena and how she was unfairly punished with the snake hair, but it devolved into talking more about Perseus's backstory (which I wasn't super interested in) and not adding much depth to his character. It honestly got kind of boring and felt more like reading a standard mythology story instead of giving much insight or new perspective to Medusa.
2.5 rounded up.
* thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the NetGalley review copy. Athena's Child publishes September 26.
2.5 rounded up.
* thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the NetGalley review copy. Athena's Child publishes September 26.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated