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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
I really struggle to get a handle on Natalie Haynes. I think her Radio 4 show, 'Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics' is brilliantly done, and some of her writing is thought-provoking, incredibly well researched and poignant told. But equally, I find that her non-fiction style can be quite meandering, and lacks clear drive and purpose. Sadly, I found 'Divine Might' to fall into the latter category.
Take the section on Artemis, for example. A large proportion is taken up by the author undertaking a comparison between the deity and Katniss Everdeen of 'Hunger Games' fame. While it's certainly interesting to see how far Katniss' character might have been inspired by the Goddess of the Hunt, it's not really why I picked this book up. I totally understand that it's trying to make this Olympian more relatable to a modern audience and keep this book at a 'general audience' level, but by doing so it feels like the book is straying too far from its intended point. The Hunger Games is far from the only pop culture reference, so the issue persists pretty much throughout.
I absolutely did enjoy the reminders of the various Greek myths that feature the Goddesses showcased. But again, it felt like it relied very heavily upon the Iliad and the Odyssey, which narrowed the field of reference somewhat. Indeed, apart from Demeter's chapter (the centre of which is of course the myth of her daughter's kidnapping by Hades), I think all of the chapters essentially draw on various stages of the story of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra and their children or ancestors in some way. Yes, there are other stories referred to, and I accept that the Trojan War is probably the best documented and most well known Greek myth so it would be odd not to include it, but there are so many other fascinating tales that form the Greek pantheon and I just think it's a shame that they weren't used to highlight facets of the Goddesses' personalities.
Her take on Hestia is probably the best chapter; as the author explains, the Goddess without the grand stories, temple ruins and archaeological evidence is not exactly the easiest to pin down. But somehow she does it well. This feels like what I had expected the rest of the book to be; an exploration of the Goddess which would have me coming away knowing a little bit more about each one, their stories and the contradictions that spring up around them. Unfortunately, the other chapters don't have as clear a structure, and there was very little to grab and hold my attention, or that educated me further. I was just left questioning what point the author was trying to make nearly every time.
The author is a great writer and she clearly knows her stuff, but I'm thinking another offering to the Muses might have gone a long way.
Take the section on Artemis, for example. A large proportion is taken up by the author undertaking a comparison between the deity and Katniss Everdeen of 'Hunger Games' fame. While it's certainly interesting to see how far Katniss' character might have been inspired by the Goddess of the Hunt, it's not really why I picked this book up. I totally understand that it's trying to make this Olympian more relatable to a modern audience and keep this book at a 'general audience' level, but by doing so it feels like the book is straying too far from its intended point. The Hunger Games is far from the only pop culture reference, so the issue persists pretty much throughout.
I absolutely did enjoy the reminders of the various Greek myths that feature the Goddesses showcased. But again, it felt like it relied very heavily upon the Iliad and the Odyssey, which narrowed the field of reference somewhat. Indeed, apart from Demeter's chapter (the centre of which is of course the myth of her daughter's kidnapping by Hades), I think all of the chapters essentially draw on various stages of the story of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra and their children or ancestors in some way. Yes, there are other stories referred to, and I accept that the Trojan War is probably the best documented and most well known Greek myth so it would be odd not to include it, but there are so many other fascinating tales that form the Greek pantheon and I just think it's a shame that they weren't used to highlight facets of the Goddesses' personalities.
Her take on Hestia is probably the best chapter; as the author explains, the Goddess without the grand stories, temple ruins and archaeological evidence is not exactly the easiest to pin down. But somehow she does it well. This feels like what I had expected the rest of the book to be; an exploration of the Goddess which would have me coming away knowing a little bit more about each one, their stories and the contradictions that spring up around them. Unfortunately, the other chapters don't have as clear a structure, and there was very little to grab and hold my attention, or that educated me further. I was just left questioning what point the author was trying to make nearly every time.
The author is a great writer and she clearly knows her stuff, but I'm thinking another offering to the Muses might have gone a long way.
funny
informative
What an interesting read! I found this book thoroughly entertaining. The conversation Haynes had about each of these Greek goddesses was so well done. Each goddess added a new layer of discussion that felt unique and interesting. I appreciated how she addressed the more modern aspects of how these stories have changed along with the older, more classical understandings of the stories. This added a great layer of depth to the different goddesses she wrote about. It all was truly fascinating.
informative
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
i really enjoyed this book! i’m only not giving it 5 stars because i give everything 5 stars so im trying to be more discerning
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
I enjoyed learning specifically about the goddesses in Greek Myths and how the myths about the goddesses can be both construed and misconstrued. Natalie Haynes does a really great job of balancing fact and opinion and debates some of the key learning points put forward in these myths. The only reason I didn't rate this higher is because I struggled to get through this, you have to be really concentrating throughout, Natalie uses both Roman and Greek names for the goddesses so this made it confusing at points. Overall I thought this book is a good read if you are really interested in Greek Myths and are willing to put the time in to get your head around them.
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced