Scan barcode
A review by wickham
xo Orpheus: Fifty New Myths by Kate Bernheimer
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I wanted rather desperately to like this book, as I adored Bernheimer's previous compilation of new fairy tales. The concept is terrific - mythos ancient and new are the very essence of story, a landscape where emotional truths trump physical truths every time. Yet where I had been expecting whimsy and color I found an unfortunate nihilism that seems more interested in demystifying the extraordinary than anything else. My love of mythos, fantasy, and fairy tale is not a historical one. When I pick up a book like "XO Orpheus" I am expecting to be taken to another world or to have my own shaken up and made new, not to read the specter of an author's depressed psyche between the lines.
This compilation has some standout stories which seem to understand and reflect the mythos that it's based on. However it is primarily sad, difficult tales from authors clearly over 40 and tired. Perhaps that's to someone's taste, but it's certainly not to mine.
This compilation has some standout stories which seem to understand and reflect the mythos that it's based on. However it is primarily sad, difficult tales from authors clearly over 40 and tired. Perhaps that's to someone's taste, but it's certainly not to mine.