Another book that I’m shamefully late in reading – but very glad that I did.
Thanks to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review – I also bought a copy of the audiobook from Audible and so my review reflects my experiences of both.
This book centres on Mecklenburgh Square, an address in Bloomsbury, London that was home to five groundbreaking and fascinating women during the interwar years. It’s an interesting idea, that this little corner of London famous for its thinkers and writers, was the shared address of these brilliant women – even though they didn’t live there at the same time and were often resident at very different points in their lives. For all of them, Mecklenburgh Square proved to be the ‘room of one’s own’ (in Virgina Woolf’s words) that gave the women the freedom to develop their careers independently.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Ariadne’ by Jennifer Saint, a gorgeous retelling of the Ancient Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur (among many others!)
With thanks to Random Things Tours, NetGalley, the publisher and author for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
From the Publisher:
‘My story would not be one of death and suffering and sacrifice, I would take my place in the songs that would be sung about Theseus; the princess who saved him and ended the monstrosity that blighted Crete’
As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur – Minos’s greatest shame and Ariadne’s brother – demands blood every year.
When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives in Crete as a sacrifice to the beast, Ariadne falls in love with him. But helping Theseus kill the monster means betraying her family and country, and Ariadne knows only too well that in a world ruled by mercurial gods – drawing their attention can cost you everything.
In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne’s decision to betray Crete for Theseus ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover’s ambition?
Ariadne gives a voice to the forgotten women of one of the most famous Greek myths, and speaks to their strength in the face of angry, petulant Gods. Beautifully written and completely immersive, this is an exceptional debut novel.
A truly spellbinding, epic story taking readers on an unforgettable journey. Perfect for fans of Circe, A Thousand Ships and The Silence of the Girls.
My Review:
I have always loved mythology and have dipped in and out of various versions of the stories, most recently enjoying Stephen Fry’s narrative in ‘Mythos’ and subsequent books. I am blessed (cursed?) with a memory like a sieve, so I don’t tire of the old stories and cannot always remember how they all fit together, so I came to ‘Ariadne’ with only a very vague understanding of the Theseus and the Minotaur myth upon which this is based, at least initially.
The story opens on Crete, where Ariadne and her sister live in the shadow of their authoritarian and deeply unpleasant father, Minos. The jealousy of the gods causes Ariadne’s mother to bear a minotaur child and this monster – trapped in a labyrinth under the palace – is fed with an annual sacrifice of Athenian youths. One year, Theseus (Prince of Athens) arrives with those to be sacrificed to the minotaur and Ariadne – blinded by love that she takes to be mutual – helps Theseus and changes the course of her own life.
That bit is just the start of the story! To cover it all would be too complex and also give spoilers, for there are several versions of the different myths and so Saint has made some intriguing narrative choices along the way. The story intersects with others that will be familiar to lovers of Greek mythology – I loved that Medusa made it in there, plus Daedalus and Icarus and so many others.
In Saint’s hands, each of these characters became human – I’ve never really felt the tragedy of Icarus’ fate before, or what it must have felt like for Ariadne’s mother to know she birthed the monster that is the scourge of Crete, or how Phaedra and Ariadne felt at having their sisterhood torn apart. Saint explores the emotions of these very human stories and the result is intensely moving.
What is also apparent is just how awful the Olympian gods are. Saint presents their jealousies, their fickleness and their downright cruelty – it becomes a familiar theme that mortals never come off best in their dealings with the gods. Even those who seem preferable at first glance – Dionysus, for example – have a darker side and their immortal life renders them problematic in their relationships with humans.
One hugely appealing aspect of this book was the feminist slant on the stories – in Saint’s capable hands, we are really made to feel the injustices meted out on the women of the novel by some pretty terrible men – both human and godly. This was something I was aware of already (I can recommend ‘Zeus is a Dick’ by Susie Donkin if you need enlightening on Zeus’ general tyranny, status as rapist and general shoddy conduct – it is a very funny book too!)
However, in Saint’s version, the women are constantly underestimated and often abused – yet remain strong and resolute in the face of hardship. Pasiphae, Ariadne’s mother, is a prime example of this as she rises above the malicious gossip about her and ultimately grows in strength. Phaedra, Ariadne’s sister and co-narrator of the book, is also a tough, honest and down-to-earth figure. I’ll admit I didn’t know of Phaedra before reading this book and was hoping for a different ending for her.
The main narrator of the novel is Ariadne herself and she is presented with realism and truth. She makes mistakes along the way, is too trusting at times, struggles with various situations she is presented with, is aware of her many failings – yet is also kind-hearted and a brilliant heroine of the novel. The fact it is narrated in first person allows us to really get under the skin of a figure who – in the original mythology – is rarely developed as a character in her own right, being more of a plot device within Theseus’ story.
This is a beautifully-told story that brings Greek mythology to life. The things I have struggled with in regard to myth retellings – the complexity, the huge casts, the flat characterisation – are stripped away here and the result is gloriously readable. This is definitely one myth that will remain firmly fixed in my memory which – given my track record – is a miracle!
It is also worth mentioning here that the hardback version of this book – with gorgeous gold detailing – is something that every book-lover would be proud to find a place for on their bookshelves…just saying!
About the Author:
Due to a lifelong fascination with Ancient Greek mythology, Jennifer Saint read Classical Studies at King’s College, London. She spent the next thirteen years as an English teacher, sharing a love of literature and creative writing with her students. ARIADNE is her first novel and she is working on another retelling of ancient myth for her second.
