My Goodreads review: Ariadne

[ankh_hpl]

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Another satisfying tale of feminist / revisionist Greek mythology -- for those of us who can't seem to get enough, & we know who we are. I enjoyed this one for its expansion of Ariadne herself: from a bit part in Theseus's Minotaur escapade, to a whole, full life of her own. Those who loved Mary Renault's Theseus may have a little trouble with his portrayal here, but it's fascinating to see what shifting the viewpoint of a myth does to the plot.

Jennifer Saint's writing isn't as lyrical as some novels of this type, but her Ariadne comes through with a frank, honest voice I came to appreciate. Here is a purely mortal (though royal) woman with ordinary goals and dreams, entangled with self-absorbed heroes and gods. It's not likely to end well -- few Greek myths do -- but we're with her every step of the way. I did have some frustration with the chapters narrated by her sister Phaedra. The interlocking story lines worked well enough, but the character is simply less sympathetic (at least to this listener).

True confession: I realized more than once while listening that I really had forgotten some of the myths I thought I still knew. Wikipedia is our friend.



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