Ariadne

CW: child death, animal sacrifice, mentions of rape, suicide, depression

As someone who only started learning more about Greek mythology fairly recently, I don't know much about the stories of Ariadne or Phaedra or even the tale of the Minotaur though I've heard the name quite a bit. So this book wouldn't have been much on my radar if not for it's gorgeous UK cover as well as the cover of the author's next release Elektra. So I was excited to find the audiobook of this story and it was definitely an experience.

The author's writing is very compelling. Right from the first page, there's a very engaging quality to it and even though I read this in short bursts and kept putting it down after maybe an hour everyday, it still remained on my mind and I was excited to continue the next day. The narration by Barrie Kreinik is also perfect and very enticing, especially when she is speaking through Ariadne's voice. The pacing could be a bit uneven with a very strong beginning but some of the middle parts feeling bogged down by the domesticity of the characters, but somehow it didn't really affect my feelings too much. However, it's the author's theme of bringing to light how men are valorized while women's pain goes unrecognized all across Greek mythology is what will remain in any reader's heart.

Ariadne is a kind person since childhood, despairing over the things she couldn't change in her life but also enduring whatever life offered her, taking care of the people she loves. But one major decision of her changes her life completely and it's an interesting character arc that she goes through. At times she is willing to defy anything and anyone to stand up for her principles and for saving helpless women, but other times she is very passive, not bothering with what's happening around her and just feeling content with her children. But whatever she does or doesn't do, she is an easy person to like.

Phaedra on the other hand starts as a precocious child who's life trajectory is remarkably different but also equally dichotomous. She is able to escape her cruel father but has to contend with a charming but indifferent husband who doesn't care about anyone but himself. She manages to involve herself in court affairs and rule like a Queen but can never take credit for her work because she is a woman. She never finds the love she craves from her husband or children but when she finally thinks she has found her true love, she is too late to turn back. I remember reading about Phaedra's story in Natalie Haynes's Pandora's Jar and the various versions of her tale across history, so I was very intrigued by the way the author wrote her ending. We ofcourse don't have any godly interventions like in Euripides's version but just the frailties of human nature.

As one might expect, the author is pretty hard hitting about the casual cruelty of the men in these myths and how they are made into heroes despite their actions causing much suffering. We get to meet the cruel Minos who only wants to rule by fear and doesn't care what happens to his family or people. Theseus is all about achieving laurels and being exalted as great, and finding joy only when he is talking about all his prowess. Dionysus is as charming as Theseus in the beginning and possibly the one male character I liked here but he too slowly falls into his nature as a god, forgetting his duties and love towards his mortal wife and children. Hippolytus is a small presence and mostly an innocent, but his description is very much clouded by how reverently Phaedra views him. Daedalus might be the only male character throughout who is genuinely written as smart, resourceful and caring. But they were all very interesting to follow along with.

In the end, I had a good time listening to this audiobook. However, the problem with any well written Greek mythology retelling, even those highlighting the women's stories, is that they will never be completely satisfactory because the women do end up suffering too much. They do get a voice in the narration but it just accentuates the pain they are experiencing. But I also love reading these stories and I'm already very excited to pick up Elektra next. That should be more interesting because I atleast know some background about Clytemnestra, so I won't be starting on completely unfamiliar grounds.

the fun part about a lot of greek myths is that there is room for interpretation with why various figures did various things, and i think that this book has an interesting take on ariadne x theseus, as well as phaedra x theseus, but falls short really exploring the complex relationship between ariadne and dionysus (mostly because this book paints dionysus as a golden retriever husband and not a twisted sexual deviant cult leader)

the connecting thread of motherhood and the role of mothers in the home grows thin and almost invisible throughout the story, especially with regards to phaedra and her sisterly relationship with ariadne. i think that the emphasis of starting a hero's (e.g. dionysus, theseus, heracles etc) story with the mother was quite stark to me, however. will be looking to see how authors approach this in the future

also, needed more hera. not enough pissed off hera, because most greek myth stories are equally as much about pissed off hera as they are about zeus and his uncontrollable sperm donations

but good discussions of why dionysus differs from the other olympians, and why that kind of weaves into his whole schtick as a god. felt for the dude at times, then remembered that he's the root of the term “bacchanal”, which imo is used too liberally these days given the origins in uhhh tearing people apart

i know this sounds like a lot of criticisms for a 4 star review but i think just about everything else was knocked out of the park. ran out of correctly colored tabs several times throughout reading this, hi can someone pls send more thx

“What I did not know was that I had hit upon a truth of womanhood: however blameless a life we led, the passions and the greed of men could bring us to ruin, and there was nothing we could do.”

Ariadne's tale was one filled with heroes, deception, love, loss, and character growth (some for the better and some for the worse). This story goes beyond just Ariadne's involvement in defeating the Minotaur, and describes her trials and the life she made for herself after. It also gives a glimpse of her sister's life after leaving Crete. These women must come to terms with a life ruled by deceitful men and dangerous gods, while trying to keep some semblance of their selves and values alive. A great addition to the world of Greek mythology tales, and I highly recommend it for lovers of “Circe”.

I really love when an author writes in the more detached way that myths and fairy tales are written in, so I knew Ariadne was going to be a good selection for me. I don???t know anything about the relevant myths so it was great to discover them for this first time in this way.

I liked Ariadne immediately and it wasn???t hard to feel invested in her story. Her story takes off quickly as the first few chapters progress. On the other hand her sister was less interesting to me except where you get the comparison between their lives. I thought that was a bit of a weakness because I was dying the whole time to get back to Ariadne???s chapters.

One thing I would have liked more of is character development. I think if the story had focused more on each sister individually and developed them further it would have blown me away.

I thought this was a good myth retelling, and I???m interested to follow Jennifer Saint???s next book and see where she takes it.

Het verhaal van Ariadne kende ik een beetje, vooral met betrekking tot de mythe van de Minotaurus. Toen ik hoorde over deze hervertelling kwam deze natuurlijk meteen op mijn wenslijst te staan en toen ik wist dat ik mijn last-minute vakantie van september in Kreta zou spenderen, kwam dit boek helemaal bovenaan mijn leeslijst te staan.“If you had anything that made you proud, that elevated you above your mortal fellows, it seemed to me that the gods would find delight in smashing it to smithereens.”In zijn geheel deed dit boek met erg denken aan [b:Circe 35959740 Circe Madeline Miller https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565909496l/35959740.SY75.jpg 53043399] van Madeline Miller. Het verhaal weerspiegelt niet alleen deels het verhaal van Circe, maar ook de manier waarop de mannelijke blik van de bekende mythen volledig op zijn kop wordt gezet, van zodra het vanuit het vanuit het perspectief van de vrouwen wordt verteld. Hoewel, ik moet toegeven dat ik Theseus altijd al een beetje een lul heb gevonden voor zijn acties naar Ariadne toe. Toch had ik nooit eerder echt onderzocht hoe haar verhaal daarna verderging, dus dat deel van het verhaal vond ik extra boeiend. “I only knew Medusa as a monster. I had not thought she had ever been anything else. The stories of Perseus did not allow for a Medusa with a story of her own.”De schrijfstijl is buitengewoon mooi en elegant. Het trok me er volledig in waardoor ik in een mum van tijd door het verhaal raasde. Het enige dat tegenviel was het einde. Het viel gewoon helemaal plat, net op het punt dat alles dreigt te ontploffen, net toen ik dacht dat Ariadne eindelijk haar moment zou grijpen. Jammer, maar ik denk dat de auteur maar zoveel kon doen met het bronmateriaal, zonder het volledig te herschrijven.“I turned my face to the twilight sky and sought out the constellations that the gods had etched across its great bowl, the shapes of morals they had toyed with, picked out in pretty lights.”Maar ondanks het doffe einde was dit een absoluut verbluffend boek en ik kan niet wachten om de volgende hervertelling van deze auteur te lezen.

I had been warned that this was not [a:Madeline Miller 176372 Madeline Miller https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1322861610p2/176372.jpg], but I read it anyway because I love Greek mythology. I thought I would love to hear Ariadne's character and story fleshed out. Ariadne, the character of Greek myth has all these interesting relations: a princess of Crete, granddaughter of the sun AND Zeus, brother to the Minotaur, her mother is cursed with madness and some legends say her father was cursed by Pasiphae, knows Daedalus (the brilliant mind behind the labyrinth and the wax wings for Icarus, his son), leads Theseus to slay the Minotaur, and wife of Dionysus. Other relations of interest but not sure if they crossed paths: cousin to Medea, niece of Circe. Also she is associated with dance. This seems like a fantastic character one could build on and have fantastic ties into other myths, but I felt that Saint's characterization of Ariadne was ...bland? Phaedra, whom I did not expect to be sharing a large part of the story, was ...annoying? Annoying does not balance out bland. It's sad that the most interesting thing about Saint's Ariadne is that she's related to all these fascinating other myths and people. In the beginning Daedalus gives Ariadne a gold necklace of a bee. This could have been an interesting tie in with her brother Glaucus who has a myth about drowning in honey and later being brought back to life, but no.I did think that the story of the constellation was done well. Pasiphae's madness is well done, and her curse on Minos is sort of alluded to.I was sad that Phaedra's ending was rushed, I had read Euripides' play Hippolytus and enjoyed it, but without the mention or presence of Aphrodite it pissed me off. Especially since I recall Ariadne being mad at how the gods curse women with inappropriate attraction LIKE WHAT HAPPENED TO HER MOTHER. Also the only god in the story it Dionysus, why? He's decently written at times, but it does seem a little odd that he's the only immortal in the entire book where Greek gods are known for showing up whenever and however they want.

This book is a retelling of some greek myths (Minotaur labyrinth, Phaedra and Dionysos) from Ariadne perspective.

I know it is unfair to make comparisons as Madeline Miller has set an impossibly high standard when it comes to Greek retellings. However, I can't ignore it and, although Jennifer Saint's writing is beautiful and lyrical, I must say she's no Madeline Miller and Ariadne is no Circe.

My main issue with the book it's not the writing though, it's the content. Everyone who knows me knows I love to see the women perspective of events and read a feminist view of those. However, instead of empowering females, the feminist view of the book can be summarized with “men are bad and take advantage of women”.
Additionally, both Ariadne and Phaedra are quite unremarkable, and their lives were not that interesting, which made me feel bored for most of the book.

I believe this story would have worked much better as a novella rather than a full length novel.

The reviews show this is a well beloved book so maybe just ignore my opinion. I recommend it for everyone who loves mythology and retellings.