Ariadne and Phaedra, princesses of Crete during the time of the Minotaur, deal with temptation, betrayal, and men (and gods) behaving poorly.
I’m a sucker for a good mythical retelling, and I greatly enjoyed the novels written by Madeline Miller over the years. While looking for similar recommendations, I stumbled upon author Jennifer Saint, and I discovered that Hera, Saint’s fourth book, will be coming out in 2024. I made it my mission to read her other three books before the May 23rd release date, starting with Ariadne.
Ariadne tells the story of the titular character as well as her sister, Phaedra. The story spans from their childhood, where their brother Minotaur haunts their palace home, through a partnership and escape with Theseus, hero of Athens (ancient spoiler alert?). When not all goes as planned, Ariadne finds herself alone on an island sanctuary, courted by a god. Ariadne’s POV is juxtaposed with alternating chapters from the POV of Phaedra, who finds herself unhappy in her traditional roles of woman, wife, and mother.
I really wanted to like this book more. The writing, at times, felt more like a chronicle of events rather than a true story with flawed characters that learn and grow. The two characters seem to not have much individual agency, more-so guided by the whims of the horrible men surrounding them than by their own decisions. They felt very reactive as protagonists, except for one decision each, and I am not so much into those types of stories. Perhaps this was a commentary by Saint, though—focusing on how women of the time couldn’t find meaning and live their own lives without men stepping in to muck it all up.
I will keep reading her books, as this was still a great audiobook for me to do alongside my new 1,000-piece, Frank Lloyd Wright City by the Sea puzzle. This book was a solid 3/5, especially if you are hungry for mythology retellings, but Madeline Miller still takes the cake for me.
Comments