"Ariadne"

The classic Greek myths with a modern feminist take. Loved the storytelling but left with a lack of hope.

Summary:

Everyone knows the tale of the mighty Minotaur of Crete, controlled by the cruel king Minos who orders it to devour fourteen Athenian teenagers as tribute. But while Theseus would be the one to defeat the beast, the princess of Crete, Ariadne, would ultimately be the one to show the hero how to kill her brother and overthrow her father. This tale follows Ariadne and her younger sister Phaedra as their lives are forever changed by the actions of men around them and how they set about reclaiming their own fates.

Verdict: 7/10

I've always loved Greek mythology and am thrilled to find that more authors and artists are embracing the classic tales and retelling them in new and interesting ways. Jennifer Saint does a great job of weaving myths and characters together. Between the story of Theseus, Medea, Scylla, the Amazons and so many others, they all feel connected here. And Saint takes a unique turn by bring the lesser-known characters into the spotlight.

Everyone's heard of Perseus and Theseus and Heracles, but no one focuses on the women they so often leave behind in their quests for greatness. Once you start looking for them, discarded women are everywhere in the tales! The author doesn't just seek them out, she highlights them through her leading ladies. You can feel the injustice, the pattern that the immortals and mortals alike have shaped, and the desperate struggle to break free of their fates.

While it skirted the line of being overly feminist (the "all men are pigs" mentality), I thought it was well-balanced and was true to the rage that many women wrestle with, then and now. Pasiphae’s predicament all stems from her husband’s greed. Medusa was really vengeful because of her unfair treatment. Saint consistently foreshadows that heroes aren’t conscientious of the people around them. Women often pay the price for the hero's actions or a god's jealousy. Through the faults of others or their own misguided desires, heartbreak abounds.

I was surprised by the direction the story took. From the description, I expected the novel to mainly cover the battle of the Minotaur - but that was only a mere third of the book! After which I thought, "oh good, a classic Greek revenge plot!" Instead, the next 100 pages featured Ariadne trying to trust Dionysus and move on. While I didn't mind this new trail, it felt slightly out of place. I personally didn't feel like her and Dionysus had much of a spark. She essentially settles, but at the same time, she’s entitled to have a quiet life I guess.

The pacing still seemed strained after that. The description and storytelling erased any concerns about length, but there were sections that felt rushed. For example (SPOILER ALERT), Ariadne's doubts about men take up nearly two-thirds of the book, but her wedding to Dionysus, her pregnancy and her five sons only takes up 4 pages?! It just made that relationship and family feel very out of place for me in contrast to the 50+ pages she spent spying on her husband (SPOILERS DONE). While those parts built suspense and dread, it seemed like Saint was prowling for negative drama more than any victories.

The reader goes through the story thinking maybe Ariadne's made it and can finally find a good guy, but in the end, can anyone be trusted? I was a little off-put by the end. There's only so much angst anyone can take. I needed some sliver of hope that there could be one decent guy in all of Greece or one happy, safe woman in this world. Regardless it brought me back to the myths that I loved and introduced new ones that I hadn't heard. For that, it gets a thumbs up.