Jennifer Saint Collection 2 Books Set (Ariadne, [Hardcover] Elektra)

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The story is ladened with tragedy and also times of happiness, but there was always that overwhelming sense of foreboding. Don’t come into this story expecting gentleness. Ariadne is told with raw brutality, no holds barred.

this book is the perfect addition to my greek mythology shelf and fits right in with ‘circe,’ ‘the silence of girls,’ and ‘a thousand ships.’ In Ariadne, Jennifer Saint places women centre stage. It is a beautiful exploration of the bond of sisterhood, the challenges of womanhood and the desire to forge one's own destiny in a world dominated by the will of heroes and gods. Utterly absorbing and brought to life in lyrical prose, Ariadne is a joy from start to finish.' - Elizabeth Lee, author of Cunning Women Saint’s immersive novel thrusts the reader straight into the heart of Greek mythology with this wonderful reimagining of the story of Ariadne.” An ancient story of love and sisterhood reimagined, Jennifer Saint's Ariadne is a truly masterful debut—compulsive, absorbing and lyrical. Saint breathes new life into the forgotten women of Greek mythology with a novel that's both incredibly absorbing, and full of heart.” No longer was my world one of brave heroes; I was learning all too swiftly the women's pain that throbbed unspoken through the tales of their feats.”I am next in line! Honestly I’ve been waiting so long I really I hope it lives up to the hype I’ve made up in my head 😂😂 I am a huge fan of Greek mythology and have been for years. The tale of Ariadne and Dionysus was always one of my favorites, so I leaped on this book the second I saw it, and though it started off strong, it was ultimately very disappointing to me. As if we hadn't learned from our shattered mother and her monstrous spawn that all a woman can do in this world is take what she wants from it and crush those who would stand in her way before they squash her down to nothing."

Briny and barnacled, from the depths of the ocean Poseidon rose in a mighty spray of salt and fury. He did not level his sleek, silver vengeance directly at Minos, the man who had sought to betray him and dishonor him, but turned instead upon my mother, the queen of Crete, and riled her to insanity with passion for the bull. Incensed with an animalistic lust, the desire made her conniving and clever, and she persuaded the unsuspecting Daedalus to create a wooden cow so convincing that the bull was fooled into mounting both it and the maddened queen, hidden within. I also felt that Hera's presence in the novel was in some ways a missed opportunity. She's always there as Araidne's enemy by proxy but we never really explore how the white-armed goddess (not the greatest of epithets) of marriage and birth, the protector of women, and the queen of all gods could have it in for these poor women, exploited by her King of the Gods husband, her Olympian brothers and their children. Instead as Ariadne points out. I could feel a change in Eirene as she sat beside me. My words had surprised her. She had no doubt expected that I was distraught over a trifle, a wisp that she could swipe away like mist dissolving in the rosy fingers of the dawn. 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. The story continues to follow the separate lives of the two sisters until they meet again years later when it is apparent that both women bear the scars of sorrow, love, betrayal and now deep seeded suspicion of each other as the events that shaped them now threatens to pull them apart. When you read Greek Mythology, you know tragedy is just lurking around the corner and this book is no different.She is appalled with the cruelty her father metes out towards the Athenians in demanding that Athens send across fourteen young men and women to be sacrificed to the Minotaur every year, an act of vengeance in retaliation for the death of his son. After, Ariadne and her younger sister Phaedra help young prince Theseus, who is masquerading as one of the prisoners, to navigate through the labyrinth and slay the Minotaur she escapes with him in hopes of a better life ahead and to escape the wrath of her father. Perhaps Eirene suppressed a smile, but she did not let me see. Instead, she gently shifted me away from Phaedra and took up the comb herself. “And why would they do such a thing?” I would not say this was a feminist retelling in any way, honestly, so I would warn others who might read it for such things (as it has been advertised as such) as Ariadne makes one decision in the beginning of the book and then becomes a brittle leaf in the wind, blowing which ever way at the mercy of the men around her. As other reviewers have pointed out, retellings are usually supposed to build upon the base myth and add things to better the story and fully flesh it out, not recount them step by step, which is what the author did, and it led to the story falling extremely flat and having no feeling behind it. This felt almost non-fiction. But I think that's just another cool thing about greek mythology. It feels so real because so many people believe it's truth. Another sad, expected end to another beautiful retelling. I can't wait to find my next one.

However, once the story got going, my hesitation and reserves went out the window. With stunning prose, Saint brings these characters (male, female, gods and beasts) to life in a way that I’ve only ever seen done in Circe. Not only Ariadne, but her sister Phaedra and many other forgotten women from these myths are brought to life in nuanced, complex and emotionally profound ways that will hit home to many of us, even centuries later. As a child, the twists and turns of the palace at Knossos were endlessly fascinating to me. I would loop through the bewildering multitude of rooms, skating my palm across the smooth red walls as I drifted through snaking passageways. My fingers traced the outline of the labrys—the double-headed ax engraved into stone after stone. Later I learned that to Minos the labrys represented the power of Zeus, used to summon the thunder—a mighty display of dominance. To me, running through the maze of my home, it looked like a butterfly. And it was the butterfly I would imagine as I emerged from the dim cocoon of the palace interior to the glorious expanse of the sun-drenched courtyard. At the center gleamed a huge, polished circle, and this was where I spent the happiest hours of my youth. Spinning and weaving a dizzying dance, creating an invisible tapestry with my feet across the dancing-floor: a miracle carved from wood, a superb accomplishment of the renowned craftsman Daedalus. Though, of course, it would not be his most famous creation. im really happy with this. it is a definite must read for fans of ‘circe’ and greek mythology retellings in general. ARIADNE gives voice to the misused Princess of Crete who betrayed her father to save Theseus from the Minotaur. Relevant and revelatory.’– Stylist No doubt she thought I cried for my mother’s shame, but I had a child’s self-absorption and I was worried now for me. “What if the gods—” I gulped through my tears. “What if they take my hair and leave me bald and ugly?”

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Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up listening to her nursemaid's stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echoes the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice. When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives to vanquish the beast, Ariadne sees in his green eyes not a threat but an escape. Defying the gods, betraying her family and country, and risking everything for love, Ariadne helps Theseus kill the Minotaur. It was the woman, always the women, be they helpless serving girls or princesses, who paid the price. Cursed to roam the land without refuge, transformed into a shambling bear or lowing cow, or burned to ashes by the vengeful white armed goddess." Ariadne is a story of love and betrayal and the ways in which women fall victim to the egos of the men in their lives. It’s also a story of sisterhood. Will Ariadne's decision ensure her happy ending and what of Phaedra, the beloved younger sister she leaves behind?

This book especially focused on the women in Greek mythology, and so many parallels and foreshadowing was told throughout this book; through Scylla, Medusa and Pasiphae’s stories. This book explored how both of the sisters survived in circumstances that they weren’t prepared for, how they are treated as a commodity, and punished for men’s actions. This book emphasised how women have been silenced in myths and the unfairness of women’s positions in societies, but it also highlights how these women find strength, in solitude or through power, or with other women. I took the pendant, wonderingly, turning it over in my fingers and marveling at its beauty. “Why bees?” I asked him. Though the ending fell extremely flat to me and was ultimately disappointing, the writing itself wasn’t completely terrible, (it certainly wasn’t great, and to compare this book to Madeline Miller is hubris and punishable by the gods) and the first half as it followed the myth was alright. Ariadne’s viewpoints of how unfair it is that gods always target women for the acts of men are really the only thing that would be considered “feminist.” So that saves this book from having a one star rating, but it’s still a 1.5, and because it has been my most disappointing read of the year, and still inspires rage whenever I think about this book, I’m rounding it down to one star, as it deserves. 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. This retelling clearly flew through the base myth, Theseus and Ariadne fleeing Crete at 30%, Dionysus being introduced at about 40%, and so on, I had no idea how it was truly going to end and the ending that was given did not leave me feeling satisfied in the least and mostly left me wondering what even was the point of the novel other than “women suffer a lot”No longer was my world one of brave heroes; I was learning all too swiftly the women's pain that throbbed unspoken through the tales of their feats." So Medusa had to pay for Poseidon’s act. It made no sense at all, and then I tilted my head and saw it with the logic of the gods. The pieces slid into place: a terrible picture when viewed from our mortal perspective, like the beauty of a spider’s web that must look so horrifying to the fly. What am I supposed to take from this? That it's impossible for Ariadne to break out of the suffering that men (and gods) cause in creating their legends? She certainly doesn't try - the woman is so passive that she knows nothing about the world or about her own husband. It would be better to write this as a tragedy and show an active heroine who tries to break out of the fate set for her, and who chooses Dionysus because he is interesting and powerful. It’s just really a shame because as much as I dislike “and they lived happily ever after” because I don’t mind a bit of pain, I REALLY don’t like to read about all women needlessly suffering at the hands of or because of men and that being the only message I take away from this novel when it was advertised as a “brilliant feminist debut” and WHEN THERE WAS AN AMAZING ALTERNATIVE WITHIN ESTABLISHED MYTHOLOGY.