A Reader's Guide to Books and Reviews

Medusa: A Novel by Jessie Burton

Series:
N/A

Genre:
Mythology, Fantasy, Greek Mythology, Retellings, Historical Fiction, Historical, Young Adult, Ancient Greece, Netgalley, Graphic Novel, Feminism, Medusa, First Person Point of View

Publication Date:
October 28, 2021

Pages Numbers:
208

Read Date:
August 18th, 2023

Date Finished:
August 19th, 2023

Rating:
5/5

Blurb:

A dazzling, feminist retelling of Greek myth from the internationally bestselling author of The Miniaturist, stunningly illustrated by Olivia Lomenech Gill.

Exiled to a far-flung island by the whims of the gods, Medusa has little company except the snakes that adorn her head instead of hair. But when a charmed, beautiful boy called Perseus arrives on the island, her lonely existence is disrupted with the force of a supernova, unleashing desire, love, betrayal. and destiny itself.

Filled with glorious full-colour illustrations by award-winning Olivia Lomenech Gill, this astonishing retelling of Greek myth is perfect for readers of Circe and The Silence of the Girls. Illuminating the girl behind the legend, it brings alive Medusa for a new generation.

Review:

Woe betide any man fool enough to look upon you now!

Medusa.

While mythology portrays her as an ugly woman with snakes for hair, a gaze that would petrify any who looked upon her face, and a serpentine body, she was mainly used to further the story of Perseus, a naive boy with no great deeds to his name like Hercules, a demi-god known for his strength, and the legendary hero, Achilles, who was said to be precise with his arrows. His mother had been locked away because his own grandfather had learned any child descended from his line could threaten his hold on the throne. A divine father whose lecherous eyes laid upon his mother and created Perseus. When his grandfather found out about the child, he would lock them away in chests and throw them into the water, but in a heroic story, he and his mother were saved. When his mother drew the attention of King Polydectes, the king gave him one of the most impossible tasks - find Medusa, cut off her head, and bring it before him. Perseus sets out on the task, believing that he could be the one to bring back her head.

But what about Medusa? Her world had been taken from her, destroyed by the lecherous gaze of the sea god, and transformed into this hideous creature with a stare so deadly that any who looked upon her were petrified. Her only companions are her sister and her faithful wolfhound. That is until Perseus arrives and Medusa, scared of him seeing her, only invites him to the mouth of her cave to have a conversation and dinner. It had been the most Medusa had in companionship. The two talked. Enjoyed company.

That is until the two realize their shared fates.

Medusa's tale has always meant to invoke fear among the readers. They are made to believe that this creature harassed and killed many of those who sought her head and deserved a fate worse than death. This is why we don't get much of a backstory. What is told is how a lecherous sea god, Poisedon, had turned his gaze toward her and made advances that would change Medusa into the creature she would be known today.

Imagine the fear. The loneliness. All of this she must be going through. Medusa must have craved something she knew she could never have and when Perseus arrived, she thought that her dream had come true...that someone had come to break her loneliness and give her the companionship she wanted. She may have it with Perseus but she knew it only be fleeting. Maybe she had an inkling why he had come and knew her fate would be sealed.

I felt sorry for her because regardless of the outcome, I would have loved to see her story tweaked just a bit.

And this book does it. It offers a unique outcome to the events of Medusa and Perseus. A change was needed in order to tell Medusa's story from her perspective and offer Medusa's own thoughts on the fate she knew could come. While the mythology of Medusa tends to change depending upon the told mythology or how her story is weaved into movies and books, Medusa's story is still a sad tale from beginning to end. A tale of a young woman who catches the eye of a sea god, whose advances she refused, and whose life was changed by the Goddess Athena. Medusa remains an enigmatic creature both meant to invoke fear and revilement.

Final Thought:

Overall, this book was a beautiful and poignant retelling of Medusa's story. It offered a unique perspective on mythology, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves these kinds of stories.

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Elektra by Jennifer Saint
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati


*Disclaimer: Thank you to the author, her publishers, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. The opinions of this review are mine and mine alone.