Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, Retellings
In fierce, textured voices, the women of Ovid's Metamorphoses claim their stories and challenge the power of myth. Seductresses and she-monsters, nymphs and demi-goddesses, populate the famous myths of Ovid's Metamorphoses. But what happens when the story of the chase comes in the voice of the woman fleeing her rape? When the beloved coolly returns the seducer's gaze? When tales of monstrous transfiguration are sung by those transformed? In voices both mythic and modern, Wake, Siren revisits each account of love, loss, rape, revenge, and change. It lays bare the violence that undergirds and lurks in the heart of Ovid’s narratives, stories that helped build and perpetuate the distorted portrayal of women across centuries of art and literature. (via goodreads)
First of all, look at that cover art! It’s freaking glorious and 75% of the reason why I picked this book up. The other 25% is because I have had a weird fear/fascination related to Medusa since I was a kid and saw a traumatic episode of The Muppet Babies (it’s on youtube if you want to reminisce).
It’s a very graphic book. If you are familiar at all with mythology, you may already know that it is big on rape. I knew this, but I was still surprised by how graphic and detailed the descriptions of rape and torture were. Granted, you probably shouldn’t gloss over or try to dress up a rape, but be warned that the retelling of these stories may be triggering.
The author’s writing style is polarizing, from what I have seen online. I happened to love it. Each story had a different voice and style. Some were more poetic, and read as if they were written in the time period during which they took place. Others were written as if they took place in modern times, and used colloquialisms and slang. The negative reviewers that I have come across felt that the author’s writing was too crude and trashy. However, I took it as creative and experimental.
My biggest critique is that the stories tended to repeat themselves. It’s story after story about women being raped, impregnated and then transformed into something else. That may be more of a critique of the myths themselves than the author. However, it did make the book harder to get through.
Overall, I liked reading this. It made me realize just how messed up and sexist mythology is.
RATING:
0=No 1=Yes .5 =Kind of
- Was the book interesting? 1
- Was it easy to finish (even if I didn’t like it)? .5
- Was it emotionally engaging? 1
- Was it memorable? 1
- Would I read it again? .5
