Ariadne by Jennifer Saint is a female-forward retelling of Greek mythology that interweaves the stories of the Minotaur, Theseus, and Dionysus, and a highly recommended read for fans of The Song of Achilles and Circe.
For all of her life, Ariadne has seen women suffer because of man’s foolish mistakes. Her father, King Minos, upset Poseidon and her mother had to pay by birthing the Minotaur. Her sister had to marry into a loveless marriage to ensure peace between Crete and Athens and ended up paying a steep price. And Ariadne herself was left to die by man, only to be saved by the god Dionysus - who turned out to be her downfall. Full of tales of Greek mythology, with emphasis on the role women played in these stories, Ariadne is a fantastic, feminist retelling of some of Greek myth’s overlooked women.
I thoroughly enjoyed Ariadne; this story was full of adventure, action, drama, and even a little romance. I especially loved that this book asks the question - both through subtext and directly in the narrative - why women are always the ones punished for men’s follies. From a young age, Ariadne saw her mother punished for her father’s mistakes. And as she grew up, Ariadne only saw more of the same: her sister sent away to a loveless marriage because of her father’s actions, Medusa turned into a monster because of Poseidon’s actions, and Ariadne’s own ending due to Dionysus’s own power struggle with Perseus. I immediately fell into Ariadne’s story; I admit, it’s a story in mythology I don’t see covered a lot, so I was excited to see another Greek woman at the forefront of the story. Saint has a wonderful storyteller voice, and it was easy to see the events unfolding chapter by chapter. The characters all stood on their own and had unique voices. I’m not always a huge fan of alternating narrators, but the character voices were so strong that remembering which character the focus was on was not a problem. It was refreshing to see females taking charge in their own mythologies, especially when the Greek gods had such a hand in their outcomes. I really enjoyed the story of Ariadne and think it’s a must-read for anyone who loves Greek mythology and books like The Song of Achilles.
Thank you to Flatiron Press and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of Ariadne.
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