Ariadne
Jennifer Saint

Ariadne
Jennifer Saint
As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur - Minos’s greatest shame and Ariadne’s brother - demands blood every year.
Review
by Lian Hingee
There’s been a flush of novels based around feminist retellings of ancient myths lately. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker and A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes depicted the fall of Troy as seen through the eyes of women. Circe by Madeline Miller reimagined Homer’s oft-misunderstood witch from The Odyssey. Now debut novelist Jennifer Saint has turned her attention to the legend of Ariadne, who gave Theseus the means to defeat the Minotaur.
An immersive and engaging novel that brings to life the story of the Labyrinth, Ariadne also seamlessly includes many familiar Greek myths including the fall of Icarus, Midas of the golden touch, and the terrible story of Medusa’s transformation into the gorgon.
Ariadne leans harder into the fantastic aspects of the mythology than some of the other books in the genre: Saint’s Greek gods and goddesses are unambiguously present, malicious, capricious, and all-powerful. Humankind – particularly womenkind – is very much at their mercy, as revenge for the slights and sins of men are visited upon their wives and daughters with impunity. This concept of women suffering for the sake of male pride and ego is a timely one, and it’s unsurprising that the Greek myths are providing a rich strain of inspiration for authors who want to unpack the origins of our centuries-old patriarchy. Ariadne does this, and more.
Blood-soaked and visceral, Ariadne isn’t simply the story of the naive princess of Minos who betrays her family for love and is betrayed herself. It is the story of a girl who grows into adulthood and learns her own strength. It’s the story of two sisters who are bound by the violence committed against their mother. And it’s the story about how history celebrates the glory of men, when perhaps it should remember the sacrifices of women.
Lian Hingee is the digital marketing manager for Readings.
This item is in-stock and will ship in 2-3 business days
Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to a wishlist.

Eversion
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Ordinary Monsters (The Talents Series, Book 1)
$29.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Book of Night: The Number One Sunday Times Bestseller
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Master of Furies
$39.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Sea of Tranquility
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

They (Faber Editions)
$19.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Eyes of the Void
$34.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Danged Black Thing
$29.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Beasts of a Little Land
$29.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

My Monticello
$29.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Cooking at Home
$49.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Mothers, Fathers, and Others: New Essays
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

My Favourite Movies
$32.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...

Ariadne
$22.99Buy now
Finding stock availability...