Friday, May 14, 2021

Ten top books inspired by Greek myth

Jennifer Saint grew up reading Greek mythology and was always drawn to the untold stories hidden within the myths. After thirteen years as a high school English teacher, she wrote Ariadne which tells the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur from the perspective of Ariadne - the woman who made it happen.

Saint is now a full-time author, living in Yorkshire, England, with her husband and two children.

At Publishers Weekly she tagged ten of her "favorite books about Greek mythology that breathe new life into old legends," including:
Circe by Madeline Miller

The life of an ancient, immortal witch born to the cruel sun god Helios and best known for her dalliance with Odysseus is told in this spellbinding, glorious novel. From the obsidian halls of her childhood home to her exile on a deserted island, taking in the golden palace of
Knossos and the dim depths of the ocean home of the powerful monster whose help she must enlist, Circe’s world lives and breathes in lush, lyrical prose. This is a completely fresh portrait of a maligned and misunderstood woman and a book whose pages you will return to over and over again.
Read about the other entries on the list.

Circe is among Adrienne Westenfeld's fifteen feminist books that will inspire, enrage, & educate you, Ali Benjamin's top ten classic stories retold, Lucile Scott's eight books about hexing the patriarchy, E. Foley and B. Coates's top ten goddesses in fiction, Jordan Ifueko's five fantasy titles driven by traumatic family bonds, Eleanor Porter's top ten books about witch-hunts, Emily B. Martin's six stunning fantasies for nature lovers, Allison Pataki's top six books that feature strong female voices, Pam Grossman's thirteen stories about strong women with magical powers, Kris Waldherr's nine top books inspired by mythology, Katharine Duckett's eight novels that reexamine literature from the margins, and Steph Posts' thirteen top novels set in the world of myth.

--Marshal Zeringue