Ariadne
Jennifer Saint's Ariadne is a mesmerizing debut novel for fans of Madeline Miller's Circe.
Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up greeting the dawn from her beautiful dancing floor and listening to her nursemaid’s stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echo the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice.
When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives to vanquish the beast, Ariadne sees in his green eyes not a threat but an escape. Defying the gods, betraying her family and country, and risking everything for love, Ariadne helps Theseus kill the Minotaur. But will Ariadne’s decision ensure her happy ending? And what of Phaedra, the beloved younger sister she leaves behind?
Hypnotic, propulsive, and utterly transporting, Jennifer Saint's Ariadne forges a new epic, one that puts the forgotten women of Greek mythology back at the heart of the story, as they strive for a better world.
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Community Reviews
by Jennifer Saint
Date Finished: 6/30/23
Writing: 5
Characters: 4
Storyline: 2.5
Pacing: 3.5
Average: 3.75
Omg. The ending was so poetic to what this book was as a whole. I’m so sad but that’s how greek myths go. I’m not mad at it. This was a decent read just not too much intrigue until the ending.
A genuine Greek tragedy, Ariadne is simply about all the ways women suffer in the wake of toxic masculinity. It’s also a story about growing up and how one can mature or remain naive as they grow. I’m not familiar with Ariadne’s story or with the Greek mythological stories entwined with hers but I imagine this book holds true to the mythology that started it. If so, the Greek story-tellers truly had some messed up thoughts lol
TW:
Rape
Suicide
Postpartum depression
Bestiality
Ritual sacrifice
Incest
Domestic abuse
Infant/child abuse/murder/trauma/sacrifice
Abandonment
Basically everything. Like I said the Greek storytellers must have been really disturbed thinkers…
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