Title: Ariadne
Author: Jennifer Saint
Publisher: Wildfire
Published Date: 30th December 2021
Page Count: 400
ISBN: 978-1472273901
Price: £8.99
Reviewer: Gwendoline SK Terry (7th September 2023)
Blurb
Ariadne, Princess of Crete and daughter of the fearsome King Minos, grows up hearing stories of gods and heroes. But beneath the golden palace something else stirs, the hoofbeats and bellows echoing from the Labyrinth below. Every year its captive, the Minotaur – Ariadne’s brother – demands blood.
When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives as a sacrifice to the beast, Ariadne sees in him her chance to escape. But helping Theseus kill the monster means betraying her family and country, and Ariadne knows only too well that drawing the attention of the mercurial gods may cost her everything.
In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne’s decision to risk everything for love ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover’s ambition?
ARIADNE gives a voice to the forgotten women of one of the most famous Greek myths. Beautifully written and completely immersive, this exceptional debut novel is perfect for fans of CIRCE, A SONG OF ACHILLES, and THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS.
Review
This was a stunning, eloquent, compelling novel deserving of so much praise. Filled with sumptuous descriptions, countless quotable passages, powerful messages, and lamentable heartache, Jennifer Saint crafted a story so relatable to the modern day. Whether it’s due to certain situations in my personal life right now or not, I really resonated with this book.
Various myths were entwined with Ariadne’s, adding depth to the world. Looking at the myths through the eyes of a woman made them so different, so much more poignant, adding another level of heartache to the tragedies and more profundity to the stories of heroes.
Though the novel was slow in many places after part one and Ariadne was passive, that was her plight. She was at the mercy of men, a tool in their world, passive and compliant lest she faced male wrath whether it be from her father, her brother, her lover, or her husband. Like a lot of women, she found herself hurled from one cage (that of her father’s) to another (her husband’s after being used and abandoned by a lover). Trapped inside her gilded cage, the island of Naxos, Ariadne settled into her new role, thinking she’d finally found a quiet happiness before the rug was pulled out from under her and she finally realised she was never actually free. Neither she nor her sister were free from the constraints of sexism.
Phaedra, fiery and strong during her youth, had her light dimmed when she was forced to take on a role she never wanted, forced to reduce her passion for life so that she might survive. She gave everything to her husband – her time, body, life. In return he gave her a grand home, sure, but also misery, emptiness, loneliness, and lies. The moment she finally reached out to have something of her own she was burned, her world unravelled, punished for wanting a single sliver of happiness of her own choosing after giving all of herself to the men in her life.
Ariadne and Phaedra had two very distinct personalities, both of them accurate representations of women you see in your everyday life. Both suffered their own struggles, issues that modern-day women can relate to. Though there was definite growth for their characters, in the end, it didn’t matter. As women, they were still subjected to and victims of the decisions of men.
A mournful analysis of women in male-dominated myths, this novel casts a spotlight on women’s positions in a man’s world, emphasising the inequality between the sexes without being preachy. A beautiful retelling of various myths, it was raw, passionate and heart-wrenching. The ending was bittersweet, but that in itself made their stories so genuine. There was no happily ever after, something that’s real for a lot of women.
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