Medusa by Rosie Hewlett
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology Retelling
4 Stars
When I saw the cover and the blurb, I knew I had to
read it. The book is 204 pages long but feels even smaller. I could finish it
in 2 hours (though it was divided into two days) and must say I'm impressed by
the author's voice.
The story is written in the first-person narrative,
with Medusa tells us her version of history. The Stream of Consciousness worked
very well as the story progressed. It made the narrator's voice stronger and
clear.
We've seen and read different versions about Medusa,
and all of them show her as a monster who went on a killing spree. She has been
a fascinating part of mythology for centuries.
In fact, when my writer friends and I were planning our first horror anthology, we decided to use powerful mythological characters to represent each of us. A friend shared an amazing picture of Medusa (she found it on the internet) for me, and I decided I would be Medusa. I loved her power and liked to imagine her backstory.
This book ticked almost all boxes and provided me with an intriguing version of Medusa. Retellings are always tricky. There's a thin line between a hit and a miss. This one is a hit because the narration held my attention from start to finish. I enjoyed the growth in the relationship between Medusa and her sister. The underlying introspective tone was another plus.
Yes, I do wish there was more depth to the details.
But guess the author would have had to tinker too much with the original. And
research is never easy with topics like this. Also, there's the risk of turning
the book into an emotional drama rather than the assertive version of what it
is now.
For a debut author, this is an impressive work, and
I look forward to reading more from her.
Maybe she could cut down a few adverbs in the next
book. I do like the strength of the narrative.
Overall, Medusa has been a lovely retelling, a
feminist version with a controlled voice (not something I see in all feminist
works).
I received an ARC from Netgalley and Silver Wood
Books.
#Medusa #NetGalley
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