mxbluet18's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Trigger warnings for Ariadne include:
alcohol, animal death; assault, attempted murder; bestiality, blood and
bones; child death, childbirth, cults, death, gore, miscarriage (past); pregnancy, r🅰️pe, sexism, starvation,
su1cide and war.
☆
☆
This book was slow, but very detailed and I quite enjoyed reading it, even if it took me the best part of 2 weeks to finish.
~
It followed the story of Ariadne (probably not a huge surprise there). It follows her from childhood, detailing the events of her young life on Crete as a princess, to her and Phaedra meeting Theseus, and then Dionysus.
~
As with any story you'd find in Greek mythology, it is riddled with deaths, rape, sexism and misogyny and a whole lot of war and general violence, as that was the way of many of the society's in history.
~
While I can enjoy the stories, I also take it with a pinch of salt because it's a work of fiction, and there are a lot of actions and events that were wrong and unacceptable with the standards of today's society.
alcohol, animal death; assault, attempted murder; bestiality, blood and
bones; child death, childbirth, cults, death, gore, miscarriage (past); pregnancy, r🅰️pe, sexism, starvation,
su1cide and war.
☆
☆
This book was slow, but very detailed and I quite enjoyed reading it, even if it took me the best part of 2 weeks to finish.
~
It followed the story of Ariadne (probably not a huge surprise there). It follows her from childhood, detailing the events of her young life on Crete as a princess, to her and Phaedra meeting Theseus, and then Dionysus.
~
As with any story you'd find in Greek mythology, it is riddled with deaths, rape, sexism and misogyny and a whole lot of war and general violence, as that was the way of many of the society's in history.
~
While I can enjoy the stories, I also take it with a pinch of salt because it's a work of fiction, and there are a lot of actions and events that were wrong and unacceptable with the standards of today's society.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Miscarriage, War, Abandonment, Abortion, Misogyny, Murder, Child death, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
little_lida's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Suicide
Moderate: Rape, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Grief
read_with_riley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Child death, and Miscarriage
lizzie24601's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
If you liked Circe by Madeline Miller, you'll probably enjoy this book. For what it's worth, I did like the discussion around miscarriages and postpartum depression, especially during this time period. The book's depiction of Dionysus is also very well done and shows a different side of him than many other Greek mythology retellings.
But just like with Circe, I didn't find the story of a woman abandoned alone on an island for the rest of her life very compelling. So much of this book is Ariadne (and Phaedra) just thinking and thinking about people and things - there is very little action or even compelling relationships. So much of the book is devoted to the sisters discovering all the men in their lives are deceitful and untrustworthy - and yet, they never develop relationships with the women around them as an alternative. ()
The book's structure also felt a little off. First it's only Ariadne's perspective, then for half the book it's both her perspective and Phaedra's, and then it's only hers at the end again. The first person perspective of these isolated women also means we have to read long passages of men recounting events to them that they didn't witness themselves. I wonder if it would've been better in third person.
Ultimately, this book just felt very lonely - Ariadne and Phaedra's only significant relationships are with their husbands and each other, and each of these relationships ends in tragedy. It was interesting, as a fan of Greek mythology, to learn more about what might've happened to Ariadne after the labyrinth, but the book was just okay.
But just like with Circe, I didn't find the story of a woman abandoned alone on an island for the rest of her life very compelling. So much of this book is Ariadne (and Phaedra) just thinking and thinking about people and things - there is very little action or even compelling relationships. So much of the book is devoted to the sisters discovering all the men in their lives are deceitful and untrustworthy - and yet, they never develop relationships with the women around them as an alternative. (
Spoiler
Ariadne literally has a whole community of women move onto her island, and only one is even mentioned by name.The book's structure also felt a little off. First it's only Ariadne's perspective, then for half the book it's both her perspective and Phaedra's, and then it's only hers at the end again. The first person perspective of these isolated women also means we have to read long passages of men recounting events to them that they didn't witness themselves. I wonder if it would've been better in third person.
Ultimately, this book just felt very lonely - Ariadne and Phaedra's only significant relationships are with their husbands and each other, and each of these relationships ends in tragedy. It was interesting, as a fan of Greek mythology, to learn more about what might've happened to Ariadne after the labyrinth, but the book was just okay.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Suicide
Minor: Child death and Miscarriage
polly_ang's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Gore, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Rape, Animal death, Blood, and Child death
Minor: Miscarriage
quinn22's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Death, Child death, Misogyny, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Grief, Torture, Miscarriage, Colonisation, Abandonment, Rape, War, Incest, Child death, Death of parent, Animal death, Violence, and Animal cruelty
acasiamae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Misogyny, and Suicide
Moderate: Murder, Mental illness, Violence, and War
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, and Rape
whatjasread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
• this had a rough start, but picked up around 1/4 through
• i liked ariadne, although i felt like i liked her mostly because of how everybody interacted with her rather than because of her as a person
• phaedra was very interesting to follow too
• very morally grey characters -- you root for them because they deserve better but then they do awful things and you can't justify your support
• i enjoy learning the in depth versions of greek mythology, especially because we only ever learn the basics where the women were the problem, or where theseus was a great hero
• overall, it was a decent story but i felt detached from it quite a lot of the time
TWs: blood, child neglect, child abuse, death of animal, animal cruelty, lying about rape, gore, pregnancy, miscarriage, post-natal depression, rape, child death, emotional abuse, incest, sexism, body horror, abandonment, suicide (hanging)
• i liked ariadne, although i felt like i liked her mostly because of how everybody interacted with her rather than because of her as a person
• phaedra was very interesting to follow too
• very morally grey characters -- you root for them because they deserve better but then they do awful things and you can't justify your support
• i enjoy learning the in depth versions of greek mythology, especially because we only ever learn the basics where the women were the problem, or where theseus was a great hero
• overall, it was a decent story but i felt detached from it quite a lot of the time
TWs: blood, child neglect, child abuse, death of animal, animal cruelty, lying about rape, gore, pregnancy, miscarriage, post-natal depression, rape, child death, emotional abuse, incest, sexism, body horror, abandonment, suicide (hanging)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Suicide, Child death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexism, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Blood, Abandonment, Rape, Pregnancy, Incest, and Body horror
Minor: Miscarriage
alex3099's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I personally don't like how it strayed from the mythology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Minor: Sexual assault and Miscarriage
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This ended up being quite a bit different than I was expecting ! I adore Greek myths, but I was unfamiliar with Ariadne's, so I didn't know ahead of time how things were going to play out. I really thought the Minotaur was going to be a bigger part of the story, but it's only about the first quarter of the book, and is essentially the setup for the rest of the book.
In the end we follow Ariadne's and Phaedra's entire lives, and we even switch to Phaedra's point-of-view for a few chapters here and there. The dynamic between the sisters is intriguing, and as this is based on a Greek myth, it is tragic as well.
One of the main themes of this book is how frequently women are punished for the deeds of men. Several other myths are brought up, such as Medusa. It's quit sad to read about, but I think is an important aspect to analyze.
The sequence of events in this book really reminded me of Circe by Madeline Miller. However, I actually enjoyed this story more than Circe, as I felt there were less lulls in the plot. They are written in a similar manner though, so if you enjoyed Miller's books then I would definitely pick this one up.
In the end we follow Ariadne's and Phaedra's entire lives, and we even switch to Phaedra's point-of-view for a few chapters here and there. The dynamic between the sisters is intriguing, and as this is based on a Greek myth, it is tragic as well.
One of the main themes of this book is how frequently women are punished for the deeds of men. Several other myths are brought up, such as Medusa. It's quit sad to read about, but I think is an important aspect to analyze.
The sequence of events in this book really reminded me of Circe by Madeline Miller. However, I actually enjoyed this story more than Circe, as I felt there were less lulls in the plot. They are written in a similar manner though, so if you enjoyed Miller's books then I would definitely pick this one up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Violence, Rape, Mental illness, Blood, Infidelity, and Misogyny
Minor: Animal death, Vomit, Miscarriage, and Incest