Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Galatea

I loved Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller and after so many recommendations, I had to read Galatea and I’m absolutely overjoyed by it! As a short story, it has a natural fast pace but the characters are well defined it becomes easy to empathise with the protagonist (Galatea). I still adore Miller’s writing style, I feel immediately immersed in the time period. My favourite part was the Note from the Author, I found Miller’s insights brief but inspiring and satisfying. It’s wonderful to find a writer so invested in the message and history behind their writing. Examining classics with a modern lens is important, and Madeline Miller does this well. My only complaint is that it’s too short, I know that’s the point of a short story but I’m greedy, I want more. I recommend this to all classicists and those who love to explore social issues.

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reads2cope's review against another edition

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5.0

A horror story. That is usually not my genre, but like Miller’s other work, this story completely gripped me.
Though I know she wrote it before getting Long COVID, I couldn’t help but connect the rage and despair of Galatea begging the doctor to believe her with the millions having the same fight today.

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place6o_ffct's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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thenoboshow's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.75

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el_wheel's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was beautifully written but also so short and sad and I wanted more, especially of the characters and the mother/daughter relationship

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books_and_fairy_lights's review against another edition

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reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I quite liked it. Very different from The Song of Achilles but still quite good. This novella is a worthy successor of previous great feminist literature. You can definitely feel the influence of authors such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Angela Carter, or Katherine Mansfield. It is similarly heavy and mysterious (in a gothic kind of way) and has very similar themes though with a more modern twist were the woman actually takes her fate back into her own hands. It's an interesting exposition of how men attempt to control women's bodies and it's especially well done here as we only get Galatea's perspective - how she experiences that oppression, how smart and cunning she is, how she reaches freedom and takes revenge.

Would have loved to include this in some essay at uni, which makes me say it's well-written and interesting inany ways.

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delphi_oracle's review against another edition

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dark informative sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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