My Take:
I am on a Greek gods kick since listening to Madeline Miller’s “The Song of Achilles”. Thank goodness, there is no lack of Greek god novels out there! I saw Medusa’s Sisters on the “available” shelf of audiobooks online, and was immediately excited!
My take: 3 looks
I had no idea that Medusa HAD sisters! This book did the think I love, and that is drive me to other sources for more info and greater understanding. There is nothing better than a book that leads you to research and investigate to know more. And, sure enough! Stheno and Euryale are the two that you never hear about. As a matter of fact, I read an interview with the author, who revealed that the inspiration behind the book was a quote from a 19th century classical scholar who says that the other Gorgons don’t matter. They’re mere appendages, only Medusa matters. Thank goodness, Bear took this personally, and got to writing!
Why only three stars instead of four or five? I thought it was a little long. And I can’t really support that feeling because these women (Gorgons) are very different and very complicated. 350 pages is not long at all, and yet I felt that it dragged in some places. I also got irritated with the personality traits. Medusa was the innocent, child-like sister, all giggles and fun. Stheno was the martyr sister, all everyone’s-needs-come-before-my-own. Euryale was the victim sister, all whine and blame and righteous indignation. There could have been many more layers to each sister.
On the other hand, I loved the detail where I was not expecting it: the dynamics of the gods with one another; the backstory of the parents of the Gorgons, along with their siblings, the Graeae; the parallel story of Perseus and his motives behind wanting Medusa’s head. But what I loved the most was the snakes. The number, color, and type of the snakes on each sister’s head was different, unique to that woman. Medusa had a headful of green snakes, Stheno had three red snakes, and Euryale had one golden snake that coiled around her head.
I would have loved a trilogy “The Gorgons”, with each book telling the same time period from each sister’s perspective. THAT would have been very interesting.
This was definitely a very entertaining book, and I will read more by this author. If you liked this one, try “The Song of Achilles” and “Circe”.
Recommended.
