Medusa

Nataly Gruender

Book - 2024

"The only mortal daughter of two sea gods, Medusa works as a priestess in Athena's temple when she suffers a horrific violation at the hands of Poseidon. Insulted by the desecration of her name and to send a message, Athena transforms Medusa into the snake-haired creature of legend: A creature who, with one look, will petrify anyone who meets her gaze; whose power will ignite a king's fury (and fear) so greatly that he will instruct a boy, Perseus, to bring him her head. With a power that will spare no one-is it fate or punishment? a curse or blessing?-Medusa knows only that she must leave the city she has come to call home before she harms another soul. As she searches for a haven free from mortals, anger buoying her every s...tep, Medusa journeys across ancient Greece, her eyes hidden beneath a blindfold, with nothing but the snakes tangled in her scalp for company. Should she turn back and wreak havoc on the city that has become Athena's namesake? The very thought of it threatens to consume her. As she continues forward, Medusa discovers solace and understanding in the mythical figures she stumbles upon, including a debaucherous wine god, an alluring nymph, and a three-headed dog. But one cannot escape their future forever, and even a monster can be taken down by a boy with something to prove. As Perseus closes in, Medusa faces a choice: to become the monster everyone expects her to be, or to cling to the last piece of her humanity"--

Saved in:
1 copy ordered
Subjects
Genres
Fiction
Mythological fiction
Novels
Romans
Published
New York, NY : GCP 2024.
Language
English
Main Author
Nataly Gruender (author)
Physical Description
pages cm
ISBN
9781538765340
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Gruender's ingenious debut brings new life to the story of Medusa, a woman wrongfully punished for a man's transgressions. Medusa alone among her divine sisters is a mortal--but according to a prophesy, she is destined to become a monster. This prediction further separates her from her siblings Sheno and Euryale. Together, these triplets are known as the Gorgons. As immortals, Sheno and Euryale have no interest in the mortal world, but their mother insists the three Gorgons travel from their isolated beach to live among humans. This sets the Gorgons on the path to Athens, where Medusa finds her calling as a priestess of Athena. When Poseidon rapes Medusa at the foot of Athena's altar, Athena--who cannot punish a fellow god--turns her wrath onto Medusa, transforming her. Newly monstrous, Medusa wanders from Dionysus's mountain, where she befriends a kind naiad, to the home of her sister Echidna, and finally back to the rest of the Gorgons as she figures out how to live--and maybe even be happy--with all that has happened to her. Gruender brings a truly new spin to Medusa's story, casting her as a tragic but resilient character who seeks to live on her own terms. In a saturated market for retellings of Greek myth, this holds its own. Agent: Melanie Figueroa, Root Literary. (Aug.)

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