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ClareR (6118 KP) rated Medusa: The Girl Behind The Myth in Books

Sep 28, 2021  
Medusa: The Girl Behind The Myth
Medusa: The Girl Behind The Myth
Jessie Burton, Olivia Lomenech Gill (illustrator) | 2021 | Children, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Now THIS is the side of the story I have always wanted to hear about! Medusa’s OWN story from her OWN mouth. In mythology, she is always portrayed as ugly, dangerous and unpredictable - lethal. In this story, we see a young girl, afraid and alone, forced to live away from others in case she hurts them - or they harm her. Her only companions, a dog and her sisters, the Gorgons, who fly out to hunt during the day, returning to their sister at night with food.

One day, a boy lands his boat on the island - it’s Perseus.

We see the side of Medusa that the original myth writers would never have imagined: a young girl who is taken advantage of, vulnerable, used by men for their own pleasure, and then blamed for something that she has no control over.

In the original stories, she gets her just desserts. Medusa is ugly and not to be trusted. It gives an insight into how men regarded women at this time. Be subservient. Be a virgin. Don’t get raped, and if you do, it’s your own fault - you brought it on yourself (I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about this). Women don’t come out of myth and legend terribly well.

I absolutely loved this. Medusa isn’t a meek, mild victim, but neither is she evil. She knows, or has some idea anyway, her glance can cause a lot of damage - so she hides herself away.

And in this story, not a single head is lost.

The illustrations are gorgeous as well.

I wonder if Jessie Burton will write more Greek myths in this way? Because I’m all in!
Many thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for my copy of this gorgeous book through NetGalley.