Medusa

Medusa has always been one of the Greek monsters humans remember the most. She inspired paintings, sculptures, and movies. However, she is always portrayed as the thing to kill, without any real reason why she must die.Rosie Hewlett explores the life and death of Medusa in a new light - as a human transformed into a monster because of an unfair goddess, and who is still determined to try to beat the odds against her.Medusa tells us her story from the Underworld, where she has watched her story being told by men time and again and always inaccurately. She decides to finally speak the truth of what really happened.Medusa's mother is a primordial sea goddess and deserts her as soon as she is born because she came out human. She is found by an old temple maiden and raised as a virgin disciple of Athene. She is devoted to the goddess who never speaks to her, yet believing blindly in that divine protection.All goes horribly wrong when Poseidon sets his eye on the adult Medusa's beauty and rapes her in Athene's temple. Medusa calls out repeatedly to the goddess for help but to no avail.Athene only appears after the assault, blaming Medusa for the temple's desecration and punishing her by turning her into the creature we all know and love. Medusa's immortal sisters receive the same treatment as they attempt to explain it was Poseidon's lust to blame.Thus begins Medusa's story of being feared, pursued, betrayed by her mother and gods, finally hiding away so she cannot hurt anyone with her unwanted power. She ultimately finds a friend in the man sent to kill het but discovers instead a pregnant woman who does not deserve to die.Medusa's first-person prose is beautifully written, compelling, and speaks to today's females who must push through the testosterone miasma to be heard in today's society. Several sections would make a fantastic soliloquy for a speech class or an audition. They are so strong yet not pushy in what is being presented, which gives them almost a lyrical feeling.This needs to be made into a movie because Medusa is not amonster but a tragic figure and victim deserving her voice to be not only heard but to be sung in praise for enduring all the pain and cruelty, and leaving the mortal realm with dignity. Female directors and producers - this needs your unique touch to tell it with compassion and empathy.

Loved this story from Medusa's side. Like Wicked, it makes you see there is always 2 sides to every story. It kept me engaged & I finished it over 2 beach visits, it's short, 200 pages. But it tells the story well!

So far of all the medusa retelling I've read so far (4) this one has been my favorite. It shows a victims side without making her a victim for the entire story.

I recently read Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes and was very disappointed. In one of the poor reviews I had read of that book, someone recommended this one by Rosie Hewlett. And boy am I glad I saw it.I will start by saying that the book isn't perfect. There are some things I'd tweak for sure. But I still give it 5 stars for the creativity, the revenge plot, and some of the beautiful writing this author put in.As an adult woman who was SA'd at a young age, I've only recently started to work through my traumas. When I discovered the truth of Medusa's story (not the watered down, censored version we were taught in school), I felt a personal connection to her story and could very much so relate. This book helped me feel very validated and seen. The emotions and trauma were depicted in a way that were relatable, but not triggering.

“But history is written by the winners. Or, more simply, history is written by the men.”MEDUSAYes, another mythology retelling. I just can’t help myself, especially when it is about one of the most intriguing characters in mythology. Medusa by Rosie Hewlett tells Medusa’s story on her terms. Medusa is the mortal daughter of a marine goddess. She is left to serve as a priestess in Athena’s temple. In all that time, Athena never answers a single prayer. She grows into a beautiful young woman and catches the eye of the god Poseidon himself. Except he doesn’t take no for an answer. Laying on the floor brutalized, Athena finally appears and is offended by Medusa’s conduct in her temple and turns her into a Gorgan. At first, Medusa pities herself but then realizes the power she wields…TRIGGER WARNINGS: This book discusses the rape of Medusa and how she was treated as a victim afterward. Throughout history, Medusa is seen as a monster who was vanquished by the hero Perseus. It is not becoming a more prevalent opinion that she isn’t a monster, but a survivor. This book is relatively short, I would almost consider it a novella. But the story is pretty straightforward. I was not a fan of this version of Perseus. I wanted Medusa to fight to the end.The pace is nonstop leaving little room for development, but I suppose that is because the author is relying heavily on the reader’s knowledge of mythology. There is one thing that bugged me and that is the dialogue. It is very stilted and bland. It was as if I was back in the 5th-grade class I subbed in last week. However, I loved all the feminist themes and how the author shines a light that Medusa was a survivor, not a monster that we were all led to believe. I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars and definitely plan to check out more of this author’s books!

While the story follows the myth at a very basic level, it’s nice to see Ms Hewlett took liberties in a way that make Medusa’s perspective one of positivity after all the horrors that she endured. Medusa’s story has evolved over time, since her vague beginnings as just a gorgon, depth was added by Ovid and layers continue to be built onto the ever fluid tale of her life. Myths evolve over time and this thoughtful and competently-written version has a uniquely happy ending to one of the most famous female tragedies in Greek mythology.

Definitely not what I expected. I cried when she got raped and I felt like nothing has changed in the years from how men seen to go blameless in the act of rape. I felt outraged and I cried being in a similar situation. 5 stars all the way.

Tw: rapeTold from the point of view of Medusa herself, this retelling of the well known Greek myth paints a different picture from the story we all were orginally told.This story tells us what Medusa was before the fated day she became a gorgon. We learn about Medusa’s childhood, her family, her days as a devoted priestess, the severity of Poseidon, the ruthlessness of Athena and eventually the death of Medusa.As a debut novel, a retelling can be an incredibly bold move as the author goes against the grain, and changes the stories that everyone is familiar with. This retelling was well done, although I found Medusa’s “voice” a bit too casual for the powerful gorgon she was and the writing itself was fairly basic. I think as a young adult novel however it worked fairly well.

I would say that I doubted between 3.5 and 4 starsI really enjoyed the book but I feel like there is something missing; Despite the fact that of course, every retelling changes the myths we have heard, read in kid's books, etc... there is a feeling that I was expecting a little something more. But Anyway I really recommend this book, it is an interesting point of view from Medusa History.Lately, in the books I have read about Greek mythology, I had noticed that we all agree that Gods were cruel and they only helped Heroes if that was convenient to them! and I'm glad I could read this kind of hystories where the Heroes and villains were humans facing fate, feelings, and hard decisions because I feel more relative to them, and not that kind of "perfect heroes" with nothing tarnishing their good reputation

I absolutely loved this book, I couldn’t put it down and I didn’t want it to end! I loved the writers style and the way she made us think about Medusa’s life before she became the monster ....I hope she can write about other mythological characters and bring them to life as she has with this great book...

Una novela que te atrapa desde el inicio.

This Medusa is a retelling of the Greek myth of the same name, except this time it is Medusa herself telling us her story from the afterlife. We get a very different tone of Medusa in this short book, but it’s certainly one that I think will stick with the reader for a long time.We do see Perseus in a positive light (though I’m of the personal opinion that he was a total jackass) and it actually works SO WELL for the story that Hewlett wants to tell. I honestly couldn’t even be mad.I had no idea how slowly Medusa and her story were winding their way into my heart… until it was too late. I never cry when I read but one scene… one damn scene cracked my poor, dried out husk of a heart and I cried, and it was a good cry 😭This is a short book, and a fast paced read. If you love retellings, then this one comes highly recommended ✨CW: Sexual Assault, Misogyny, & Gaslighting