Customer Reviews

Alcestis

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The ancient Greeks held up Alcestis as a model of wifely devotion. Her husband, Admetus, was spared from death on the condition that someone else die in his place. When Admetus' relatives and friends refused, Alcestis volunteered herself and made the journey to the underworld, but was later rescued by Heracles. In her debut novel, a poignant literary fantasy, Katharine Beutner fleshes out the figure of Alcestis, and gives her a backstory that helps explain her willingness to sacrifice herself.

Beutner's Alcestis has always lived in the shadow of death, starting with her mother's death in childbirth. Then, as a child, Alcestis loses her favorite sister, Hippothoe, to asthma. When her father remarries, Alcestis forges a bond with her new stepmother and later with her half-sisters, but she still misses Hippothoe terribly and sneaks out of the palace to visit her grave whenever she can. Later, Alcestis marries her cousin Admetus, but their wedding night is marred by a near-fatal encounter with poisonous snakes. Admetus is spooked, and between that and his love for the god Apollo, he's a little distant from his wife. Yet Alcestis has never seen any reason to hope for more from a marriage.

Beutner paints a vivid picture of a world where women have few rights. This is not done in a heavy-handed way; Beutner's portrayal of ancient Greek misogyny is all the more horrifying because of the matter-of-fact way it is presented. A wedding celebration that continues in its merry dancing even when an unmistakable scream pierces through the music; a father praying for his newborn child but never bothering to name the wife who just bore the child, and pointedly not mentioning to the gods that the baby is female; these things serve to remind us that Alcestis' world is not our own. And Alcestis is a product of her times. She knows she is considered property to be handed from one man to another, and she doesn't like it, but she doesn't develop an anachronistic grrl-power attitude.

This is also a world where gods walk among men and women. Alcestis herself is the granddaughter of Poseidon, whom she has met only once: "Mostly I remembered Poseidon's thick sea-clogged smell, and the way his black hair lay dull and damp against his skull, and the pattern of drips he'd left on the floors, like stories marked out in the stars." Gods drift in and out of human lives, siring children and breaking hearts, not knowing (or not caring) what havoc they wreak.

When Alcestis descends into the underworld, she too is swept into a divine love affair, but an unusual one; she becomes the plaything of the goddess Persephone. Persephone is not likable, but I think that's the whole point. You can love gods, and fear them, but you don't do anything so cozy and mundane as like them.

I also think, though I may be stretching, that Persephone's mercurial personality may be a reflection on the nature of storytelling. Persephone is sometimes said to have been claimed by Hades against her will, but sometimes it's said that she loved him, and sometimes that she was the dominant one in the relationship, and so Beutner's Persephone is made up of all these different versions of herself.

Beutner's underworld is haunting. She does a great job of incorporating the existing mythology and of using her prose to set a scene both beautiful and utterly alien: "We flew, the god and I, wrapped in his fluttering cloak. The space around us was uniform as a cloud, but I saw shapes and patterns below us, patches of darkness, ribbons of gloom, glints of metal or stone. Lines of strange-colored light. I felt as if I were trying to make out the floor of the sea by looking through deep water." Later, when Alcestis meets some of the shades who live in the underworld, there are some moments that will break your heart.

Speaking of heartbreaking, _Alcestis_ left me with a mixture of pensiveness and sadness. Despite the sadness, I was glad to have followed her on her journey, and to feel like I "knew" this mythological character better than I did before. I do wish Beutner had written more about Alcestis' daughter, though! I did some poking around after finishing the book, and there isn't really anything known about this girl, but I wanted to see Beutner flesh her out and show how she lived up to what Persephone said about her. (Maybe in a later book? Please?)

I think anyone who liked Jo Graham's Black Ships will find Alcestis rewarding, and so will anyone who liked Ursula K. LeGuin's Lavinia. _Alcestis_ seems to exist in a middle ground between these two novels in terms of abstractness; I'd say it's more abstract than Graham's work and less abstract than LeGuin's. I recommend it to readers who enjoy retellings of myth from the female perspective, and readers who are looking for a blend of fantasy and literary fiction.

This book amazed me. And really, I didn't expect much: it was advertised as a retelling of the Alcestis myth (perfect wife goes to underworld in place of husband) as written by a twenty-something grad student in Austin. I thought it might be mildly interesting and readable.

Imagine my shock when almost immediately upon starting, I was swept totally into the ancient world. The writing was so good that it was literally transparent in places, and it was as though I were actually living that life.

The story opens at the birth of Alcestis. We see her at various times during her early years, and are especially moved at the death of a favorite sister. Alcestis really cannot stop grieving. As she moves into her teen years and then marriage, we feel we know her very well.

Well, this story is so well known that there is no spoiler to say that she indeed goes to the underworld in place of her husband. But that is where the story truly begins in so many ways (and where a spoiler must be avoided here!). In the myth we don't really know anything that happens to her before Hercules comes to her rescue. But this 3-day period is a major part of this novel, as Alcestis searches for her lost sister and confronts the gods of the underworld.

When I finished this book at 5:00 this morning (yes, I read it through), I desperately hoped that this author has many more such wonders ahead of her. It is really a great feeling to be at the birth of such a possible publishing life!

This falls into the fantasy genre, I think. I normally read historical fiction, but my interest in Greek mythology caused me to pick this up. I have kept my personal tastes in mind while writing this review.

The first half of this novel is wonderful. Readers meet Alcestis, grand daughter of Poseidon, god of the sea. Alcestis's mother died birthing her and her father is a cruel man who really has nothing to do with his daughters. Therefore, Alcestis grows attached to her sisters, and one in particular, Hippothoe. When Hippothoe dies of what nowdays would be called an asthma attack, Alcestis must overcome her grief and while doing so, she comes of age for marriage. A persistant suitor wins her hand thanks to the god Apollo.

Alcestis marries and discovers her husband and Apollo, the sun god, have more than a mere god and mortal relationship. An even bigger surprise is in store for her tho when Hermes comes to take her husband to the Underworld (land of the dead) and Alcestis goes in his place.

The second half takes place in the Underworld, the land of three headed dogs and gates with minds of the their own. Here, Alcestis begins a cat and mouse game with Persophone, goddess of the Underworld. They begin a lusty and often hateful relationship. What I did not like about the last half of the book is everyone begins speaking in riddles. It takes poor Alcestis forever to find her dead sister. Or will she find her at all?

A good debut.

I love me my Greek myths. Persephone's abduction is explanation for seasons? Yes please. Athena punishes master weaver Arachne by turning her into a spyder who's cursed to "weave" forever? Outstanding.
When I cam across Alcestis, an entire novel centered around a Greek myth, I thought, "yahtzee!" And to be fair, for the first half of the book, the author delivers: mortals co-existing with gods, gods manipulating mortals' lives, etc. However, about halfway through the book things start to get really trippy. To be fair, any Greek myth is obviously laced with magical realism and imagination benders but in the case of Beutner's Alcestis, it is flat out bizarre. For about 100 pages Alcestis is just wandering around the underworld playing a sexual hide and go-seek with the gods and making non-sensical conversation with ghosts. It's like the author discovered hallucinogenic drugs in the midst of writing and decided the novel should double as a visions journal.
Perhaps my expectations for the book were a little exaggerated but when all was said and done Alcestis was less than divine.

In ancient Greece, King Admetus of Pherae fears death although he knows Hermes will be coming for him. On the other hand his wife Alcestis has known death from her birth. Her mother died giving birth to her and cursed her with her last words. That loss meant nothing but when her sister Hippothoe died that grief never left Alcestis.

When death comes for her spouse, he refuses to go and demands a sacrificial replacement to satisfy Hermes. He is stunned when his spouse agrees to journey into the Underworld. As Alcestis begins her trek, the court praises her as a martyr of love. She knows there is some truth to the accolades, but it is not love for her husband; instead Alcestis seeks Hippothoe. In the Underworld, she meets and finds true love with Persephone even as that overly muscled moron Heracles has come to take her home; a place she does not want to return to as Pherae is a gilded cage and she has learned to fly having tasted love and freedom to move around in the Underworld.

This terrific retelling of the Greek mythos adds incredible depth to the heroine who finds the Underworld liberating. Unlike her legend written by men, Katharine Beutner's version adds the real motive for volunteering to die beyond the inane romantic notion and fills in a vivid telling of what happened in her three days in the Underworld. Although the ending feels rushed, fans will fully relish the story behind the legend.

Harriet Klausner

Way back in the day, the ancient Greeks understood Alcestis as, quite literally, the perfect wife: In the story, when the time comes for her husband to die, she offers to go in his place. Three days later, Herakles travels to the Underworld and wrestles Death to bring her home. She has a kid or two, and that's basically all those ancient Greeks got to hear from Alcestis.

Luckily for us, we get to hear a lot more about Alcestis, thanks to Katharine Beutner and her debut novel, Alcestis. Beutner is like a god, taking the stick figure the Greeks gave her and turning it into a flesh-and-blood woman, one who not only loves but also hates and fears and grieves. We see Alcestis's childhood and adolescence, the fear she feels for her father and the love she has for her sister. We see her courted by and subsequently married to Admetus, a man who adores his wife but loves the god Apollo. But most exciting, we see her in the Underworld, falling into a volatile, love-hate relationship with its queen, Persephone, and an even more complicated relationship with its king, Hades.

But Alcestis isn't really the star here. The star is Beutner herself. After all, it is she, not Alcestis, who brings Alcestis to life. It is through her luscious, almost hedonistic writing that Alcestis, the Greek landscape, and its mythology come alive. The prose is physical, grounded in observable reality, but the descriptions never drag or drown or suffocate. The book acts like a verbal teleportation device, because the details are so effortlessly pulled and beautifully drawn that it's almost impossible not to see and feel and taste Greece, from the celebratory feasts to the parched air to the touch of a sister or a lover.

But it is not writing alone that makes Alcestis stand out; it's also the world Beutner creates, a world so real that it's hard to believe Beutner didn't live it herself. Sometimes we forget that what we call `mythology' was religion for the Greeks. It's hard for us to shake the images of mythology popularized by modern culture (I'm looking at you, Disney's Hercules), but Beutner's integration and normalization of mythology into the narrative here is spectacular. She does this mostly through Alcestis's voice. If she feels a breeze, she makes an aside about the local wind god. If the waves rush up the beach and splash her, it's Poseidon's blessing. To explain her grief after her sister's death, Alcestis invokes (and retcons) the Narcissus myth.

Of course, Beutner doesn't stop with religion. She integrates virtually every facet of life in Greece, from the dress to the cuisine to the treatment of women, into the story, and she refuses to shy away or judge any of it. It is so easy to think a retelling of the Alcestis myth will be an indictment of the horrible way the Greeks treated their women, and Beutner certainly brings that to light here. Her Alcestis is subversive and revolutionary and liberating. But Beutner never accuses or judges the culture itself, never raises Alcestis into some paradigm that all women should follow. Her Alcestis never stands on a soapbox. Beutner earned an undergraduate degree in classical studies, and I think it is her deep respect for the culture that prevents her from trying to change it. It is that same respect, I think, combined with a sensational wordsmithing talent and a teleportational imagination, that enabled her to write Alcestis as a debut novel. Personally, I can't imagine what she'll do next, but I have a feeling she can.

Alcestis is a wonderful first novel from Katharine Beutner, and the only reason I mention it as a first is just because it amazes me that someone can be this good right out of the starting gate.

Alcestis' husband, the mortal lover of Apollo has been granted the boon of one refusal to death providing someone steps forward to take his place. Death comes, no one steps forward. Sensing the shame that would befall her husband if no one died for him, Alcestis steps forward. Hermes takes her to the underworld. In the telling of the myth we aren't told of her time with Hades and Persephone, and that is what's at the center of this retelling. I'm not going to give anything away, but the imagining of the underworld with its shades and sovereigns is wonderfully written.

I've read a number of "retellings" of various myths, and the common strategy seems to be to approach them with a high degree of irony, even burlesque, and to treat the gods and goddesses like actors in a soap opera. It's amusing at first, and then tiresome. I think the strategy stems from a modern inability to give the gods their due; and I think it's a form of hubris - an overbearing pride in being human, modern, and sophisticated. But, at least for westerners, the Greeks made us, and it doesn't do to mock our parents. Katharine Beutner (who, by the way, seems to have the perfect education for this work - a BA in the classics and an MA in creative writing) has the courage to take Alcestis' story head on, enriching it, and enriching us.

This is an easy, bur fascinating and lovely read with some high moments of fantasy, that may have been written with a young audience in mind, but it gave this old guy a few wonderful hours in ancient Greece, and the drifting world that lies above, below, around, and beyond our every day.

2.5 Stars (rounded up to 3)

I've mentioned this before, but I'm a sucker for any book that has to do with Greek mythology. I honestly want to read them all (if only there was enough time)! Alcestis is one myth that I'm not nearly as familiar with, and I actually don't think I've read the original but this one intrigued me regardless.

With an excellent, strong start I fell in love nearly immediately... but I was a tad disappointed with a lackluster finish.

1.'Fantastic representation of mythology:

Katharine Beutner has an impressive grasp on the mythology and culture of Ancient Greece and she writes in a way that really puts you in an accurate frame of mind to get involved in the story of Alcestis' life. I REALLY loved the way she portrayed the gods and goddesses, because even though I enjoy other retellings they can often trivialize the gods to an extent. It was refreshing to read a story where the characters were intimidated and fascinated by the gods.

2.Accurate, realistic portrayal of the life of a Greek woman:

I was completely invested in Alcestis' story and I was dying to find out how things turned out for her. I so desperately wanted her to find happiness, and there was something so endearing about her as she struggled to find her place in a man's world...

But that was only at first. I was enthralled with this book for the first half, but the second half I found lacking and left me sorely disappointed. Katharine definitely explored some creative, interesting ideas in her re-imagining of Alcestis' story. And she has a difficult job trying to fill-in-the-blanks of what happened to Alcestis in the underworld, without anything to go off of in traditional mythology.

My main dislike however, ended up being Alcestis. She seemed to be two entirely different characters, with an utter transformation in the middle of the book. And I think that Katharine was going for a journey of transformation and self-discovery for Alcestis, but the two personalities didn't seem to relate to each other at all. The change was so drastic and so fast, and she lost many of the qualities I admired about her in the beginning. I can appreciate great change in her- but not so much that she's unrecognizable. She seemed weaker by the end, somehow drained of the immense strength she exhibited in the beginning.

I was also slightly disappointed with how slow most of the story seemed to be, and how some parts seemed to be redundant to a point. I did, however, appreciate the fact that Katharine took the time to really flesh out an in-depth background for Alcestis and I thoroughly enjoyed that part. Yet the latter half and her time in the underworld seemed to be longer than necessary, and the affect seemed to be lost on me because of this. The section dealing with her time in the underworld and the aftermath just felt so disjointed form the rest, and very unexpected- there wasn't much of a lead in or reason given for it, and I found it hard to believe that Alcestis would react in such a way. (And yes, I'm being vague to avoid potential spoilers).

This book felt like it would be better suited for older readers, people who enjoy a slower pace with a focus on the internal struggles and changes of a character rather than lots of action. Familiarity with Greek culture could make it more interesting as well. Still, this is a stunning novel, and Katharine weaves together truly remarkable phrasing and imagery with her words.

I'd give this one 2.5/5 but only because I found the latter half to drag on and I was disappointed with Alcestis' reaction to her struggles. The first half of the book was easily a 4/5 for me.

Review copy received from Soho Press in exchange for my honest review; no other compensation received.

I loved this book! I thought it was well written and the author did a good job in bringing to life the complicated relationship between fickle Greek Gods and their mortals...
The only thing I wish the author had done differently was to really convince me that Alcestis fell madly in love with Persephone in just three days...(so much so that she didn't want to leave...) I wish the author could have elaborated more on this. Other than that, great book! I think someone should turn this into a play, it would be awesome!

Alcestis is a princess from Greek mythology, popularized in Euripides's tragedy of the same name. It is the story of a wife who sacrifices herself in the place of her husband. Alcestis was the daughter of Pelias, who proclaimed to all her suitors that the only man who could take her hand would be one who could yoke a lion and a boar to a chariot. King Admetus, who will stop at nothing to marry Alcestis, does just this with the help of the god Apollo. Fulfilling his promise, Pelias allows Alcestis and Admetus to marry, but Admetus forgets to make a sacrifice to Artemis after the ceremony and they find themselves in a bed full of snakes. Apollo once again steps in, making the Fates drunk, and extracting a promise that anyone may sacrifice themselves in place of Admetus. No one volunteers, and then Alcestis steps forward. Alcestis is taken to Hades and shortly after is rescued by Heracles.

This is the Euripides story.

Katharine Beutner has another story to tell, from the viewpoint of Alcestis, which has never been told before. In Alcestis, the reader learns what this strong and determined woman was really like, the important sacrifice she made, and what she did to survive and maintain her composure and sanity in Hades before she was rescued. Beutner doesn't hold back on description and detail, which is important as many readers will be unfamiliar with this world and setting. What makes Alcestis such an enchanting story is Beutner's clear writing style that doesn't attempt to boggle and overload the reader with Mycenaean Greece, but treating Alcestis like a normal person in a different world, a different time, making it accessible to any reader, while the story is both compelling and interesting.

Originally written on May 4 2010 ©Alex C. Telander.

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