Ariadne Awake [Hardcover]

Doris Orgel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1994 | Age Level: 11 and up

Ariadne, Minos's daughter and the Minotaur's half-sister, learns love's price after falling for her father's handsome prisoner, Theseus, in an evocative, beautifully illustrated retelling of an ancient myth.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-A prologue sets the stage for readers: King Minos angered the god Poseidon and as punishment saw his wife enamoured of a bull. She died at the birth of the product of that union: the Minotaur, now immured and fed an annual sacrifice of Athenian youth. This fictionalized, first-person narrative begins with 10-year-old Ariadne as she tries to approach her monstrous half-brother, only to learn a brutal lesson about his-and her father's-nature. The core story begins five years later, as Ariadne watches the Greek prince Theseus arrive to be sacrificed- and instantly falls in love with him. In quick order she helps him escape, is abandoned on Naxos, and is rescued from despair by a satyr who introduces her to Dionysus (who in turn introduces her to wine). The god marries her on the spot, just after spelling out the lesson of the tale: "Even love that ends in pain and grief is precious as a stop along the way toward greater love." Who could quarrel with this consoling moral, even if Ariadne's rebound is rather precipitous? The prolific Moser gets better and better, though his bull-headed Minotaur is more pathetic than terrifying. Minos looks like a Viking, but Theseus and Dionysus clearly represent opposing male types. Ariadne, with her button-nose and straggling red locks, doesn't look much like a Cretan or a princess, but perhaps the idea is that the young teenage target audience will identify with the face above the flowing robes. The emotional heroine, and the romantic and sexual themes, may make this myth material more than palatable to middle-school readers.
Patricia Dooley, formerly at University of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5 and up. Ariadne is the young princess who helps Theseus defeat the Minotaur; it's her thread that guides him back through the twists and treachery of the labyrinth. The myth has always focused on Theseus as hero; in fact (except for those familiar with Strauss' opera Ariadne aux Naxos), most of us can't remember who Ariadne is. Now Orgel puts Ariadne center stage and lets her tell the story from the beginning. Always a rebel, she hates her cruel father, King Minos of Crete, who keeps the Minotaur imprisoned in the labyrinth and feeds him on human flesh. Then Theseus arrives, one of the 14 Athenians who are the required annual tribute to the monster. Dazzled by Theseus' beauty, power, and attention, Ariadne loves him and helps him; she leaves home and sails away with him--and then wakes up to find that he has abandoned her on an island. Ariadne tells her story with simple drama, and the book design is spacious and beautiful. Moser's watercolors, however, are sunlit and idyllic, with little sense of the darkness and terror that are also part of the story. His full-front view of the Minotaur is a mistake, maybe because it jars our own images; it's not nearly as compelling as his woodcuts for Frankenstein (1984), which kept the monster mysterious and distanced. What is heartrending is the view of Ariadne on the shore, searching the horizon for a sail, waiting for Theseus to return. This version of the story shakes you up. Theseus is undoubtedly a hero who sacrifices himself for others; does he deliberately mislead Ariadne? The treachery is a shock, but just as astonishing is the way that Ariadne recovers from her pain and finds love and joy with the god Dionysus. Orgel shows that the young woman's perilous journey is also a personal one of leaving home and transforming herself. Hazel Rochman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; 1st Ed. edition (May 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670851582
• ISBN-13: 978-0670851584
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,279,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Story, January 30, 2004

By 

pfromcal "pfromcal" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ariadne, Awake! (Hardcover)

I was so impressed with this version of Theseus and the Minotaur. The reflections of Ariadne are very feminine and will inspire children to think more deeply about her predicament. We read this after reading another picture book version of the myth. After having read a rather brief version of the story, we enjoyed hearing this expanded version, rich with reflection, causing female students to shed tears. A must read for any unit on Ancient Crete!

5.0 out of 5 stars A 7 Year Old Boy, January 6, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Ariadne Awake (Hardcover)

This book is a very good book. I suppose you would like to read it because it is about an Athens man name Theseus being put in a labrynth. Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos of Crete. Ariadne was attacked by the minataur because she wanted to comfort it. Ariadne tried to help Theseus because he was so handsome. She gave him a sword and a ball of thread. Theseus killed the minataur. When they were sailing away, Theseus accidently left her on an island. There she met Dionysis and married him. And that the was end of the story. It was a 5 star story because it was a really good book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Greek Mythology Fiction!, February 25, 2000

By 

Thomas Hou (New York City, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ariadne Awake (Hardcover)

YOU CANNOT MISS THIS BOOK! This book really goes into Greek myhtology and it is a story equivalent to Theseus and the Minotaur. I liked the adventure and the vividness of this book. I also love Greek mythology. All information here are 100% accurate.

It is about a princess of Crete nemed Ariadne. She was a daughter of King Minos of Crete and Queen Pasiphae. Queen Pasiphae also gave birth to the Minotaur, a half-man and half-bull beast. Athens had to pay 9 youths every seven years to feed the Minotaur. Once, Theseus, the King of Athens' son came to Crete, Ariadne fell in love with him. They danced in the banquet room and later Ariadne helped Theseus to kill the Minotaur by the help of the architect Daedalus. Theseus killed the Minotaur and they at once set sail for Athens with the rescued Athenians. However, Dionysus wanted Ariadne as his bride and Theseus had to leave Ariadne at Naxos. Sionysus became Ariadne's husband.