Alcestis
3.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
In Greek myth, Alcestis is known as the ideal wife; she loved her husband so much that she died and went to the Underworld in his place. But who was Alcestis before she was married? Other than her love for Admetus, what circumstances led her to make this ultimate sacrifice? And what happened to her in the three days she spent in the Underworld?
Katharine Beutner’s lush, emotionally devastating debut explores the magical reality of Ancient Greece, where gods attend weddings and the afterlife is just a river away, as Alcestis goes on a heroine’s journey from sheltered princess to self-actualized savior—redefining love and discovering her own power. Giving an achingly beautiful voice to the most misunderstood wives of Greek mythology, Alcestis is the Underworld as you’ve never seen it before.
This deluxe edition features discussion questions, a craft essay, and a bonus short story.
Katharine Beutner
Katharine Beutner is an assistant professor of English at the College of Wooster in Ohio; previously, she taught at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa. Her first novel, Alcestis (Soho Press, 2010), won the Edmund White Debut Fiction Award in 2011 and was a finalist for other awards, including the Lambda Literary Association's Lesbian Debut Fiction Award. Her writing has appeared in Tinfish, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Public Books, The Toast, TriQuarterly, Humanities, and other publications. Recently, she received an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award. She is the editor in chief of The Dodge, a magazine of eco-writing and translation, and lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Reviews for Alcestis
45 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Started out great, giving Alcestis' backstory while growing up and was good through her marriage, but I lost her when we got to Hades and her adventures there. I skimmed most of it set in Hades, then finished up. Her dealings with Persephone were not believable and made me uncomfortable. I enjoyed most the author's comments at the back. Cover misled me; such an atmospheric cover made me eager to read the story.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A curious book, beautifully written with elegant prose and a very vivid visual sense of the scenes being described, which nevertheless feels rather empty at times. There was much I liked about it: the evocation of the archaic social world of Greece; the description of the haunting, shifting quality of the underworld (tricky to pull off well but which Beutner managed with Dantesque flair); and the nuanced handling of relationships between the characters, particularly Alcestis and her sister, and then between Alcestis and Admetus. I also liked the way that Beutner made the gods real in a simple, matter-of-fact way that made them seem like a natural part of life.The take on Hades and Persephone was intriguing and I wished we'd seen a little more of it: Persephone, capricious, dazzling and captivating, is far from being a victim here. She's rather different from the mental image I'd always had of her, as was the quiet, eerie, watchful Hades. Beutner's take on what happens to Alcestis is unusual, cleverly subverting the myth of the woman who sacrifices herself through love for her husband. However Alcestis is a slightly uneven character: she doesn't really come into her own until she enters the underworld; and then in a not entirely convincing way... I couldn't quite settle her character in my mind, though I found her engaging and sympathetic - but her spark into self-awareness wasn't completely convincing considering her placid acceptance of a rather miserable fate earlier in the book.As I said, it's a curious synthesis. When I began the book, I thought it was going to be a straightforward four stars, but it wasn't, quite. And yet, for all that, the writing is beautiful - even if the characterisation isn't always rock-solid - and it's a really interesting, haunting reworking of a familiar story. I liked it a lot - but there was something not quite fully-formed at its heart. Still one of the most convincing attempts to rework a Greek myth into fiction, and certainly worth picking up if you enjoy historical fiction set in the ancient world.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I'm torn on this one. It was spellbinding, but in a soft, dusty way -- Alcestis as a character is too obedient for most of her life to have any colour to her. The bit in the Underworld is still quite colourless, quite literally, except for Persephone. I was actually more interested in the relationship between Hades and Persephone than that between Persephone and Alcestis. I wanted to understand them, what made them tick, what made them volatile.I understand that there's actually a degree of historical accuracy here to way a real Alcestis would've lived, just with the gods treated as a rational part of everyday life as well, but she seems so meek and resigned -- until she's in the Underworld. I can appreciate the liberation of a female character from a stifling traditional role that must have been so flattering to the men in that male dominated world, and it makes sense it could happen in the Underworld, where the rules of life don't apply.I guess in summary, I just didn't fall for it. There were some lovely sections, gorgeous imagery, and there was some interesting interplay between characters, but all in all it didn't work for me.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Greek mythology has been a major interest of mine since childhood, and I was always fascinated by the figure of Persephone. I feel that Beutner did a wonderful job of portraying this most complex of goddesses in a totally new manner. Alcestis herself, however, steadily lost interest for me. Perhaps this was because women in that place and time were such non-entities to begin with (because that's all they were allowed to be). I was eager to get this book, and initially loved the poetic quality of the writing, and the attention to historical detail. Of course I realize that seeing Alcestis as essentially lifeless may have been the intention of the author... but I don't want to give too much away. Lovers of Greek literature and mythology should not let my lukewarm review dissuade them; I did feel it was a worthwhile read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book really takes a turn in the last third, a very interesting, subversive turn. I really liked it; it definitely stretched my mind. I am sure some will be grossed out or hate it, or disturbed. The heroine's evolution isn't wholly believable and I was often felt the author was confused as her charactar in certain scenes. The live in the stultifying world she must return to. Would she look Admetus inthe eye and say, " No, i don't agree. That's stupid" Would she still subsume her own needs for his attention? How would he handle this new wife? How would her sacrifice affect the balance of power inher marriage? With the people of the city/state? Alas, those questios are not answered. But there is plenty to ponder on in this book. I read it in the store. I will probably buy it at some point for my own slow and thorough reading in the future.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beutner takes Greek mythology and turns it on its head. It is no small feat to retool a myth and turn Euripides's male-centered drama into a lesbian love story. This is the story of Alcestis, the woman who sacrificed her own life to save her husband’s. Her outward loyalty knows no limits, beginning with faking the end of her virginity on her wedding night when, like some men with a secret lover, Admetus can’t perform. But internally, Alcestis is no ordinary woman. She is a mortal with many complex personalities: as a dutiful daughter, a sacrificing wife, a ever-loving sister, a sheltered princess, and the passionate lover of a goddess.Once Alcestis volunteers her life and she is in the underworld, she observes a place in a state of constantly shimmering and shifting allusion. It is difficult, but Alcestis begins a three-day search for her beloved sister who died at ten years old. Every time she inquires about Hippothoe she is met with strange riddles in place of replies as if to protect her from an unknown horror. No one wants to clearly say what has become of Hippothoe. Alcestis perseveres boldly for she is not afraid of the underworld, nor the gods who rule there. She will not take no for an answer. In the meantime, she says yes when she is seduced by, and ultimately falls in love with, Persephone. Alcestis seems to grow larger than life as her sexuality becomes more fluid and not as easily defined. When she is "rescued" and brought back to the living Alcestis is forever changed.