Tweet
//
Accursed Women by Luciana Cavallaro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The collection of short stories by Luciana Cavallaro is a retelling of Greek myths about cursed women and godesses, but with a different twist from what we originally read. These myths are told from the perspective of different storytellers: a Minoan princess writing her last account after taking poison; a historian interviewing Helen of Troy; a talk show host interviewing Hera; a parent telling the story of Pandora; and Medusa’s story in retrospect. Based on the storyteller, the plot unfolds differently than what was handed down through various generations from the male perspective. What these tales bring out is the unfair handling of these legendary women and goddesses. The Greek gods and goddesses were capricious and their curses often unfair. I particularly liked the stories about Helen of Troy and Medusa. The scene of Perseus killing Medusa was riveting, but the story explaining Medusa’s childhood and curse was bittersweet. For those who love mythology, I strongly recommend this book of short stories.
Luciana Cavallaro has a fantastic blog Eternal Atlantis about Greek mythology and historical background http://luccav.com/
Apollo's Raven 
Thank you Linnea for the wonderful and glowing review!
LikeLike
You are most welcome, Luciana. I share your passion for mythodology and enjoyed reading your collection of short stories in Accursed Women. Each tale added a different twist to the original myth based upon the story teller. Not only do myths give us insight into ancient civilizations, but we can also learn about ourselves. In your retelling of these tales, I learned more of the original mythology. In particular, I was not aware of Medusa’a curse. Good luck on your book–a collection of stories I highly recommend.
LikeLike