Galatea - Tardis BookWyrms

No cover — Madeline Miller: Galatea (2022, HarperCollins Publishers)

English language

Published March 30, 2022 by HarperCollins Publishers.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-328051-9

(2 reviews)

In Ancient Greece, a skilled marble sculptor has been blessed by a goddess who has given his masterpiece – the most beautiful woman the town has ever seen – the gift of life. Now his wife, Galatea is expected to be obedience and humility personified, but it is not long before she learns to use her beauty as a form of manipulation. In a desperate bid by her obsessive husband to keep her under control, she is locked away under the constant supervision of doctors and nurses. But with a daughter to rescue, she is determined to break free, whatever the cost…

7 editions

V171 reviewed Galatea by Madeline Miller

Goodreads Review of Galatea by Madeline Miller

3 stars

This was a wonderful, quick little jaunt into Madeline Miller's work. I loved the story, but with it being so short, it of course left me wanting more. Don't let the three stars fool you, this was good, but there really was no time to explore anything in any depth. Because there wasn't much depth to it, I anticipate its impact won't stick with me for long. And that's not a dig at short stories in general, I think decisions could have been made about the narrative to make it more impactful, but alas here we are. Anyway, Madeline Miller remains one of my favorite authors and, in my opinion, continues to be the master in the genre of mythological retellings and I will continue to read whatever she writes.

altlovesbooks reviewed Galatea by José Miguel Pallarés

When researching, I spelled "Galatea" as "Galateia" and was confused at the lack of connection. Don't be me.

4 stars

I fully admit I read this to keep up with my Goodreads goal for the year. It's also been on my to-read list ever since I finished Circe and Song of Achilles, so it wasn't entirely picked for ulterior reasons. I'm actually glad I gave this a chance, it was very short but also very engaging.

It takes the name from the ivory statue Pygmalion created in Ovid's Metamorphoses. It's like a perspective-flipped Pygmalion, which is acknowledged by the author in the afterword and in other reviews here.

It was actually kind of a super creepy story that I expected to go a different way. I kept reading (for the half hour or so I spent with it) to find out where things were headed, and didn't even mind that it's a bit lacking in depth.

So, not only did it keep me and my arbitrary Goodreads goal afloat another …

I fully admit I read this to keep up with my Goodreads goal for the year. It's also been on my to-read list ever since I finished Circe and Song of Achilles, so it wasn't entirely picked for ulterior reasons. I'm actually glad I gave this a chance, it was very short but also very engaging.

It takes the name from the ivory statue Pygmalion created in Ovid's Metamorphoses. It's like a perspective-flipped Pygmalion, which is acknowledged by the author in the afterword and in other reviews here.

It was actually kind of a super creepy story that I expected to go a different way. I kept reading (for the half hour or so I spent with it) to find out where things were headed, and didn't even mind that it's a bit lacking in depth.

So, not only did it keep me and my arbitrary Goodreads goal afloat another week, I actually really enjoyed it. Definitely read either Circe or Song of Achilles first if you haven't yet, but this is a nice little bite-sized story after you're done with those.