Publishers Weekly
06/24/2024
Gruender’s ingenious debut brings new life to the story of Medusa, a woman wrongfully punished for a man’s transgressions. Medusa alone among her divine sisters is a mortal—but according to a prophesy, she is destined to become a monster. This prediction further separates her from her siblings Sheno and Euryale. Together, these triplets are known as the Gorgons. As immortals, Sheno and Euryale have no interest in the mortal world, but their mother insists the three Gorgons travel from their isolated beach to live among humans. This sets the Gorgons on the path to Athens, where Medusa finds her calling as a priestess of Athena. When Poseidon rapes Medusa at the foot of Athena’s altar, Athena—who cannot punish a fellow god—turns her wrath onto Medusa, transforming her. Newly monstrous, Medusa wanders from Dionysus’s mountain, where she befriends a kind naiad, to the home of her sister Echidna, and finally back to the rest of the Gorgons as she figures out how to live—and maybe even be happy—with all that has happened to her. Gruender brings a truly new spin to Medusa’s story, casting her as a tragic but resilient character who seeks to live on her own terms. In a saturated market for retellings of Greek myth, this holds its own. Agent: Melanie Figueroa, Root Literary. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
Medusa by Nataly Gruender is a deeply poetic retelling that brings you so close to the character of legend you feel yourself intwined with her. I felt her pain, I railed against the injustices committed against her, and I wept in pride when she turned a power that she feared into something she could claim for her own. It was beautiful and thought provoking. Gruender’s lyrical and metaphoric lines made the seamless connection between a woman of legend to a woman of now. I’ll be thinking about the evocative words for a long time after reading.”—Hannah Nicole Maehrer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Assistant to the Villain
“Medusa by Nataly Gruender is an imaginative and thought-provoking retelling of the myth of Medusa. Gruender is not afraid to tackle the more challenging aspects of Greek mythology, resulting in a novel that is completely relevant to modern readers.”—Laura Shepperson, author of Phaedra
"This vivid debut flips the script by transforming Medusa's curse into a source of power so she can meet fate on her own terms. A perfect read for mythology fans.”—A.D. Rhine, author of Horses of Fire and Daughters of Bronze
"Neil Gaiman meets Madeline Miller in this complex and nuanced portrayal of the legendary Medusa. Nataly Gruender’s subject in Medusa is not just the gorgon herself, but the social milieu of the gods, the relationship between mortal and immortal, and that eternal hobgoblin of the Greeks: fate. You might think you already know Medusa’s story, and how it ends, but en route to its destination, Medusa tackles timely subject matter: sisterhood, men in positions of power abusing their privilege, and what it means to be beautiful or ugly in the gaze of others. Gruender accomplishes all of this with gripping sentences that will stop you in your tracks, or turn you to stone."—Phong Nguyen, author of Bronze Drum
"In MEDUSA, Nataly Gruender offers an evocative and sympathetic voice to one of history's most maligned and misunderstood mythic figures, the feared Gorgon, Medusa. Often dismissed as a vindictive and vengeful monster, in Gruender's hands, Medusa's story is fully told, one of a beautiful mortal woman that became a monstrous immortal legend; born of and victimized by gods, stigmatized by mortals and destined to fulfill a prophecy that is both her curse and her gift; a power that will sustain her rise in the wake of those who seek her fall. With profound dignity, grace and wit, Gruender's MEDUSA is a delightful addition to the pantheon mythic Greek retellings."—Aimee Gibbs, author of The Carnivale of Curiosities
"Gruender’s ingenious debut brings new life to the story of Medusa. Gruender brings a truly new spin to Medusa’s story, casting her as a tragic but resilient character who seeks to live on her own terms. This holds its own."—Publishers Weekly
