Françoise Rachmühl

I love mythology - any kind really, but Greek holds a special place because of Xena back in the day. So I was excited for this book, which looked like a good primer for introducing my niece into the branch (which is a short stop away from then getting her hooked on Xena with me).

This is gorgeous - the pictures are well done and bright, in a pleasing style. There's not A LOT, unless the e-ARC I received to review only had some of the pictures, but the book itself isn't very long.

The tone of the book is appealing as well, flowing well and not noticably stilted like some translations can feel. And the stories/myths weren't...terrible retellings.

My main problems lay in how the stories didn't feel tied together exactly. As this is meant to be a collection, not a comprehensive overview, I expected some sort of theme. A grounding constant. There wasn't any and I found myself with odd questions throughout since again this is a short book so it takes some dramatic liberties to get thru the stories (14 I think in all?).

In all, I'd love prints of the art, but see no reason to pick up or recommend this when there are so many others that reflect the stories better.… (altro)

Honestly, I jumped at reviewing Mortals and Immortals of Greek Mythology by Françoise Rachmuhl just by looking at the cover! The art is beautiful and I, wrongly, assumed that it featured Hades on the cover at first glance. It doesn’t and I just, the two stars I’ve given this book are solely for the artwork. The art is gorgeous and Charlotte Gastaut is an amazing illustrator!

The writing itself, well, I will say other readers may really enjoy this, but I simply couldn’t. I don’t know if it’s because I studied classics at Uni, including role of religion in antiquity, or if it is because I am biased, but the book fell so very short for me. For starts, to have a book and say it will focus on the main twelve gods, then purposely omit Hades? He is relegated to brief mentions in the stories of other gods and doesn’t even get a portrait in the family tree. I don’t understand how you do this? It’s bad enough that so many people conflate him and the Christian idea of Satan, but then to purposely disregard him?

My second major concern were the heroines chosen by Rachmuhl toward the end of the book – Helen and Atalanta. I can’t understand how Helen was chosen as a heroine as it seemed Rachmuhl’s sole intent in placing her was to recount the Trojan War, and even then, Helen remains a pretty bystander who is then miserable to be taken back by Menelaus. If we were going with different interpretations, and this is to focus on Helen as a heroine, why not stick with the abduction narrative in which she was a loving wife to Menelaus and was forcefully abducted and tricked by Paris and Aphrodite?

A better alternative to Helen would have been Penelope and Rachmuhl could still have included information about the Trojan War. Including Penelope would have depicted the happy, loving wife AND how clever a woman she was in preparing the archery contest.

Atalanta’s inclusion as a heroine I would not have minded in the slightest had the forward for the heroines section not indicated Atalanta was included as “a great example of an independent woman.” She was, until she was punished for desecrating a temple and then turned into lions, ending Atalanta’s tale on a sad note, “She longed to once again run free.” You can’t build up a story saying independent woman!!! only to have her end up on a leash and miserable – that’s a horrible message to send!

If we’re going to have an unhappy ending for heroines, why not choose Cassandra who ultimately was rewarded after death with spending the afterlife in the Elysian Fields for her faith and duty in the gods?

Mortals and Immortals of Greek Mythology by Françoise Rachmuhl was expertly illustrated but fell flat when it came to the featured myths, gods, and heroines. Might appeal to beginners only just beginning to learn of mythology, but even then, beware.

// I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this title. //… (altro)