Medusa's Sisters

Starred review from May 1, 2023

DEBUT Bear's feminist reimagining of Greek myth allows Medusa's forgotten fellow Gorgon sisters, Stheno and Euryale, to powerfully reclaim their voices and individuality. The combination of the sisters' story with other familiar mythological figures, as well as new faces and tales, coalesces into a unique, rich whole. Journeying from the depths of the ocean to the palace of Cadmus, each sister bears witness in the story but also comes into her own. Medusa, a survivor of rape who is punished and demonized after assault by a powerful man, will feel regrettably relatable to modern readers. Both sisters try and fail to protect the mortal Medusa, whose beheading by Perseus is foreshadowed repeatedly. Told in alternate chapters between Stheno and Euryale, the narrative is made simultaneously gripping and heartbreaking by its strong voices, foreshadowing, poetry, and asides. Through faith and love, music and motherhood, sex and art, all three sisters find their own ways to join the world, tell their stories, and leave their mark. VERDICT A must-read for Greek mythology fans seeking new depth in their tales and those who enjoyed Madeline Miller's Circe or Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls.--Katie Lawrence

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May 15, 2023
The most recent addition to the burgeoning canon of feminist reimaginings of Greek myths, Bear’s debut is immersive but not exactly groundbreaking. She turns the focus onto Medusa’s immortal sisters, the largely forgotten Gorgons Stheno and Euryale, following the pair from birth and chronicling their transformation from beautiful immortal maidens into reviled, snake-haired monsters. This long view of their lives should provide ample chance to get to know Stheno and Euryale deeply, but a lack of fleshed-out interiority leaves this opportunity somewhat squandered. Indeed, the sisters’ motivations are at times baffling as they navigate the rivalries and jealousies of Olympus, as when Euryale betrays Medusa to Poseidon with little explanation. While this fickleness is in keeping with myths of Greek gods as notoriously petty and mercurial, it also keeps readers at arm’s length from the heroines. Still, Bear offers an enticing plunge into the legends of ancient Greece. Mythology buffs will gobble this up. Agent: Jane Dystel, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

July 1, 2023
It doesn't matter whether you are a human or a monster, the bond between sisters is always complicated and the Gorgon sisters are no exception. While they may have their differences, Stheno and Euryale love their sister Medusa. So, when Medusa expresses an interest in experiencing life among the mortals, Stheno and Euryale decide to accompany her on a journey that will take them from a palace in Thebes to an artisan's home in Athens. Along the way, the Gorgon sisters will encounter a range of immortal and mortal beings and experience the full panoply of human emotions. But will these experiences bring the Gorgons closer as sisters or break them up forever? Inspired by a disparaging reference to the other two, lesser-known Gorgons, debut novelist Bear has artfully fashioned an entrancing tale that not only perfectly captures in poetic prose both the fabled glories and gritty realities of ancient Greece, but also features a trio of sisters, who, despite being mythological beings, seem all-too real and relatable by virtue of Bear's gift for incisive characterization.

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