I like what the author did with the mythology, the changing roles of the main character, and the cyclical nature of motherhood. However, the blank verse poetry didn't work for me and left too many holes in the story's development and the themes it tried to tackle. From the blurb I expected the story to be about the main character finding her own self worth separate from others, especially men, but her identity and confidence never seemed to extricate itself from her relationship to others. The story seemed to epitomize motherhood as the most empowering, and while I can see that working for some readers, it didn't for me. ( )

a little confusing ( )

Short and lyrical, in between poetry and prose, Block revisits her usual themes but through a lens of Greek mythology. As sad and sweet as her work usually is. (October 09, 2006) ( )

Lovely modern-day variation on the PSYCHE/EROS story. Poetic and haunting. ( )

I read Block's [b:Weetzie Bat|44353|Weetzie Bat (Weetzie Bat, #1)|Francesca Lia Block|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1392416825s/44353.jpg|946181] a few years ago, and I think that helped prepare me for reading this book. Block has an interesting way with language that is beautiful to read, but can also lead to some minor confusion and rereading. It's not a fault in the writing though. It helps it stand out and allows for the story to do interesting things.

Block takes well known myths and weaves them together into a set of modern day characters. It's often hard to tell where the myth and the "real world" aspects of the story are because of the blending and language used. But there's a beauty to how this story is told. I feel that I'll need to go back and read it again some time down the road to full appreciate it, though. I wasn't until about halfway through that I was able to find the flow through the verse, especially with it's lack of punctuation.

I'd be very interested in reading some other poetry (non verse novel works), after reading this. I'll have to go see if there's any out there.

If you're looking for something different, something that might not "click" right away but will make you think and pay attention, this might be a book to check out. ( )