This page will bring together my reading of ‘The Myths‘ series, published by Canongate, in which modern authors retell or reimagine major myths from around the world. It was launched in 2005. Sadly Canongate appear to have put the series into hiatus, which is a shame.
A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong
The first book in the series is a scholarly appraisal of the world of myth and its importance to us. Armstrong’s primer tells us about the evolution of human society and how myths are bound up in spiritual belief. Absolutely fascinating and an ideal starting point. My Review
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
Penelope is the wife that Odysseus left behind when he went off to Helen’s rescue and took twenty years to come home. Atwood’s feminist retelling of the story from Penelope’s point of view from beyond the grave together with a chorus of twelve hanged maids is full of Atwood’s wit and candour. My Review
Weight by Jeanette Winterson
Winterson retells the story of Atlas, Heracles and his labour of fetching some of Hera’s golden apples. Winterson doesn’t take a conventional approach, she inserts herself as an obsessed narrator retelling the story. My review.
The Helmet of Horror by Victor Pelevin
Translated by Andrew Bromfield
Lion’s Honey by David Grossman
Dream Angus by Alexander McCall Smith
Where Three Roads Meet by Salley Vickers
Girl meets Boy by Ali Smith
Binu and the Great Wall by Su Tong
The Fire Gospel by Michel Faber
Baba Yaga Laid An Egg by Dubravka Ugresic
The Hurricane Party by Klas Ostergren
Orphans of Eldorado by Milton Hatoum
Brazilian author Hatoum sets his tale early 20thC Manaus – before it became the capital of Amazonia. He weaves the myth of Eldorado, the fabled city of gold in with Amazonian myths and creates a love story when a young businessman falls for an orphan from upriver. My Review
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman
You may remember the fracas that surrounded this one. How dare a non-believer take on the New Testament! Pullman finds a fascinating way of contrasting the Messiah and the man and writes with great simplicity to tell his version of the story. My Review, Write-up of the launch event
Ragnarok by A S Byatt
Byatt’s masterly retelling of Ragnarok uses the framing device of a child discovering an old book of the Norse myths and telling us about them. Her version is steeped in nature which was particularly reguiling. My Review
The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino
Kirino bases her tale of two sisters, separated by becoming traditional priestesses of life and death on a tiny island in Japan, on the Shinto creation myth of Izanagi and Izanami. It has love, adventure and revenge, and explores the role of the goddess in myth. My Review
The Song of King Gesar by Alai