Galatea

A Short Story from the Author of the Song of Achilles and Circe

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Galatea (2022, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc)

lingua English

Pubblicato il 05 Dicembre 2022 da Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

ISBN:
978-1-5266-5206-5
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4 stelle (2 recensioni)

In Ancient Greece, a skilled marble sculptor has been blessed by a goddess who has given his masterpiece – the most beautiful woman the town has ever seen – the gift of life. Now his wife, Galatea is expected to be obedience and humility personified, but it is not long before she learns to use her beauty as a form of manipulation. In a desperate bid by her obsessive husband to keep her under control, she is locked away under the constant supervision of doctors and nurses. But with a daughter to rescue, she is determined to break free, whatever the cost…

6 edizioni

When researching, I spelled "Galatea" as "Galateia" and was confused at the lack of connection. Don't be me.

4 stelle

I fully admit I read this to keep up with my Goodreads goal for the year. It's also been on my to-read list ever since I finished Circe and Song of Achilles, so it wasn't entirely picked for ulterior reasons. I'm actually glad I gave this a chance, it was very short but also very engaging.

It takes the name from the ivory statue Pygmalion created in Ovid's Metamorphoses. It's like a perspective-flipped Pygmalion, which is acknowledged by the author in the afterword and in other reviews here.

It was actually kind of a super creepy story that I expected to go a different way. I kept reading (for the half hour or so I spent with it) to find out where things were headed, and didn't even mind that it's a bit lacking in depth.

So, not only did it keep me and my arbitrary Goodreads goal afloat another …

Review of 'Galatea' on 'Goodreads'

3 stelle

Data la mia natura biblio-bulimica, appena finito [b:La canzone di Achille|17840743|La canzone di Achille|Madeline Miller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656171921l/17840743.SY75.jpg|16176791] mi sono fiondato su questo raccontino di Miller edito come chapbook, e l'ho trovato – non male?
Altre recensioni hanno perfettamente ragione a obiettare che è un testo davvero davvero breve, probabilmente troppo per giustificare la pubblicazione autonoma anziché in una raccolta, e sicuramente questa rilettura del mito di Pigmalione e Galatea gioca un po' sulla "pornografia del dolore", e io per primo sono stufo di certa narrativa voyeurista – nondimeno la prosa mi ha avvinto, le scene madre e figlia mi hanno fatto tenerezza, e il finale malinconico l'ho trovato adatto. La mia edizione include pure una postfazione dell'autrice in cui descrive la sua tecnica di rivisitazione della letteratura classica, e l'ho trovata alquanto interessante: nel complesso dà una certa dignità al racconto in quanto esercizio tecnico.