Galatea

 

Details

An enchanting short story from Madeline Miller that boldly reimagines the myth of Galatea and Pygmalion.

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, he expects Galatea to please him, to be obedience and humility personified. But she has desires of her own and yearns for independence.

In a desperate bid by her obsessive husband to keep her under control, Galatea 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…

Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐ I wasn't prepared 🙀

As part of the reading challenge for April, I had to read a retelling and the book initially chosen was Circe by Madeline Miller, but I put that reading aside because the narration seemed too heavy. I honestly did not connect with Circe, so I decided to abandon that book and better read Galatea instead because why not?

What could go wrong in a book that barely has 20 pages?

Well, let me tell you that everything, everything can go wrong if the author is Madeline Miller. Don't get me wrong, the story is good, it's well written, good narration and good dialogues… And I think that this only makes the experience worse (I loved it, but was terrified). 🤣

The thing is that, in this retelling of the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea, in a few words and without going too deep, the author presents the life of a woman whose husband keeps her captive. Only giving us the minimum details necessary for the reader to understand, and get an idea for themselves, of what is going on. Those few details give the reader the freedom to fill in the blanks with they own imagination, which makes for a more immersive read.

I would classify it as psychological terror 😥