Despite the growing number of authors trying to replicate her success at reimagining Greek mythology, I find Miller’s gloriously powerful retellings of classic myths to be totally unique. Indeed, she takes an otherwise silent female character and gives her a voice and a story. Galatea was made from stone by a sculptor. He created her and prayed for her to come to life and his wish was granted by the gods. In Ovid’s version they get married and live happily ever after, but his narrative is problematic. What about Galatea wishes? Miller gives that consideration here. Galatea was physically made and sculped to be one man’s ideal: he made her to serve his every whim. It never occurred to him that maybe, just maybe, she might want something different from life. As is her trademark, Madeline Miller’s writing here is as sun-kissed and brutally striking as the Greek islands she writes about. I adore her themes of beautiful yet destructive nature and women with brooding hidden power.

His insistence for her to be compliant and grateful is incongruous with the reality of her being an independent woman with an interior life and not merely a statue who’s entire identity is bent towards serving his desire: In short, Galatea was a story that was underwritten and underwhelming. There was no depth to the characters, little substance to the storyline and the underlying themes of objectifying women, domestic abuse and obsession with beauty and perfection, although powerful didn’t really get going. Everyone looked at me, because I was the most beautiful woman in the town. I don’t say this to boast, because there is nothing in it to boast of. It was nothing I did myself.” Madeline Miller, GalateaStrange and with a beauty that could only have come from the gods, her husband kept her hidden inside as much as he could. But word started to spread, and suddenly everyone wanted statues from him. He chisels maiden after maiden, knowing that they will not come to life because they are not worthy of the goddess’ gift, unlike Galatea. Watership Down by Richard Adams. It’s wonderfully epic, the characters feel like old friends, and I love the heart-pounding ending. In a totally different way, I also love rereading Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic. It’s an incredibly powerful novel, with the lyrical intensity of a poem. It reminds me of what books can do at their best. Emerson, David (June 5, 2019). "The Mythopoeic Society: 2019 Mythopoeic Awards finalists announced". Mythopoeic Society . Retrieved June 7, 2021.

You see, what kind of man creates the perfect woman out of marble, obsessed with purity and perfection because real-life women have shunted or betrayed him (according to his statement, we never meet them)?!Although she longs to walk and leave her imprisonment, Galatea is made to lie down and avoid any sort of exertion by the nurses and doctors, who receive plenty of money from her husband. The reason he has this money, we learn, is because of Galatea. Jarema, Kerri (December 4, 2018). "The 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards Winners Are Here & 'The Hate U Give' Won In A BIG Way". Bustle . Retrieved June 7, 2021. I have always adored Mythology. So when I saw this short story, a reimagined version of Pygmalion and Galatea I knew I had to read it. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw. It’s terrific. I’m savouring every story in it, reading them once, then again.