Jessie Burton is an expert at historical fiction so when she turned her hand to YA mythology in Medusa the expectations were high, and in true Burton style, she blew them out of the water.
From the blurb;
'If I told you that I'd killed a man with a glance, would you wait to here the rest? The why, the how, what happened next?
''Exiled to a far-flung island after being abused by powerful gods, Medusa has little company other than the snakes that adorn her head instead of hair. Haunted by the memories of a life before everything was stolen from her, she has no choice but to make peace with her present: Medusa the monster. But when the charmed and beautiful Perseus arrives on the island, her lonely existence is blown apart, unleashing desire, love... and betrayal.
'Monster. Man-hater. Murderess. Forget everything you've been told about Medusa, in a new version of the story that history set in stone long ago.'
Medusa is a short story that dons't really get going until after page 21, but if you stick with it till then this gorgeous re-imagining of the ancient legend is fast to draw you deep into it's lair and keep you hooked long after finishing.
Stepping away from the things we all know about Medusa's story, Burton chooses to concentrate on the woman under the snakes. The girl who was tortured and betrayed, who longs for a life stolen and whose heart is held by her almighty sisters.
We learn her story through drips and drabs, stitched into the tapestry of the running present day plot line, and with each chapter grow more attached to Medusa the young woman than would have seemed possible.
While the story doesn't conclude the way we were taught it does, this version of Medusa see's a happier tale come out of a broken and bitter one. Burton successfully takes this beautiful monster and turns her into a pillar of strength, highlighting women's inequalities, both past and present through the lens of a world filled with gods.
An eye opening read that plays with our knowledge of ancient myth while tackling bigger world issues, Medusa is the kind of story that has a lot to say and does it in a way that dose not break the reader from the enchantment of the story, but leaves them changed after reading as they think back on the struggles Medusa faced and match them to issues in the very real world.
Standing as an empowerment to women Medusa is a story filled to the brim with raw emotion, twisted ideologies unwound by love and kindness in the face of great evil, and ultimately of acceptance and self-worth. This myth sits happily on any bookshelf and sings of an ancient magic lost and a greater knowledge found.
We give Medusa Five stars
ISBN - 978-1-5266-6240-8 Cover Price - £8.99 First published in Great Britain 2021 by Bloomsbury Publishing