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A vivid and moving reimagining of the myth of Medusa and the sisters who loved her.
The end of the story is only the beginning…
Even before they were transformed into Gorgons, Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale were unique among their immortal family. Curious about mortals and their lives, Medusa and her sisters entered the human world in search of a place to belong, yet quickly found themselves at the perilous center of a dangerous Olympian rivalry and learned—too late—that a god's love is a violent one.
Forgotten by history and diminished by poets, the other two Gorgons have never been more than horrifying hags, damned and doomed. But they were sisters first, and their journey from lowly sea-born origins to the outskirts of the pantheon is a journey that rests, hidden, underneath their scales.
Monsters, but not monstrous, Stheno and Euryale will step into the light for the first time to tell the story of how all three sisters lived and were changed by each other, as they struggle against the inherent conflict between sisterhood and individuality, myth and truth, vengeance and peace.
Have you read either of Lauren J.A. Bear’s previous novels, Medusa’s Sisters or Mother of Rome? If so, how do they compare to Aphrodite in Pieces?
No, this is the first of Author's books I have read.
-Lorraine_D
BookBrowsers Ask Lauren J.A. Bear, author of Aphrodite in Pieces
Had you already finished your manuscript for Medusa's Sisters when you started looking for an agent, or had you just written parts and were selling the idea for it?
-kim.kovacs
Lauren J.A. Bear will be here next week, 6/15-6/17
Hey, fellow readers! Lauren J.A. Bear will be here next Monday for a Q & A. She's the author of our recent BookBrowse Book Club book, Aphrodite in Pieces, as well as Mother of Rome and Medusa's Sisters. I hope you'll join us!
-kim.kovacs
Overall, what did you think of Aphrodite in Pieces? (No spoilers in this topic, please.)
I loved this book and now want to read Mother of Rome and Medusa's sisters. I would give it 5 stars for its literary flow and the way she wove the story together. I found myself caught up in wondering what was going to happen next. I liked her look at the characters after Troy. I wasn't expecting...
-Marilyn_M
"A must-read for Greek mythology fans seeking new depth in their tales and those who enjoyed Madeline Miller's Circe or Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls." —Library Journal (starred review)
"Debut novelist Bear has artfully fashioned an entrancing tale that not only perfectly captures in poetic prose both the fabled glories and gritty realities of ancient Greece, but also features a trio of sisters, who, despite being mythological beings, seem all-too real and relatable by virtue of Bear's gift for incisive characterization." —Booklist
"Lyrical, brilliant, and deeply moving, Medusa's Sisters connects the stars—the myths you thought you knew—in startling new ways. Prepare to be devastated." —Mary McMyne, author of The Book of Gothel
"Alive with soaring poetry and myth, Medusa's Sisters sparkles as a delightfully feminist subversion of the maligned and forgotten Gorgon women, reframing and bringing their shadowy legend fiercely, vengefully, into the light. A bold and beautiful tale about sisterhood, motherhood, and what it truly means to be a woman." —Olesya Salnikova Gilmore, author of The Witch and the Tsar
This information about Medusa's Sisters was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Lauren J. A. Bear was born in Boston and raised in Long Beach. After studying English at UCLA and education at LMU, she taught middle-school humanities for over a decade—and survived! She is a teaching fellow for the Holocaust Center for Humanity and lives in Seattle with her husband and three young children. She likes crossword puzzles and being on or near the water without getting wet.
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