How can retellings of classic stories change or expand our view of the original? What are some of your favorite retellings?

Were you familiar with these characters and myths already? Did any of the portrayals surprise you? How can retellings of classic stories change or expand our view of the original? What are some of your favorite retellings?

I love that retellings reframe and refocus stories that we're already familiar with. It's such a thought-provoking exercise to reconsider classic stories from new perspectives.

I found Jennifer Saint's portrayal of Phaedra a little surprising--she wasn't the typical sort of heroine that we see in a lot of these retellings, but I found that interesting.

I have a lot of favorites! To name a few:

- The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
- Medea by Christa Wolf
- Bright Air Black by David Vann
- Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
- Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
- An Arrow's Flight by Mark Merlis
- Ransom by David Malouf

Haven't read much of the classics because they just didn't seem interesting. With reading this book, I think I may try again. Thanks for the list rachelh, will give it a go!

I was vaguely familiar with some of myths in this book but while reading, I researched a lot of them. Each one has various interpretations so there seem to be a lot of freedom to be taken in the retelling of each myth. I haven’t read many retellings myself

Like rachelh, I love the reframing of older stories. They can give us a new perspective from a character we didn’t focus on before, or give us (as Saint does here) different details that help us connect more strongly with and recognize ourselves in the characters. I knew the basic story of Ariadne and the Minotaur, and of Daedalus and Icarus, Perseus, Medea...that’s about all I remembered, and not all as part of the same story. I loved how she wove them all together and made them realistic (despite the necessary suspension of disbelief).

I have always enjoyed Greek mythology, starting with Edith Hamilton when I was in high school, up to Stephen Fry’s Mythos.
Retellings are enjoyable because they give a modern take on ancient stories.
My favorite is Circe by Madeline Miller. I also enjoyed Pat Barker’s Silence of the Girls. Could not get into A Thousand Ships but might try again.

When I told some friends that I was reading a book about Greek mythology, I got a lot of eye rolls. I was hesitant at first as well. I can vaguely remember some of the characters but always as stand alone short stories. They seemed more like players from Aesop's Fables. I was really captivated to find such a creative way to combine them and let them actually interact and influence each other. I enjoyed the love stories and how they humanized the gods. This book makes me want to go read more Greek mythology.

Retellings offer a modern sensibility, which makes it easier to access the ancient stories. By lengthening the myths to novel-length, they offer a better understanding and look at the characters, gods and details of the original. I love how they pull me into a story I may already know, but keep my attention with details and depth of character and story. They come to life and make the myths seem more real. The gods weren't flat on the page. Neither were the humans who were unlucky enough to draw near them.

I'm always on the lookout for retellings of myths, fairy tales and fables. There is something comforting in immersing oneself into the known only to find new perspectives.

I love retelling of myths, fairy tales, and classic novels. It’s interesting to have a known framework on which to hang the story. But then they can have a modern twist. In the case of myths, the existing framework is rather sketchy, so there’s lots of space to play with. There’s definitely room for providing motivation within the known narrative. The modern twist here was the emphasis on just how bad a deal women got in the stories of ancient times. I think that’s in many ways obvious just from reading the Greek myths, but it was made really explicit here.

I think that retellings can show us that these can be universal stories and be more relatable to a modern audience. I also like when the retelling are told from a female pov and/or have the females take a bigger role in the storyline.
Some of my favorite retellings are Circe, The Song of Achilles, The Witch's Heart and A Thousand Ships.

I knew little of Greek mythology, except some vague knowledge of a a few of the gods, goddesses, and mortals, before reading Ariadne. I knew nothing of her story and found it to be compelling.

it may seem obvious, but to me the recent retellings of the Greek myths seem to make the myths much more accessible and interesting; the characters are made multi-dimensional and with emotions with the reader can identify.

Two of my favorite retellings are of plays by Shakespeare: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewsky (Hamlet) and A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (King Lear). My absolute favorite retelling is of The Odyssey, but is not a book, but rather a movie: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Retelling of classic stories can shift the focus from one character to another, can question assumptions about motivations, can illuminate the effects of culture on characters and events, and expand our understanding of universal literary themes. Some favorite retellings include the musical, Wicked (Wizard of Oz); My Fair Lady and Pretty Woman, two retellings of Pygmalion; and Winterset and West Side Story, two retellings of Romeo and Juliet.

@Elizabeth Marie, agree about Wicked. Gregory Maguire has made a career out of retelling classics.