Galatea: The instant Sunday Times bestseller

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Pygmalion, the skilled marble sculptor, is blessed by a goddess who has given the gift of life to his stone masterpiece, the most beautiful women the town has ever seen. In this retelling Galatea says she was made out of stone rather than ivory but this fits better with Miller’s retelling than ivory would. A story of such beauty and economy it left me breathless and stunned and yes, gratified in its conclusion. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Although I found Circe less mind-blowing than I did The Song of Achilles, I will still follow Madeline Miller anywhere.

I found the interpretation of Galatea’s story interesting, seeing how the transformation from statue to human might (or might not) fit into society. Miller's novels have been translated into over twenty-five languages including Dutch, Mandarin, Japanese, Turkish, Arabic and Greek, and her essays have appeared in a number of publications including the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Telegraph, Lapham's Quarterly and NPR.Applicability of cancellation rights: Legal rights of cancellation under the Distance Selling Regulations available for UK or EU consumers do not apply to certain products and services. Even though her first attempt at escaping his clutches with her daughter failed, the second time was final. Temo possa essere un testo pesante e risultare addirittura noioso per i giovanissimi, quindi consiglio la lettura dai 16 anni. Given the short length of this story (the Kindle edition is a little over 50 pages), there isn’t much scope for exploring the characters or the myth in depth but overall this is a compelling read that I believe fans of feminist retellings of Greek myths would enjoy.

As Miller explains in the story’s afterword, it’s a response, “almost solely”, to Ovid’s version of the Pygmalion myth in the Metamorphoses. While we watch Galatea being denied any agency in her life and accepting a lot of abuse and made to feel it is for her own good (when Pygmalion hurts her and notices the color of the bruises left behind, he tells her ‘ You make the rarest canvas, love’), we also see her fight for the good of her daughter. Madeline Miller, known for her exquisite literary adaptations, delivers yet another exceptional work with "Galatea. Not because it is not written beautifully and hauntingly which it is, but because it was shorter then I realized and over almost before it began.The woman never actually gets a name in the original texts and the name Galatea which means “she who is milk white” was not associated with Pygmalion’s statue until approximately the early 1700’s. Pivoting the focus from the physique of his creation, the metaphors of artists falling in love with their art, Miller instead subverts the notable thread that “the only good woman is one who has no self beyond pleasing a man”. As such, I had extremely high expectations going into this and I’m very pleased to say they were met entirely. According to Wikipedia, “Galatea is a name popularly applied to the statue carved of ivory by Pygmalion of Cyprus, which then came to life in Greek mythology. I didn’t entirely gather what was going on in the beginning with the visits from doctors etc, but it didn’t take long for the bizarre situation to feel like a “new normal”.

While this is a rather small book, and short story, I think it was worth it to have a pretty copy for my library.After reading and loving both The Song of Achilles and Circe, I’m sad that Galatea won’t be joining the same ranks as them. Frank Baum’s cherished children’s classic, vividly reimagined with beautiful four-color artwork and nine interactive features created by MinaLima, the award-winning design studio behind the graphics for the Harry Potter film franchise. In a desperate bid by her obsessive husband to keep her under control, she is locked away under the constant supervision of doctors and nurses. If a refund or reimbursement is payable to you, we will transfer the money using the same method originally used by you to pay for your purchase.