In This Edition of
The BookBrowse Review
Contents
Highlighting indicates debut books
Discussions are open to all members to read and post. Click to view the books currently being discussed.
Literary Fiction
Historical Fiction
Short Stories
Essays
Poetry & Novels in Verse
Thrillers
Romance
Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Graphic Novels
Biography/Memoir
History, Current Affairs and Religion
Science, Health and the Environment
True Crime
Travel & Adventure
Other
Mysteries
Thrillers
Romance
Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Graphic Novels
History, Current Affairs and Religion
| Critics: |
Perfect for fans of Circe and Black Sun, this bold and subversive feminist retelling of the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros explores the power of queer joy and freedom.
Young, headstrong Psyche has captured the eyes of every suitor in town and far beyond with her tempestuous beauty, which has made her irresistible as a woman yet undesirable as a wife. Secretly, she longs for a life away from the expectations and demands of men. When her father realizes that the future of his family and town will be forever cursed unless he appeases an enraged Aphrodite, he follows the orders of the Oracle, tying Psyche to a rock to be ravaged by a monstrous husband. And yet a monster never arrives.
When Eros, nonbinary deity of desire, sees Psyche, she cannot fulfill her promise to her mother Aphrodite to destroy the mortal young woman. Instead, Eros devises a plan to sweep Psyche away to an idyllic palace, hidden from the prying eyes of Aphrodite, Zeus, and the outside world. There, against the dire dictates of Olympus, Eros and Psyche fall in love. Each night, Eros visits Psyche under the cover of impenetrable darkness, where they both experience untold passion and love. But each morning, Eros flies away before light comes to break the spell of the palace that keeps them safe.
Before long, Psyche's nights spent in pleasure turn to days filled with doubts, as she grapples with the cost of secrecy and the complexities of freedom and desire. Restless and spurred by her sisters to reveal Eros's true nature, she breaks her trust and forces a reckoning that tests them both—and transforms the very heavens.
Told in bold and sparkling prose from "a brilliant and luminous writer" (Madeline Miller, New York Times bestselling author), The Palace of Eros transports us to a magical world imbued by divine forces as well as everyday realities, where palaces glitter with magic even as ordinary people fight for freedom in a society that fears the unknown.
"The clever protagonists, who find ways to overcome more challenges from Aphrodite, intrigue, and De Robertis especially shines in their depiction of Eros, who strikes an uneasy bargain with her mercurial and toxic grandfather Zeus. Admirers of Madeline Miller will be pleased." —Publishers Weekly
"De Robertis' prose is as sharp and beautiful as ever. Their meditations on gender, desire, and freedom soar off the page. The author's retelling provides a space to dream of a world where those 'born perfect yet outside the rules' of their time may find ways to step out of the shadows and into the light. A vulnerable, sensual, and joyous journey about living and loving in one's truth." —Kirkus Reviews
"The Palace of Eros is a riveting, sublime, magical, and wildly subversive meditation on love, sex, mythology, and belonging ... brilliant and beautiful and erotic and insightful and unlike anything I've ever read. I couldn't ask for more." —Cristina García, author of Dreaming in Cuban and Vanishing Maps
"Caro De Robertis is a brilliant and luminous writer." —Madeline Miller, author of Circe and The Song of Achilles
"Caro De Robertis is the reason I read. It's impossible not to fall in love with her characters, who are fierce, courageous and adventurous. Her powerful storytelling captivates the reader from start to finish." —Angie Cruz, author of Dominicana
Caro De Robertis is the award-winning and bestselling author of several books, including The Palace of Eros, The President and the Frog, Cantoras, and more. Their work has been translated into eighteen languages and has garnered numerous honors including a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, two Stonewall Book Awards, Italy's Rhegium Julii Prize, and the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature, which they were the first openly nonbinary person to receive. De Robertis is also an award-winning literary translator and a professor at San Francisco State University. They live in Oakland, California, with their two children. Find out more at CaroDeRobertis.com.
Other books by this author at BookBrowse:
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
