I am very grateful to Net Galley and to Ayana Gray for allowing me to read her newest book in exchange for an honest review. This is her first book for an adult audience; previously she has written a trilogy for young adult readers; Beasts of Prey, Beasts of Ruin and Beasts of War. I've never read them, but her current book has made me curious about them and I intend to seek them out.
Looking at the title of the book, I realized that I knew little about Medusa outside of the minor part she played in Ray Harryhausen's 1981 movie "Clash of the Titans", starring Harry Hamlin. As a Science fiction and fantasy geek as a child, I must have watched that a dozen times on television. Harryhausen's monsters were some of the best, pre-CGI. What surprised me is that I never wondered why Medusa was who she was or why the Greek gods were so desperate to kill a monster who wasn't actually bothering anyone. This is Medusa's story, more of a tragedy than a story of a monster. I was pleased that Ms. Gray stayed within the framework of the early legends; like all predominantly oral histories, the framework is the same but the details change according to the flavor of the teller and the moral of the story.
Medusa is the only mortal daughter of sea gods that existed long before the Greek gods gained ascendancy and were supplanted by them in power and worship. Her parents, two immortal sisters and a few slaves are now confined to a very comfortable but isolated island in the ocean. She has never known any other life unlike they rest of her family and as a result, experiences their position and lot in life differently. She is unaware of a number of family secrets that would have given her context and perhaps would have prevented the tragedy. Medusa is accutely aware of the abuses of power between greater and lesser gods, immortals and mortals, men and women. She often feels compelled to defend those who cannot defend themselves, but her choices of who and how she defends the defenseless tends to be the shortsighted and impulsive reactions of a mortal teen who still has more than mortal abilities. Even though she tries to do the right thing for the right reasons, like most adolescents her impulsiveness and unwillingness to listen to those wiser than her contribute to her tragic ending.
Ms. Gray's worldbuilding is beautifully constructed without being overly detailed, and it reminds me of a Patricia Briggs book; Ms. Brigg's Mercy Thompson books combine mortal, immortal and godlike characters and the ways in which their approach to life is informed by their lifespan. The characters felt real to me; I could recognize the absolute power of an abusive parent in her description of Pharys and Ceno. Medusa's anger at the unfairness of the world reminds me of a young adult trying desperately to understand the rules of adulthood while feeling opressed by their own lack of status. This is what really attracted me to the book; not just the reclaiming of a myth, but that it describes the struggle to develop a sense of personal agency in a world that all too often still defines women by their roles as children, wives and mothers and denies them the sense of independence that men are encouraged to have. Women are rarely seen as heroes. The historic Medusa was originally seen as a protective figure and often guarded the fronts of houses prior to the Greek gods. Her protective nature is clear in Ms. Gray's characterization of Medusa. Her betrayal by gods more powerful and older than she is an essential part of the myth, but this book gives her a voice that the myth does not. I am quite impressed that she chose not to name Medusa's "heroic" killer; in this story is more of an assasin than a hero.
At some points I felt that she was perhaps more naive than is reasonable, such as being completely unaware of the mechanics of sex at 17; even islands in the ocean have small animals and the slaves on the island that procreate even if her parents and siblings don't. Despite this, I thing this would be an excellent book to discuss at a book club; it's description of power dynamics between men and women is still applicable in many ways (and reminds me of certain political situations that have occurred in recent memory).
The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell
