Mythology Retellings
Home fire by Kamila Shamsie
Isma is free. After caring for her siblings following their mother's death, she resumes a deferred dream in America. But she agonizes about Aneeka, her headstrong sister, and their brother, Parvaiz, who's disappeared to prove himself to the legacy of their jihadist father. Then enters Eamonn, son of a powerful politiciane. Will Eamonn be a chance at love? Parvaiz's salvation? This searing novel asks: what will we sacrifice in the name of love?
Trail of lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a girl goes missing, Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they unravel clues from ancient legends, trade favors with tricksters, and battle witchcraft in a world of deteriorating technology. As Maggie discovers the truth, she must confront her past to survive.
The silence of the girls by Pat Barker
Here is the Iliad as we've never heard it before: in the words of Briseis, Trojan queen and captive of Achilles. Given only a few words in Homer's epic, she is nonetheless a pivotal figure in the Trojan War. Her story unveils the thousands of women behind the scenes of the Greek army camp—concubines, nurses, prostitutes, the women who lay out the dead—as a legendary war hurtles toward its inevitable conclusion.
The Cassandra by Sharma Shields
Cursed with the ability to see the future, Mildred runs away from home to work at the Hanford Research Center, which manufactures plutonium for the first atomic bombs. Mildred delights in being part of something larger than herself, but when she has prophetic dreams about what will occur if the project is successful, she risks everything to question those in power. The Cassandra uses legend and history to examine humanity’s capacities for destruction and endurance.
Daphne by Will Boast
Born with a rare condition in which she suffers paralysis when faced with intense emotion, Daphne has few close friends and even fewer lovers. But when Daphne meets shy, charming Ollie, her well-honed defenses falter, and she's faced with an impossible choice: cling to her pristine isolation or risk real intimacy. Daphne is a gripping modern fable that explores the tension between love and safety.
Everything under by Daisy Johnson
Gretel grew up on a houseboat with her mother until she was abandoned to foster care. Now Gretel updates dictionary entries as a lexicographer. But when Gretel’s mother calls her, she must recover memories of her final winter on the canals: a runaway boy, and an ominous creature—the bonak, Gretel's name for what she feared most. This electrifying reinterpretation of a myth explores fate and free will, gender fluidity, and fractured family relationships.
House of names by Colm Tóibín
Clytemnestra tells how her husband, Agamemnon, sacrificed her daughter, Iphigeneia, for favorable winds to Troy, how she seduced Aegisthus, and how she achieved her vengeance for Agamemnon’s betrayal. Orestes and Electra, Clytemnestra’s children, tell their stories too: Orestes’ escape and exile, and Electra’s cold anger and calculation until she has the fates of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus in her hands.
The just city by Jo Walton
The Just City is Pallas Athene’s experimental community populated by children and teachers from all eras of history. Simmea, born an Egyptian farmer's daughter, is an eager student. The teacher Maia was once an educated Victorian lady. Apollo, stunned that mortals understand some things better than him, arranges to live a in the City as a human child. When Sokrates arrives to ask troublesome questions, what happens next only the brilliant Jo Walton could tell.
The vegetarian by Han Kang
Yeong-hye lived an ordinary life. But dreams of brutality drive her to renounce eating meat. This small act of independence instigates a grotesque chain of events, as her husband, her brother-in-law and sister each fight to reassert control. Soon their attempts turn desperate, subjecting her mind and her body to violations. The Vegetarian is a Kafka-esque tale of power, obsession, and a woman's struggle to break free from internal and external violence.
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