Medea

September 1, 2023

Like many others recently, debuter Quin reimagines the women of Greek mythology, though here she takes on a tough protagonist: the witch Medea, who vengefully murdered her children. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 13, 2023
With this complex and involving debut, Quin adds to the growing field of Greek myth retellings from the perspectives of monstrous women, probing here into the life of the filicidal heroine of Euripides’s play of the same name. Medea is the second born of an Oceanid and the half-human son of the Titan Helios. Her cruel father, believing himself to be heirless before the birth of Medea’s brother, Prince Phaethon, teaches Medea Pharmakon, the mystical art of “unlocking the secret powers of plants and flowering things.” After Phaethon’s birth, Medea’s mother returns to the sea, and Medea falls into a caretaker role for her younger brother. Her determination to protect Phaethon from a prophecy predicting his death leads her down a dark path into forbidden magic. Later, her relationship with the argonaut Jason takes her across the sea. As Medea’s familiar story unfolds, Quin allows for a great degree of moral complexity, but consistent throughout is her devotion to those she loves—including her eventual ill-fated children. Madeline Miller fans should snap this up. Agent: Jessica Spitz, WME.

Starred review from January 12, 2024

DEBUT The revival of Greek myth retellings continues with Quin's retelling of Medea's story. The author presents Medea, known for killing her children as vengeance against her husband, not as a murderous witch but as a woman who must contend with the realities and expectations of womanhood, even as a young child. The myths of Medea and others are interwoven into the novel and result in a version that is overwhelmingly human, thoughtful, and driven by feelings Medea is not sure she can genuinely possess: love. She is weighed down by the necessity of her future in a world that can only understand her as a one-sided person rather than a multifaceted woman doing what she feels she must to survive. She grapples with the horrors of a life controlled by men whose goals are to further their future by containing and diminishing hers. Ultimately, this title shows that the revered stories and myths of heroes leave out the splintered paths of destruction and heartbreak left in their wake. VERDICT A must-have for adult collections, especially for readers who want to rethink how so-called monsters are traditionally presented, from a modern feminist viewpoint.--Loriana Donovan

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