Atalanta by Jennifer Saint
Left to die on the side of a mountain, raised by a mother bear and Artemis, Atlanta, surrounded by her nymphs, finally experiences the greed of evil m. One night, when knowledge becomes a reality, Atlanta's world is changed forever. Through a series of events, Atlanta finds herself representing Artemis on the Argo as the only woman hero. In the gripping task of being seen as an equal to her other shipmates, she discovers the world is more complicated than she previously thought. But will she be able to return to the peaceful life she has known in the mountains, or will her knowledge and experience in a new world be too much for Artemis to accept?
Artistry and Craft
Atlanta was an exciting book that I felt was highly valuable in terms of its concept, "writing women back into ancient history." Even so, I found that certain parts were lacking. One of these aspects is that I found the writing to be unclear at some points, specifically for some of the later action scenes in the book, as well as some redundancy throughout.
An interesting connection I made while reading was that I found the novel has similar bluntness in writing style to mythology. Where the author slightly twists this essence of mythological phonetic transfer is in the way Atalanta is portrayed in first-person POV and the feminist Lens she uses to portray her. I appreciated and enjoyed the fusion of the two genres. This fusion also includes focusing on Atalanta's name at the beginning of the book; you can tell the author consciously created the book around the feminist concept.
Themes and Messages
One major message of Atlanta is to be free; that obsession and possessiveness are the furthest thing from love, and a poison in humanity. Atlanta's world is constantly trying to force her into being things. The book also observes love can exist between a man and a woman when the culture itself is perverted by misogyny. I really enjoyed the message of this book, and it is a message, especially when it concludes with self-sacrificing love as the ultimate expression of love, that is again valued by the means of choice. Choice is beautiful because it is part of our Imago Dei.
Sexual liberty is oftentimes in Atlanta the height of the expression of free will. This book portrays unchastity as an expression of free will rather than an inherently moral or immoral act. Interestingly enough, instead of observing sexual ethics, the book chooses to focus on freedom, no matter the result ethically in most cases. The moral verdicts are left to the reader instead, if they choose to make any or not.
Looking at this major aspect where freedom is explored, I feel like the core idea and ethic of the expression is good; it is a good thing to have freedom, and sex happens to also be a good thing. Because the author decided to let the audience of her book have liberty in judging the ethical outcomes of the characters' decisions, I feel like this is an opportunity to reflect on what I thought.
The novel's view of freedom taking a backseat to sex is reasonable in the order of human dignity and choice, but it unintentionally tells a darker, sadder story than just," Atlanta broke out of one broken system to make her own." It feels more akin to she was given the option of the frying pan or the fire— strict goals in order to earn belonging or obtaining pleasure and freedom at the price of still not truly being free. I think that as a result, both the "frying pan" and "fire" are exposed for what they are; a completely new mode of being is what can only bring true freedom to Atlanta. Similar to us in the real world, the answer does not lie in systems the world has to offer; only God's path brings true freedom.
After reading the book, a quote from the Bible Project came to mind: objectively good things, like sex, can be bad for us if we obtain it by our own wisdom. Tim on the podcast used the Cookie Monster as an analogy: the cookie can't just be good for its own sake on its own; as humans we often feel the urge to absorb good things into ourselves, to obtain it even if it is the wrong way of doing so.
Final Thoughts
I would recommend this book to those wanting to read a Greek mythology book where the reader has to think critically. It's not a book that is easy or safe in terms of the way the audience has to reflect back into their own worldview and values. 4 out of 5
Content Discretion:
Death, gore, sexism, heavy gore, sexual assault, mention of rape, abandonment, innuendo, closed door sexual content, LGBTQ mentions.
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