Medea

A Novel

By: Eilish Quin

Narrated by: Gail Shalan

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Discover the full story of the sorceress Medea, one of the most reviled and maligned women of Greek antiquity, in this propulsive and evocative debut in the tradition of Circe, Elektra, and Stone Blind.

Among the women of Greek mythology, the witch Medea may be the most despised. Known for the brutal act of killing her own children to exact vengeance on her deceitful husband, the Argonauts leader Jason, Medea has carved out a singularly infamous niche in our histories.

But what if that isn’t the full story?

The daughter of a sea nymph and the granddaughter of a Titan, Medea is a paradox. She is at once rendered compelling by virtue of the divinity that flows through her bloodline and made powerless by the fact of her being a woman. As a child, she intuitively submerges herself in witchcraft and sorcery, but soon finds it may not be a match for the prophecies that hang over her entire family like a shroud.

As Medea comes into her own as a woman and a witch, she also faces the arrival of the hero Jason, preordained by the gods to be not only her husband, but also her lifeline to escape her isolated existence. Medea travels the treacherous seas with the Argonauts, battles demons she had never conceived of, and falls in love with the man who may ultimately be her downfall.

In this propulsive, beautifully written debut, listeners will finally hear Medea’s side of the story through a fresh and feminist lens.

©2024 Eilish Quin (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Absolutely loved it!

her downfall."
If you love Madeline Miller's "Song of Achilles" and
"Circe", Lauren J. A. Bear's "Medusa's Sisters",
", or Nikki
Marmery's "Lilith",
', you will adore this Medea retelling.
Told with beautiful, poetic prose, strong feminist themes, and a more sympathetic lense, I couldn't help but to fall in love with this view of Medea. Instead of the heartless sorceress and murderer that she is known to be, Eilish Quin does a breathtaking job of making this greek figure seem to be what she truly is: a daughter, sister, wife, mother, and (most importantly) someone who made life-altering, heartbreaking mistakes on her journey to achieve the life and happiness she hoped for. While reading, I couldn't help but feel ever instance of Medea's hope and despair.

Amazing yet terribly sad!

Circe is one of my all time favorites so I was beyond excited to find this and listened non-stop from start to finish. I’m blown away, of course!

The author did an amazing job of making Medea complex and a character you can empathize with… almost. By the end, after she slaughters her children… I couldn’t quite forgive her but at least I did not turn it off in disgust!

The Gods Answered My Prayers

The impact of Madeline Miller’s opus “Circe” cannot be overstated. Indeed, “Circe” casts a remarkably long shadow for such a young book. Since it’s release there have been many attempts to replicate it and many different authors have subsequently tried to give voices to the other maligned women of Greek mythology (to varying degrees of success). Clytemnestra, Helen, Medusa, Cassandra, and Pandora have all had their stories retold from their perspectives, and while the effectiveness of their respective efforts varies, they have ,to a one, been interesting. Yet I struggle to think of an infamous woman from Greek mythology whose story I longed to hear more than Medea. That hunger to hear Medea’s side of her story can also be attributed to Madeline Miller’s “Circe”. From the moment Medea shows up on Circe’s island, coated in miasma from a detestable murder she committed to protect a “hero” (I use that term loosely) who is already beginning to pull away from her, and snapping at Circe when confronted with her fate, I was desperate for a whole book about her. It offers so much potential. How could such a powerful, remarkable, self-reliant woman come to fall for such a vain and weak man and subsequently commit the most heinous crime a mother can commit? What drove her to it? What must her life been like to have made her capable of it? These are all questions Eilish Quin answers in her instantly engaging novel “Medea”.
Since the first time I finished Medea’s chapter in “Circe”, I pined for an entire story from her perspective. The gods heard my prayers, and Eilish Quin delivers a deftly written and painfully relatable look at why and how Medea became the “Witch Of Colchis” and the utter tragedy that was her existence. Medea grows up in a family that makes the Lannisters look like the Flanders. A frighteningly powerful (and power-hungry) father, an ethereal but increasingly distant and suspicious mother, and a lineage that ties her directly to the powers of Titans and Olympians, all serve to become the architects of the furious tragedy that is Medea. Throw in casual atrocities, a vain and self-serving “hero” for a husband, horrific and brutal prophecies, and a lack of any real warmth or affection, and it’s not hard to see how Medea became a mythic figure whose crimes and tragedy we still discuss and perform to this day.
With all that being said, Quin never lets us forget to pity Medea or become numb to the absolute inequality and casual cruelty women have to endure. Especially at that time. I also enjoyed the other mythic figures who round out the cast of characters. While some stretch further in the narrative than others, all are rounded, interesting, and compelling while also being at various points, lovable, detestable, and understandable. The real star of the narrative is always Medea however, and the author does a remarkable job getting the reader to sympathize and engage with her throughout her whole life. And though “Medea” never reached the stratospheric highs that left me thinking about what I’d read for weeks afterward the way “Circe” did, it is nevertheless a very compelling and well-written story. I’d been waiting YEARS for someone to do for Medea what Madeline Miller did for Circe and it was honestly worth the wait. “Medea” has earned its place of honor with the other modern reinterpretations of the maligned and despised women of Greek mythology. Give it a listen!

If you enjoyed “Medea” by Eilish Quin as much as I did and are looking for similar titles, you might enjoy the aforementioned “Circe” by Madeline Miller, which features an absolutely enthralling chapter featuring Medea herself. You might also appreciate “Stone Blind” by Natalie Haynes, “Clytemnestra” by Constanza Casati, or “Elektra” by Jennifer Saint. If however, you’re looking for a more Jason-centric version of the tale ( Jason is the worst husband in Greek mythology and that’s saying something, but you do you) you might give the “Blades Of Bronze” series by Mark Knowles a read.

Terrific Retelling With Excellent Narration

I loved this adaptation of Medea. The way it was crafted, the surprises it held, even for someone like me who is well versed in the Mythos of this story and various adaptations of it. Eilish Quin has written something fresh which leads us to a better understanding of Medea as a complex person with a depth of emotions and motivations. Gail Shalan's is a perfect narrator for this novel. She is a phenomenal Medea and the range she displays for the other characters weaves the beautiful tapestry of the world. She holds the helm firmly in her hands as she leads us through this winding heartbreaking journey from Medea's childhood all the way to the Epilogue. An enthralling listen, I finished it in a few days.

Disappointed

Enchanting Mythos is very wonderful Circe and Robert Graves The Golden Fleece will get you there with fantastic writing concerning adventures around Colchis. This version is insulting drivel possibly AI generated and perhaps aimed at young readers only