Alcestis

November 9, 2009
Beutner’s debut tackles the Greek myth of Alcestis, who so loved her husband that she sacrificed herself to Hermes in his place. Beutner’s retelling, set in ancient Greece, involves a more complex character: her Alcestis is a misfit who has deeply mourned the loss of her sister Hippothoe since childhood. Through Alcestis’s eyes, Beutner provides a cagey look at men and gods, driving her narrative into the Underworld after Alcestis’s husband, Admetus, proves so afraid of facing his own death that he demands a replacement. Alcestis goes instead, not for romance or martyrdom, but to find her dead sister. While hunting the land of the dead, Alcestis sheds the “good girl” identity she’s begrudgingly worn her whole life and finds her fate tied to those of Persephone and Hades; eventually, she learns much about gods and men (especially from stubborn, simple Heracles). Beutner renders her multilayered heroine with beauty and delicacy, and concerns herself with no less than the intricacies of the soul; unfortunately, an abrupt ending sucks the wind out of Beutner’s sails.

February 1, 2010
This debut novel reworks the story of the mythological Greek princess Alcestis, a devoted wife who sacrificed her life to save her husband, Admetus. Here, Alcestis's young life is marked by loss: her mother dies while giving birth to her, and when she is eight, her beloved older sister dies, leaving Alcestis feeling alone and bereft. At age 15, she eagerly marries the young king of Pherae but discovers that her new husband also loves another, a god with whom Alcestis believes she cannot compete. So, when her husband's life is at stake, she offers her life and is taken to the underworld to roam among the dead. When she meets the underworld's King Hades and his queen, Persephone, she learns for the first time what it is be loved as a desirable being. How Alcestis copes with her newfound knowledge makes for a thought-provoking story. VERDICT While some of the narrative transitions seem abrupt, and the underworld presented here is hard to envision, the intriguing character of Alcestis is fresh and forthright. Best for more academic readers.M. Neville, Trenton P.L., NJ

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2010
Beutner has elevated a relatively minor character in Greek mythology to a major player. Taking center stage in this debut novel is Alcestis, the fabled good wife who sacrificed herself in order to save her much loved husband, King Admetus. In this reworking of the classic legend, a decidedly more complex and restless Alcestis is provided with an intriguing backstory involving her childhood and the untimely death of her favorite sister, Hippothoe. When Admetus is too cowardly to face his own death, Alcestis, hopeful of reuniting with Hippothoe, agrees to take his place in the Underworld. It is here in death that Alcestis wrestles with the true nature of love and loss, as she falls under the seductive spell of Persephone. Perched precariously between two worlds, she finds she belongs to neither when Heracles, her would-be rescuer, declares his intention to deliver her back to her husband. Beutner spices up this classic tale with a decidedly Sapphic flavor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)