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Medusa

By: Jessie Burton
Narrated by: Alisha Bailey
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Summary

Bloomsbury presents Medusa by Jessie Burton, read by Alisha Bailey.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE YOTO CARNEGIE MEDAL
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'A beautiful and profound retelling' – Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles and Circe
'Gives the serpent-headed monster of myth a powerful and haunting humanity' – Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne and Elektra
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If I told you that I’d killed a man with a glance, would you wait to hear the rest? The why, the how, what happened next?

Monster. Man-hater. Murderess. Forget everything you’ve been told about Medusa.
Internationally bestselling author Jessie Burton flips the script in this astonishing retelling of Greek myth, illuminating the woman behind the legend at last.

Exiled to a far-flung island after being abused by powerful Gods, Medusa has little company other than the snakes that adorn her head instead of hair. Haunted by the memories of a life before everything was stolen from her, she has no choice but to make peace with her present: Medusa the Monster. But when the charmed and beautiful Perseus arrives on the island, her lonely existence is blown apart, unleashing desire, love... and betrayal.

Perfect for listeners who loved Circe and Ariadne, as Medusa comes alive in a new version of the story that history set in stone long ago.
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'… a must-read for women of all ages' – Red magazine
'Utterly transporting' – Guardian Books of the Year
'… an impressive addition to the shelves of feminist retellings, balancing rage with beautiful storytelling' – Irish Times

©2021 Jessie Burton (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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What listeners say about Medusa

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Lovely short listen

I’ll call this a bubble gum listen - easy to listen to and follow the story. Being a myth to real life with a few twists

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  • Overall
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Enjoyed this but wanted more

I feel like I wanted more from this - both the story of Medusa herself instead of a recounted history, but also in the retelling (not to give too much away) I was a little disappointed in how it left the original story behind. I’m probably too fussy because Medusa is my favourite myth and I’ve been so looking forward to a decent reimagining!

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Bite size feminist story

Minor spoiler warning

The true feminist story of medusa

The twist of story having medusa turn Perseus to stone instead of him killing her was a story I didn’t know I knew I needed. The way the author portrays Medusa’s character as well as her sisters makes you sympathise and be on the side of her. You understand her choices, how she chose to keep Perseus’s body on the cliff side as a memorial to her power.

The ending when she enters the water is beautiful, facing Poseidon after what he had done, realising that she is bigger and stronger than him, realising that she is medusa. Her accepting herself and her snakes is a true form of feminist embracement and I could have no asked for a better ending than how the author portrayed this.

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Phenomenal

Jessie told Medusa's story and strength beautifully. It was both harrowing and inspiring to hear her traumas and how she learned to heal from them.
I think the narrator did such an amazing job as well, her voice fit so perfectly with Medusa

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I wish I’d read this as a teen!

Great intro to lots of feminist themes and a really interesting retelling of a classic Greek myth. Teenage me would have loved this, as an adult I enjoyed it but would have loved more action- all the narrative is in the past. I felt more could have been done in the present.

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interesting story. Well told.

Good recording of an interesting new perspective of an old myth. I enjoyed it. 🙂

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Finally finished my first audiobook

I've been attempting audiobooks for a while (my ADHD brain tends to wander a lot), finally found one I could pay attention to in Medusa.
The reading of it was brilliant and interesting, loved the storyline, a character we all know getting to give her POV kept me hooked. it was a bit young but think it's aimed at teens/YA. Kept me hooked enough to pay attention and still do other simple activities ❤️

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A must for all teenage girls

Wrapped in a mythical story are some amazing messages for young ladies. Would have loved to have read this book in my early teens.

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an interesting take on this myth

Really enjoyed this story; imaginative and intriguing. A Greek retelling that doesn't end in complete tragedy for a change! 😅
It was short and easy to breeze through in a few hours. A great bitesize Greek myth with modern twists and insights.

Although I did find that the narrator talked a bit too slow for my liking so I did have to speed it up.

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