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Overview
But this is what I could not give up:
I could not give up myself
Psyche has known Love—scented with jasmine and tasting of fresh oranges. Yet he is fleeting and fragile, lost to her too quickly. Punished by self-doubt, Psyche yearns to be transformed, like the beautiful and brutal figures in the myths her lover once spoke of. Attempting to uncover beauty in the darkness, she is challenged, tested, and changed by the gods and demons who tempt her. Her faith must be found again, for if she is to love, she must never look back.
Synopsis
But this is what I could not give up:
I could not give up myself
Psyche has known Love—scented with jasmine and tasting of fresh oranges. Yet he is fleeting and fragile, lost to her too quickly. Punished by self-doubt, Psyche yearns to be transformed, like the beautiful and brutal figures in the myths her lover once spoke of. Attempting to uncover beauty in the darkness, she is challenged, tested, and changed by the gods and demons who tempt her. Her faith must be found again, for if she is to love, she must never look back.
Publishers Weekly
Narrated in luminous free verse, Block's (Weetzie Bat) magically compassionate novel traces a girl's sinuous path through love, into adulthood and eventually into the fullness of her powers as a mother and a woman. The author deftly weaves myth and magic into scenes from contemporary life, viewed through a shimmering prism of the very hip. Block's shape- and name-shifting heroine starts out as Psyche, the passive star of her Zeus-like father's films ("My father had become a bull/ a swan/ a cloud/ a shower/ of gold/ so that he could have sex with other women"). When her brief and star-crossed love affair with tender Eros ends, a mourning Psyche metamorphoses first into Echo, foil for a modern-day Narcissus (a self-absorbed but ultimately wounded film star), and then into Eurydice, soulmate to an Orpheus whose modern-day incarnation calls to mind Kurt Cobain. As Persephone, the heroine lives through a dark period as consort to the ruler of a modern-day underworld until she finds respite with her mother, Demeter. Block brilliantly integrates aspects of the mythology, as when the heroine works for tyrannical Aphrodite (whom she does not know is actually Eros's mother) in a clothing store, and ants help her sort beads into little boxes. Briefly reunited with Eros, Psyche has a daughter, Joy, and later is transformed into a goddess at last. Haunting and heartbreaking, Block's novel once again demonstrates the mythical aspects of mortal lives. Ages 14-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Narrated in luminous free verse, Block's (Weetzie Bat) magically compassionate novel traces a girl's sinuous path through love, into adulthood and eventually into the fullness of her powers as a mother and a woman. The author deftly weaves myth and magic into scenes from contemporary life, viewed through a shimmering prism of the very hip. Block's shape- and name-shifting heroine starts out as Psyche, the passive star of her Zeus-like father's films ("My father had become a bull/ a swan/ a cloud/ a shower/ of gold/ so that he could have sex with other women"). When her brief and star-crossed love affair with tender Eros ends, a mourning Psyche metamorphoses first into Echo, foil for a modern-day Narcissus (a self-absorbed but ultimately wounded film star), and then into Eurydice, soulmate to an Orpheus whose modern-day incarnation calls to mind Kurt Cobain. As Persephone, the heroine lives through a dark period as consort to the ruler of a modern-day underworld until she finds respite with her mother, Demeter. Block brilliantly integrates aspects of the mythology, as when the heroine works for tyrannical Aphrodite (whom she does not know is actually Eros's mother) in a clothing store, and ants help her sort beads into little boxes. Briefly reunited with Eros, Psyche has a daughter, Joy, and later is transformed into a goddess at last. Haunting and heartbreaking, Block's novel once again demonstrates the mythical aspects of mortal lives. Ages 14-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature -
Block's newest work of fiction is a modern re-imagining of the Psyche and Eros myth of Greek mythology. The story is filled with Greek characters, such as Narcissus, Orpheus, and Hades. Raw and honest, Block's prose reveals the different stages of existence that one teenage girl, Psyche, must undergo in order to mature and recapture a lost love. Violent and disturbing, this slim text draws the reader in as Psyche passes through each sequential stage or "trial" of her life. With each experience she takes on a different phase of identity. Block utilizes the stories of several heroines of Greek myth in order to achieve a cyclical pattern of growth. For a time, Psyche becomes Echo. Then she becomes Eurydice. And then, Persephone; until the day she finally comes to be an empowered and wise individual who can claim her own identity and individuality. Along with being a text about empowerment and growth, Block's book is an excellent means by which to interest reluctant students into exploring Greek mythology. In its dark and disturbing material the text also stays true to the dark nature of the myths upon which Block has built her story.VOYA -
Psyche, an awkward, gangly teen, is pressed by her director father into acting in his movies after he has killed off her mother and sisters in the films. She is self-conscious and saddened by her mother's abandonment until Eros slips into her bed in the dark to make love with her and to share the myths, "her beautiful, brutal bedtime stories." Psyche, the soul, doubts him, and at the urging of her stepsisters, chooses to look upon his face. Her incredulity at his beauty increases her own self-doubt until she pushes him away. She begins a quest for self-confidence and beauty, which takes her on a journey of mythic roles where she is challenged and loved by both gods and demons. Psyche, the soul, matures as she tries on "different dresses, different selves.o This personal and modern free-verse spin on the Greek myths again demonstrates the author's unique voice. The magical realism of the novel also exhibits her signature transformations as Psyche becomes Echo, Eurydice, Persephone, and finally Demeter like her mother. Block gives a modern voice to many myths here, just as she provided one for the fairy tales in The Rose and the Beast (Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins, 2000/VOYA February 2001). Her sexually frank prose is never crude but lyrical and intoxicating. Her skillful character transformations, evocative language, mastery of images, and seductive verse will keep Block fans happy and may make them cry.KLIATT
Block, author of Weezie Bat and many other YA novels, turns to free verse to recount a modern version of Greek myths. A young woman named Psyche is an actress in her exploitive father's movies. In the night a lover comes to her and tells her the myths--"my beautiful, brutal bedtime stories"--but she is insecure, doubts his love for her, and sends him away. She then tries on the identities of other mythical characters, such as Echo, Eurydice and Persephone, goes to work in Aphrodite's dress shop, and visits her mother Demeter in an idyllic cottage above the sea. She takes other lovers, Orpheus and the cruel Hades, but misses her lost lover, Eros. When they finally meet up again, they have a daughter, Joy. All this is related in a sort of fevered dream, in Block's unique, darkly evocative style: think of a sad but beautiful Goth girl wearing velvet, or, as in this book, "my mother's green satin cocktail dress...and dusty black cowboy boots," to envision her heroine and audience. Background knowledge of the Greek myths will help readers understand Block's classical allusions. Some adult language. KLIATT Codes: SA--Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2006, HarperCollins, 128p., $15.99 and $16.89. Ages 15 to adult.—Paula Rohrlick