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The Goddess Letters
This retelling of the myth of Demeter, goddess of fertility, and her daughter Persephone, in whose presence flowers bloom, begins with Persephone's rape and abduction to the Underworld by Lord Hades. In alternating chapters Demeter and Persephone mourn their separation, establishing themselves as characters with both the powers of Olympus and recognizably human emotions. Demeter is expansive, earthy and sensual, Persephone adolescently self-centered and Hades (whom she calls Dis) rigidly proud of his ghostly cold domain where, he believes, Justice rules. Combining well-known elements of Greek mythology with a wide-ranging view of religion and philosophy, Orlock (whose work has appeared in Ms. and Fiction West moves from Persephone's rape, which marks the end of matriarchal authority, to Demeter's final withdrawal 2000 years later. While distinguished by imaginative and thought-provoking ideas, the novel exhibits its greatest strength in its lyric, intensely emotional examination of a mother-daughter relationship and its evocation of the processes of change and loss.
220 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 8, 2008
Honestly, if I could give half stars, I would give "The Goddess Letters" 3 and a half, but I can't and didn't enjoy it enough to give 4. I ordered my copy through Amazon.com as I wasn't able to find a copy at a reasonable price in Aus - it came to me used from a Nebraskan public library - and I was SO looking forward to reading it.
The first half (or so) of the novel is a fictionalised correspondence between Persephone and Demeter relatively faithful to the Hymn to Demeter. It's very well done and captures the irratic nature of thought influenced by both the grief and trauma of the abduction.
The second half (or so) covers the ages following the reunion between mother and daughter up until both retire from their Queenly duties after their rites are abandoned in favour of the more modern major religions. In my opinion the author took a risk here, this continuation was not as well done.
Although it did well to show the changes in Persephone as she had grown from Maidenhood to her Queen-self of the Underworld, I got a sense of Orlock's bias against the modern religions that I would have prefered not to have seen. The bitterness and resentment was to be expected from a Demeter who was watching her Temple destroyed over and over again and the Mother Knowledge neglected, but the language used to describe this was too modern to me and reminded me faintly of that used by those involved with the early Neo-Pagan Goddess Movement. I was slightly disappointed that Orlock wasn't able to maintain her previous standard of writing that introduced words like "year" and "war" as brand new concepts.
On a different note, the cameos of historical figures such as (Ho)mer and Alexander and Persephone's affection for Ceberus gave some light and fun for me. In fact, the whole Boeotian/(Ho)mer subplot was very well done and interesting to follow. Without such additions I think the plot may have lots something for me - with a purely immortal list of characters I would have found something lacking in Demeter's experience.
All in all, "The Goddess Letters" was a good, satisfactory read. I'm not sure everyone would appreciate it, but then not everyone is meant to I don't think. I'd be interested in reading something along the same lines, although I was not at all impressed with Neil Gaiman's American Gods - urban fantasy isn't my thing.
The first half (or so) of the novel is a fictionalised correspondence between Persephone and Demeter relatively faithful to the Hymn to Demeter. It's very well done and captures the irratic nature of thought influenced by both the grief and trauma of the abduction.
The second half (or so) covers the ages following the reunion between mother and daughter up until both retire from their Queenly duties after their rites are abandoned in favour of the more modern major religions. In my opinion the author took a risk here, this continuation was not as well done.
Although it did well to show the changes in Persephone as she had grown from Maidenhood to her Queen-self of the Underworld, I got a sense of Orlock's bias against the modern religions that I would have prefered not to have seen. The bitterness and resentment was to be expected from a Demeter who was watching her Temple destroyed over and over again and the Mother Knowledge neglected, but the language used to describe this was too modern to me and reminded me faintly of that used by those involved with the early Neo-Pagan Goddess Movement. I was slightly disappointed that Orlock wasn't able to maintain her previous standard of writing that introduced words like "year" and "war" as brand new concepts.
On a different note, the cameos of historical figures such as (Ho)mer and Alexander and Persephone's affection for Ceberus gave some light and fun for me. In fact, the whole Boeotian/(Ho)mer subplot was very well done and interesting to follow. Without such additions I think the plot may have lots something for me - with a purely immortal list of characters I would have found something lacking in Demeter's experience.
All in all, "The Goddess Letters" was a good, satisfactory read. I'm not sure everyone would appreciate it, but then not everyone is meant to I don't think. I'd be interested in reading something along the same lines, although I was not at all impressed with Neil Gaiman's American Gods - urban fantasy isn't my thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2020
Book that has haunted me for more than 25 years
August 19, 2013
An interesting retelling of the demeter/persephone myth from their perspectives. Spanning centuries, the story touches on historical events and the rise of new religions.
September 18, 2014
Big ideas and questions, somewhat unsatisfying answers. And have a Greek mythology reference on hand.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews