Myths of Origin

by Catherynne M. Valente

Alternate cover edition for ASIN B006466KCQ

Live the Myth! New York Times best-seller Catherynne M. Valente is the single most compelling voice to emerge in fantasy fiction in decades. Collected here for the first time, her early short novels explore, deconstruct, and ultimately explode the seminal myths of both East and West, casting them in ways you've never read before and may never read again.

The Labyrinth - a woman wanderer, a Maze like no other, a Monkey and a Minotaur and a world full of secrets leading down to the Center of it All.

Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams - an aged woman named Ayako lives in medieval Japan, but dreams in mythical worlds that beggar the imagination . . . including our own modern world.

The Grass-Cutting Sword - when a hero challenges a great and evil serpent, who speaks for the snake? In this version of a myth from the ancient chronicle Kojiki, the serpent speaks for himself.

Under in the Mere - Arthur and Lancelot, Mordred and le Fay. The saga has been told a thousand times, but never in the poetic polyphony of this novella, a story far deeper than it is long.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Mythology, Retellings, Adult, Arthurian

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 6, 2011

About the author

Catherynne M. Valente was born on Cinco de Mayo, 1979 in Seattle, WA, but grew up in in the wheatgrass paradise of Northern California. She graduated from high school at age 15, going on to UC San Diego and Edinburgh University, receiving her B.A. in Classics with an emphasis in Ancient Greek Linguistics. She then drifted away from her M.A. program and into a long residence in the concrete and camphor wilds of Japan.

She currently lives in Maine with her partner, two dogs, and three cats, having drifted back to America and the mythic frontier of the Midwest.

Reviews

[Gabrielle (Reading Rampage) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Catherynne… I am quite incapable of resisting your work… Even knowing that I might get frustrated with it (silly me, I keep looking for structure under your avalanche of poetic prose, surreal imagery and gorgeously unexpected sentences), that it will occasionally crush my poor heart like an empty beer can and that I will fail to adequately describe it to anyone who asks me what I am reading. I found this omnibus of four novellas at a used bookstore, and I had to dive into it almost immediately.

You can tell this is an early work, because Valente’s prose has, over time, gotten a bit less florid than it is in “Myths of Origin”, but it is still very, very impressive stuff. The amount of literary and cultural references alone show her to be an exceptionally well-read, creative and clever writer – even when her enthusiasm gets the best of her. While I am not always sure what story she is telling me, the way she does it is so seductive and dream-like that I just don’t care anymore.

“The Labyrinth” is a Bronze Age-ish tale about a woman wandering an otherworldly maze, the strange creatures and beings she encounters there. There are some definite hints of Robert Graves’ “The Greek Myths” in there, but also a few Christopher Marlowe quotes, and clues that wherever this story takes place, time and space do not work very conventionally there.

“Yume Ho Hom” is set is a mystical version of medieval Japan, where a woman lives in an isolated temple, near a Mountain and a River, and tells a story for each of the 72 divisions of the Chinese calendar. By the time I got to this story, I was fighting a nasty cold, so I really enjoyed Ayako's stories, but I might have been really high on NyQuil.

“The Grass-Cutting Sword” also has a medieval Japanese setting, but it much closer to an actual creation myth (actually, it is a retelling of the Shinto creation story). It is a beautifully subverted story of a well-known kind: a monster abducts a young maiden and a brave hero is called upon to rescue her. But who is this hero, who is this monster, who is that maiden? This story explores often overlooked aspects of the classic tales and draws a layered portrait of its characters - and they are not what you would expect.

“Under the Mere” is a collection of fragments of the Arthurian legends, told through the voices of lesser-known actors in the epic story: the Lady of the Lake, Kay, the Green Knight, Dagonet, Lancelot, Balin and Balan, Pellinore, Galahad, Mordred, Bedivere and Morgan Le Fey. Each tale is associated with a Tarot card, and each goes deeper than other storytellers have before, not only in giving voices to often voiceless characters, but also in adding layers to familiar stories that shine new perspectives on them. I loved this one so much! I am a huge fan of Arthuriana, and I love reading different version of it, alternative perspectives that give the stories and characters more grit, more humanity. I wish she had stretched this tale into a novel, one chapter for each card of the Major Arcana, one new voice for every archetype.

I preferred the last two novellas of this collection, obviously. I found them very profound and rich (and the fact that they had clear plot-lines probably helped) - and as usual, the images conjured by Valente’s pen are intoxicating. The way she brings together images from colors, strange metaphors and textured descriptions makes her writing very sensual. I know it sounds weird to say that about writing, but if you are familiar with her work, you know what I am talking about. Her stories can be multi-sensory experiences of you let yourself really sink into them.

I would recommend this book for people who already love Catherynne Valente's work, as readers who aren't sure what to expect might get a bit confused and overwhelmed by her style. Or for those feeling adventurous and who who long for something beautiful.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find it almost impossible to review Cat Valente's work.

Why? Because I'm personally incapable of capturing all the freaky-cool things she is able to do with words. So what do I recommend? READ HER. You'll see what I mean and thank me for it and be sure to close your mouth sometimes or the flies will find new homes there. :)

Four novellas.

The Labyrinth - You could say this is a tale about a monkey and a minotaur going through a labyrinth, but that kinda misses the whole damn point that this is CAT VALENTE writing it. It's an early piece and really showcases just how freaking smart and educated she is. Add tons of scholarly references, make the prose as florid as you please, and turn the whole thing on its head by being a tale to be cherished in an Illuminated Medieval book. :)

Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams - Freaking awesome. An old woman in Medieval Japan takes on the role of a Sphinx, a dreamer, a devourer, and a goddess. I can't tell whether she's actually a place or a dream or just an old woman. But damn this one kicked my ass. :)

The Grass-Cutting Sword - Woman and snake. Is there a difference? Okay, no, this isn't a joke, but a seriously amazing piece that dives deep into a mental space that turns amazingly original and complex.

Under in the Mere - Maybe my least favorite of the bunch, it's still amazing for not only it's effortless scholarship, but its wealth of detail in Arthurian legends, its unique take on truly sensual (but not always sexual) takes on the knights and maidens, and the interesting place that the search for the grail takes them. ... CALIFORNIA? And yet it still reads like a traditional, if amazingly poetical, legend. :)

Valente is a treasure. Read it just for the language, stay for the ideas, and fall in love because there is no other way to be.

[Melanti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Labryinth - 4 Stars
Yume No Hon - 5 Star
Grass Cutting Sword - 4 Stars
Under in the Mere - 5 Stars

[Megan Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second review in a row where I adore an author but have more reservations about this particular book. In this case, it's not that I didn't think it lived up to previous books. That would be hard, since this is some of the first stuff Catherynne Valente wrote. It's more that, if I hadn't already known what a terrific writer she is, I might not have stuck this one out.

Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.

In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook

[Tyrannosaurus regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the story notes gave me some context, I'm still not entirely sure what the novellas here were really doing, I just know that they were doing it beautifully. Even with a thin narrative thread binding each together, the imagery and the language were incredible. The rating is a compromise, between my longing for a narrative in each but being swept away by the way they are told.

[Kenya Starflight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be honest -- I'll read just about anything by Catherynne Valente at this point, even her video-game spinoff novels based on games I've never played. I love her gorgeous writing style, her unconventional stories and concepts, and her way of calling out society for its horrific treatment of anyone it regards as "lesser." So when I learned that four of her earliest novels had been compiled into one volume, I knew I had to give it a read. And while this is not my favorite of her works, and it's quite obvious these are her first works and she hadn't quite hit her literary stride yet, they're still dazzling and poignant works.

A brief review of each work:

"The Labyrinth" -- her first novel, and the most poetic, experimental, and plotless of the three. While at it's heart it's the story of a woman traveling a labyrinth and the beings and mysteries she uncovers there, it's only vaguely related to the original myth at best. The language is stunning, but there's little plot to be had -- if anything, it's more of an extended poem than a novel, so it's probably best read and appreciated as one instead of as something with structure and plot.

"Yume No Hom: The Book of Dreams" -- a Japanese tale about an old woman named Ayoko who lives on a mountain... and dreams of her alternate lives as the Sphinx, Isis, Tiamut, and others. Told as a series of vignettes corresponding to the Chinese calendar, it's again more of a series of interconnecting poems than a novel, though it does have a more definite structure and does a fine job of tying together the many dream selves of the main character.

"The Grass-Cutting Sword" -- another adaptation of Japanese folklore, this one is a retelling of a Japanese creation myth as well as the story of a storm god who fought a maiden-devouring serpent. This story maintains the fantastic language of the author's style but is definitely the most strongly (traditionally?) structured of the novellas in this volume. It's also the angriest, pointing out the misogyny prevalent in a lot of world mythology as we know it and the fates of the women who are often relegated to trophies or damsels in distress in fairy tales and folk tales.

"Under in the Mere" -- Valente's take on the Arthurian mythos, telling us the stories of many key figures in the tale of King Arthur -- the Lady of the Lake, Mordred, Morgan La Fey, Galahad, Lancelot, and others. A series of vignettes, it fleshes out these characters in startling ways, making them far more human and flawed than the original stories made them out to be. There's also a startlingly modern bent to this story, with the knights and characters occasionally crossing the boundaries of their world to end up in what they see as a faerie land but is actually modern-day California... and while some might find this detail obnoxious, I found it fascinating and a very neat addition.

The book also contains an afterward by Valente herself, detailing where she was in her life when she wrote each story and the seeds that eventually germinated into these tales. I appreciated her insight and her explanation of each novella's genesis, and it helped me better appreciate her work even if I had problems with it.

For fans of Valente, this book is a fascinating glimpse of her early work. Readers not familiar with her writing may find themselves overwhelmed by it -- her writing is fantastic but definitely not simple to read -- and I don't think these stories are her best work. They're still vibrant and illuminating reads, however, breathing new life into old stories and looking at the familiar from a fresh angle.

[Kareninsacramento · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shelving this one, because I decided I didn't want to finish the 4th novella in the set ("Under in the Mere"). The retelling of King Arthur with references to California was too much for me.

Of the other 3, "Labyrinth" was a disappointment (reviewed separately).

"Yume No Hon" (The Book Of Dreams) was surprisingly beautiful and captivating. The language and atmosphere of this series of vignettes was haunting and poetic. Each of these is a dream (or something which might be a dream, but in her elderly state Ayako is unsure), ranging from a single page to short-story length.

"The Grass-Cutting Sword" is a retelling of a Japanese creation myth extended into the story of the Storm God who challenged a strange and deadly serpent. Stylistically, it is fascinating, and the way the two stories wrap around one another and unfold from the POVs of the hero and the serpent (and the serpent's victims) was really well done. Creative and strange and oddly beautiful.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite Catherynne Valente collection, but it was fun to see some of her earlier pieces. I loved reading the context provided at the end, where she reflects on where she was in her life while writing these short novels.

[Shawn Edrei · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dense to the point of incomprehensibility. Hard pass.

[A'Llyn Ettien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, richly layered explorations of ideas and myths. A bit dense, but fascinating.

[Shelby Coyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of novellas. Favorite novella - The Grass-Cutting Sword

[Chambodia · Rating 2 out of 5]

First and hopefully last DNF for Valente. Normally, her ability to write breathtaking prose will get me through anything, but this one is too much of a labyrinth to grind through.

[EA Solinas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catherynne Valente is an author on the rise, entrancing readers with her luscious, dreamlike prose and her exquisite explorations into magical realms. Even her children's stories are like little gold-rimmed gems.

"Myths of Origin: Four Short Novels" brings together four novellas written over the years, from her debut novella "The Labyrinth" to the recent story "Under in the Mere." They're beautifully-written, swimming in exquisite words and images -- and the main problem is that it's often hard to extract a true narrative from it.

"The Labyrinth" is the tale of the Walker, the Seeker-After, a woman who ate the compass rose. She wanders through the timeless, endless Roads of the Labyrinth, where she finds a Hare, a figure garbed in opals, a Crocodile, a Mirror, an erudite Lobster and his keys, and countless other strange wonders. Will she ever find the center?

"Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams" switches the focus from a mystical world to ancient Japan. The story centers on Ayako, a woman who lost her village long ago, and now lives in a pagoda on the side of a Mountain. Nearby villagers believe her to be a spirit, and bring offerings to her -- but the answer of what Ayako is connects to a vast expanse of goddesses.

"The Grass-Cutting Sword" is another strange, beautiful tale based in Japanese folklore. The tale is partly about the thunder god Susanoo, who is sent to earth in human form by his sister Amaterasu. As he struggles to defeat the eight-headed monster Yamata-no-Orochi, Valente explores the perspective of the Orochi's multiple heads ("I am Eight. We are Eight") and the maidens sacrificed to him.

And finally there is "Under in the Mere," which reimagines Arthurian legends just as adeptly. It follows the perspectives of various characters from Arthurian legend -- the Lady of the Lake; Sir Kay and his thoughts of his brother; the Green Knight; the dancing, dreaming Sir Dagonet; Lancelot and the two women he loved; Morgan le Fay bringing her brother to Avalon; Galahad in a modern world, and others.

WARNING: These books are not easy read. All four are awash in windswept, jewel-toned words that slowly drown you in their beauty, and they often don't have straightforward narratives. "The Labyrinth" is particularly hard to read -- it's a very experimental novel, like someone took a few dozen lush poems and stretched them into prose.

The following three novellas have more defined stories, but they still aren't for people who like nice, defined beginning-middle-end stories. These are for people who like to sink into decadently luscious, scented prose like a luxurious bath, surrounded by flowers, talking animals, mystical dream-lands and dusty jewels. Valente's prose is almost too sensual to stand at times.

"Myths of Origin: Four Short Novels" drowns you in lovely words and eerie, hallucinatory dreams -- just don't expect a story that won't befuddle you.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must admit I had a false-start with this book. I had been wanting to read Yume no Hon, The Book of Dreams, for quite some time now and I recall settling down to it and somehow the words read like vapor dispersing as soon they hit my eye, all but forgotten. I set my book down and it was months before I picked it back up again to start again with a different myth.

This time Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, The Grass-Cutting Sword, was my starting off point and I had a much easier time of it. Each story a mini-seed in and of itself, one small piece of a bigger whole. Each head of the yamata-no-orochi, the eight-headed-eight-tailed snake and the family of girls that were devoured, one by each head. It tells the tale of the origin of Japan, of Izangi and Izanami, and their children who sprang from various beginnings and populated the land with gods. Central to this tale is Susanoo-no-Mikoto, god of storm and sea, and his battle with the orochi.

I quite liked this story. I always knew where I was in it, as each orochi head made an appearance, and it was lovely re-visiting the origin myths of Japan in a very accessible way - those that have tried muddling through the Kojiki or the Nihon Shoki know what I mean. I loved reading about ancient Japan through Cat's eyes; the observations made, the detailed descriptions of surroundings, and of course the myths of Japan's origins. It really struck home because Japan was home for a couple of years. I could feel Japan through her eyes and it made me 少し　懐かしい, a little nostalgic.

Next for me was Under in the Mere, set firmly in Arthurian legend and oddly the present day, each mini-chapter a character-weaving of immense power. The beginning point is the Lady of the Lake and from thence to various knights, Mordred, Morgan le Fay all personified with Tarot deck characters as their chapter headings. It is interesting to note the juxtaposition of medieval and current, of ancient times and some not-too-distant Californian past that each of these Arthurian characters can somehow see as I, too, can see having grown up in Southern California. Another story of home for me. I also very much liked this story; it was a telling of Aurthur through lesser known means and Arthur was not the focus here but the tale, the myth. It was quite lovely.

I'm now working my way through The Labyrinth, which seems to me like little vignettes in the mind of a young woman as she navigates the mazes of her mind, of her life, of where she should be and needs to go.

[Jacquelyn Fusco]

The Labyrinth was depressing. I skipped the second one because her notes said it was gonna be really depressing. The Grass-Cutting Sword was...not as good as her other stuff. I started Under in the Mere, but stopped because I am not familiar with the King Arthur stories.

This is some of her earliest writing and she was depressed at the time for at least some of it. The Orphan's Tales are dark, but their depth and intricacy are rewarding. These short stories did not give me enough to endure the melancholy and despair.

I'm hoping I'll like Deathless...the Melancholy of Mechagirl's title makes me pause...I so adored The Orphan's Tales and the Fairyland books!! And Palimpsest was good too. I'll try The Bread We Eat in Dreams.

[Lianne Burwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to rate this book? It's really difficult. The first story was written when the author was young with poetry aspirations. The language is beautiful, but convoluted. The others do better of getting story in their, but still, it's more about the language than telling a story. As a result, it took me forever to get through it.

I'm glad I read the stories (and despite the tag on the cover, only one of them is really long enough to be considered a 'novel'), but putting all four together is a bit of an overload.

Not sure I feel any urge to read anything else by the author, but maybe I'll feel different in a year or two.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Under the Mere:

I have been looking for a Kindle copy of Under The Mere since the moment I heard there was a Cat version of Arthur. I have been an Arthurian buff since I was wee thing, and I have been a massive fan of Cat since the moment I discovered her. Hear there was a crosshatch between the two maybe be long desperately for it.

Finally, I got to cross it off, and I have to say I deeply loved getting to ready this. Dissolving into the lake of all of it, glorious and descriptive and enchanting. I think that everyone (who loves these two things, as well) should definitely take it as a charge that they will need these. It's gorgeous and worth having.

[Alytha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Labyrinth - quite liked it for the imagery and emotions it evokes, although the story is everything but linear. Very sad too.

Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams - Has some good parts and some less so...all in all, readable but a bit complicated

The Grass-Cutting Sword - Probably the most straightforward story in this book...also very sad

Under in the Mere - A retelling of the Arthurian myth. Some characters are really well-done and interesting, others just confusing.

[Willis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do not, repeat do not recommend this book!! It suffers from adjective vomit, descriptive diarrhea, a redundancy of nonsensical metaphor verbosity, most of which are not even close to being pertinent to the plot! It is a grab bag of long-winded, rambling, loquacious paragraphs that serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever other than to act as an ego stroking device and fill the pages with pretentious, wordy fluff!

[Darceylaine]

Switched from the kindle version to this lovely hardcover version with pages that are nice to the touch. Suddenly I feel better about the whole enterprise. For a book whose prose is a slippery as this one, it is so grounding to be able to see the thing on a printed page.

I am reviewing each book from this anthology separately as I finish them. See individual reviews.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most rewarding part of reading this was reaching Valente's brief end notes about the writing process behind these stories. The stories themselves...I can't say I cared very much for any of them. These stories were written before she gained the enviable refinement you can find in her newer works and it definitely shows.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friend says that reading Valente "requires some pre-stretching of the mind." Definitely rings true for Myths of Origin - very lush writing, so much so that following the storyline is like wading through molasses.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skipped Labyrinth, this is an interlibrary loan and I wanted to return it.

[Catharine]

I've had to stop reading this one. Perhaps I'll come back to it later when in the mood for convoluted mythic prose.

[poesielos · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Labyrinth: 5/5

Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams: 1/5

The Grass-Cutting Sword: 5/5

Under in the Mere: 1/5

[Alex Hammel]

Bought this from Kobo under the impression that I was getting Silently and Very Fast. Oh well, let's give it a shot.