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Here, The World Entire
After being accused of desecrating Athena's temple and subsequently cursed with monstrousness, Medusa lives alone on the outskirts of the world, secluding herself from everyone so as to keep both herself and the rest of the world safe. When Perseus comes to ask for her help, Medusa tries desperately to make him leave, but no matter what she does, Perseus stays. As the days wear on and she reveals more about the events that led her to the cave, it becomes obvious that there is a choice to make: stay safe and alone, or re-enter the world with Perseus. One question still remains, however: what does Perseus want?
83 pages, Paperback
First published December 13, 2016
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4780 people want to read
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February 10, 2019I don't believe in authors rating their own books, but I reread my own tiny book about a year and a half after I finished it, and I don't know if I will ever not be obsessed with Medusa. Medusa deserved better. I tried to give it to her, but there's still more I'd like to do with her story. One day...
Edit: second reread, in preparation for finishing my new work, and I can confirm that I still want to return to Medusa's story. Maybe one day her myth will mean less to me, but I doubt it.
Edit: second reread, in preparation for finishing my new work, and I can confirm that I still want to return to Medusa's story. Maybe one day her myth will mean less to me, but I doubt it.
April 6, 2021
3.5 stars.
I think I've mentioned this before, but ever since I watched Clash of the Titans as a child I have been enthralled by Medusa. Monster, goddess, woman, she gets a bad reputation and for doing what? For being used by one God, and therefore angering another, she ends up alone and eventually slaughtered at the hands of a so called hero.
Literature seems to skim over this part of Medusa's story, preferring to offer up the shining Perseus as the Greek golden boy. But there's so much more to Medusa, from her trauma and the betrayal by the people she puts her trust in. This little novella tried to cram a lot of this into a short piece of writing, and while I fully appreciate what it tries to do I still found it a little lacking. I want more depth from Medusa, I want to hear more of her voice and explore her loneliness and feelings towards the Gods. I also thought the writing sometimes tried a little too hard to be lyrical and beautiful, rather than providing any real substance. It needed a bit more finesse to pull off what I think it was trying to provide the reader with.
Interesting feminist novella about a woefully underated Greek mythological character, but this needed fleshing out and developing more to really hit its mark.
I think I've mentioned this before, but ever since I watched Clash of the Titans as a child I have been enthralled by Medusa. Monster, goddess, woman, she gets a bad reputation and for doing what? For being used by one God, and therefore angering another, she ends up alone and eventually slaughtered at the hands of a so called hero.
Literature seems to skim over this part of Medusa's story, preferring to offer up the shining Perseus as the Greek golden boy. But there's so much more to Medusa, from her trauma and the betrayal by the people she puts her trust in. This little novella tried to cram a lot of this into a short piece of writing, and while I fully appreciate what it tries to do I still found it a little lacking. I want more depth from Medusa, I want to hear more of her voice and explore her loneliness and feelings towards the Gods. I also thought the writing sometimes tried a little too hard to be lyrical and beautiful, rather than providing any real substance. It needed a bit more finesse to pull off what I think it was trying to provide the reader with.
Interesting feminist novella about a woefully underated Greek mythological character, but this needed fleshing out and developing more to really hit its mark.
May 25, 2019
Novellas are really underrated. I underrate novellas. Note to self: read more novellas. Sometimes a story doesn't need to be more than 100 pages, and it's so refreshing to read a concise story rather than 400+ pages of a bloated novel hiding a shorter, superior book.
I was sure that I would like this book - I love Ovid's Metamorphoses and retellings of mythology - but it surpassed my expectations. I was so absorbed in the writing that I actually forgot the original myth, and how it ended. The ending of Here, The World Entire somehow came as a shock, and days later, I still find myself thinking about it. It's also no mean feat to create a compelling narrative out of relatively little action and, on top of that, write in a poetic style that is reminiscent of translations of Greek and Roman literature without ever seeming pretentious or stilted. It's a modern retelling that does something new - giving a voice and interiority to Medusa - while fitting neatly into a tradition.
This book deserves to be discovered, loved and even studied - as a mythological retelling, a feminist text and an examination of how "monsters" are created.
(One of the greatest compliments I can pay to any book is that it inspires me to get back to my own writing. Here, The World Entire reminded me of the existence of an abandoned novel I started writing years ago, told from the perspective of a monster who's much more monstrous than Medusa, but who lives an equally lonely existence. I finished Hayward's novella feeling entirely satisfied by the story I'd just finished, and keen to start writing again. It's a rare feeling, but a wonderful one...)
I was sure that I would like this book - I love Ovid's Metamorphoses and retellings of mythology - but it surpassed my expectations. I was so absorbed in the writing that I actually forgot the original myth, and how it ended. The ending of Here, The World Entire somehow came as a shock, and days later, I still find myself thinking about it. It's also no mean feat to create a compelling narrative out of relatively little action and, on top of that, write in a poetic style that is reminiscent of translations of Greek and Roman literature without ever seeming pretentious or stilted. It's a modern retelling that does something new - giving a voice and interiority to Medusa - while fitting neatly into a tradition.
This book deserves to be discovered, loved and even studied - as a mythological retelling, a feminist text and an examination of how "monsters" are created.
(One of the greatest compliments I can pay to any book is that it inspires me to get back to my own writing. Here, The World Entire reminded me of the existence of an abandoned novel I started writing years ago, told from the perspective of a monster who's much more monstrous than Medusa, but who lives an equally lonely existence. I finished Hayward's novella feeling entirely satisfied by the story I'd just finished, and keen to start writing again. It's a rare feeling, but a wonderful one...)
October 20, 2019
I don't normally go for novellas but this was suggested to me and it really is very good. It could go toe to toe with Medusa the short story Pat Barker published in The New Yorker earlier this year. Retellings ! they are everywhere, this one is a happy addition to the pile I am collecting up and an exceptional writing debut.
October 16, 2025
#️⃣5️⃣5️⃣9️⃣ Read & Reviewed in 2025 🍩🧁
Date : 🗓️ Sunday, October 12, 2025 🎁💐🍝
Word Count📃: 17k Words 🎉🍬✨
— !! 𖦹「 ✦ 🍪 Happy Birthday🎂 ✦ 」✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩
My 34th read in "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!!! :DDDD 👏🍭🍨" October.
4️⃣🌟, a great mythology retelling
——————————————————————
➕➖0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟✖️➗
Athena, Medusa & Perseus. These three are the inly characters and one that is the focus of this retelling. It is a story on jealousy, revenge, connection and acceptance. The three share complex relationship dynamics, all of it compressed in a very short novel. Its quick and impactful. It really makes you sympathetic for the characters and feel bad for all the circumstances and the burdens that they had to endure and experience when interacting with one another.
Maybe its best for the three of them to not even know each other in the first place. Medusa may be evil in some other literature but in this one, she is portrayed as someone lost, someone who is more morally honorable. Its written concisely and presents the story in a way that still manages to have all of the substance and all of the meaning put into it.
Date : 🗓️ Sunday, October 12, 2025 🎁💐🍝
Word Count📃: 17k Words 🎉🍬✨
— !! 𖦹「 ✦ 🍪 Happy Birthday🎂 ✦ 」✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩
My 34th read in "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!!! :DDDD 👏🍭🍨" October.
4️⃣🌟, a great mythology retelling
——————————————————————
➕➖0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟✖️➗
Athena, Medusa & Perseus. These three are the inly characters and one that is the focus of this retelling. It is a story on jealousy, revenge, connection and acceptance. The three share complex relationship dynamics, all of it compressed in a very short novel. Its quick and impactful. It really makes you sympathetic for the characters and feel bad for all the circumstances and the burdens that they had to endure and experience when interacting with one another.
Maybe its best for the three of them to not even know each other in the first place. Medusa may be evil in some other literature but in this one, she is portrayed as someone lost, someone who is more morally honorable. Its written concisely and presents the story in a way that still manages to have all of the substance and all of the meaning put into it.
August 26, 2020
"No-one comes here to speak to me, I think. You don't bring a sword to a conversation."
THIS BOOK! 😍😍
A heartbreaking, tragic, beautiful, melancholic retelling of the story of Medusa! Thats right I said Medusa not Perseus!
Showing Medusa for what she really is, a human, not an evil monster, just a regular woman who devoted herself to Athena only to be turned on in disgust and punished for a "transgression" that was not hers and which she was the victim of.
Isolating herself from the world so as not to hurt anyone and stewing in her own guilt over what was done to her and what she has unwittingly and accidentally done to others is how we find Medusa.
I know the story, I've heard it before, I've read it before, I've told it before. The story of the gallant hero Perseus defeating the monster Medusa. Could it have been more wrong?!
The author has so brilliantly and perfectly and succinctly written this amazing (although short) book that I found myself forgetting how the story ends, until it came to it.
I have no words to express how brilliant this story is. My only regret is that I didn't come across it sooner.
THIS BOOK! 😍😍
A heartbreaking, tragic, beautiful, melancholic retelling of the story of Medusa! Thats right I said Medusa not Perseus!
Showing Medusa for what she really is, a human, not an evil monster, just a regular woman who devoted herself to Athena only to be turned on in disgust and punished for a "transgression" that was not hers and which she was the victim of.
Isolating herself from the world so as not to hurt anyone and stewing in her own guilt over what was done to her and what she has unwittingly and accidentally done to others is how we find Medusa.
I know the story, I've heard it before, I've read it before, I've told it before. The story of the gallant hero Perseus defeating the monster Medusa. Could it have been more wrong?!
The author has so brilliantly and perfectly and succinctly written this amazing (although short) book that I found myself forgetting how the story ends, until it came to it.
I have no words to express how brilliant this story is. My only regret is that I didn't come across it sooner.
May 20, 2020
I had really high hopes for this little book because the plot seems so interesting but the execution left a lot to be desired. the flow and the format are just awkward. the writing is so choppy. its only 56 pages on kindle but i genuinely struggled to get through it and i couldn't figure out why because i Was curious but everytime i opened it up to read more i lost interest in 0.05 seconds. and tl;dr its just bad writing.
Exhibit A : girl, not this
"I heard nothing. I opened my eyes and looked at her. I could not harm her by doing so now. Nothing more could be done to her. I had done it all already. She did not meet my gaze."
I literally read this bit and my first thought was "[to the author] sis, not this I BEG"
guys... not one, not two, not three but SIX simple sentences IN A ROW.
sis really said no ma'am ! no complex sentences on my watch !!! i cant yall the whole damn book is like this it reads like a frkn take out menu its too much.
Exhibit B : writing, but make it cringe
"Pools of less-than-black in a darkness that had hitherto remained steadfastly impenetrable."
listen ill take the fucking 4 word sentences over this monstrosity any day. this sentence was like 10% into the book and i genuinely could not stop thinking about it til the end like no one writes like this !! what does that even mean ?? some of the sentences were so unbearably cringey they literally had me sorry i complained about the short sentences like bring them back sis anything but this !!
Anyway, this review was a bit harsh im sorry yall but im just in my feelings cz i was really looking forward to this.
Ms. Anwen (the writer) left a review on her own book saying "... I don't know if I will ever not be obsessed with Medusa. Medusa deserved better." and all in all i definitely agree with her that Medusa deserved better, i just think our opinions differ on what "better" is.
Exhibit A : girl, not this
"I heard nothing. I opened my eyes and looked at her. I could not harm her by doing so now. Nothing more could be done to her. I had done it all already. She did not meet my gaze."
I literally read this bit and my first thought was "[to the author] sis, not this I BEG"
guys... not one, not two, not three but SIX simple sentences IN A ROW.
sis really said no ma'am ! no complex sentences on my watch !!! i cant yall the whole damn book is like this it reads like a frkn take out menu its too much.
Exhibit B : writing, but make it cringe
"Pools of less-than-black in a darkness that had hitherto remained steadfastly impenetrable."
listen ill take the fucking 4 word sentences over this monstrosity any day. this sentence was like 10% into the book and i genuinely could not stop thinking about it til the end like no one writes like this !! what does that even mean ?? some of the sentences were so unbearably cringey they literally had me sorry i complained about the short sentences like bring them back sis anything but this !!
Anyway, this review was a bit harsh im sorry yall but im just in my feelings cz i was really looking forward to this.
Ms. Anwen (the writer) left a review on her own book saying "... I don't know if I will ever not be obsessed with Medusa. Medusa deserved better." and all in all i definitely agree with her that Medusa deserved better, i just think our opinions differ on what "better" is.
December 21, 2022
Just about perfect. Excellent retelling of the Medusa myth and another of those books that are fuelling the fire of my newfound love of Greek mythology.
June 15, 2024
i’m sobbing no one talk to me for like five years bye
December 24, 2018
This was a very powerful little book. It was hard to read in a lot of ways, and made me dislike Perseus even more than I already did by making him the type of guy who you instantly see through and yet let yourself get taken in by anyway.
May 14, 2018
I came across this book by chance. I love medusa for the same reason the author does, I think: I went through similar things, and the narrative of medusa was what I used to recover, to give name to what I was feeling (anger, sadness, other things I still have difficulty naming).
I've read some terrible books about or featuring medusa before. I've read some that were off the wall. I've read some that were decent. I've read some that I'll reread and some that I'll never touch again. I've read every article or short story I can find, every poem, everything from newspapers to jstor to essay collections to theses from the eighties. And this one is the best, hands down. This one is the one that I could not put down, that I both feared finishing and needed to finish. This book, this tiny, beautiful book, gave name to those unnameable things.
medusa is wholly human in this story. Her monstrosity lies in the gaze of other people, in being looked at; time and time again she hides herself from people, tries to save them, and cannot -- it's not her choice. Very little is of her own free will, and that which is her own free will is punished. She is silenced, cursed, made forever to hide alone, separate from her family and her people.
I have so many feelings about this story I don't think I'll ever manage to convey all of them. I love the whole of it, and the details of it (the refusal to speak or think his name is something that resonated deeply with me). I love this short aching tender story about trauma, about healing, about fate, about choices, about monstrosity. It makes you ask questions of it that never quite get an answer: what makes a monster? can fate be changed? what kind of healing can this story ever have? I approached it already knowing what happens in the original myths and in the version that the author used, and I hoped despite warnings that the story would be changed, that she would be triumphant, that it might be different this time.
The monster is a monster is a monster. It's never the monsters that get new endings, it's the heroes; and this book makes you wonder why. It represents rape culture very well in my opinion, and echoes things that I've heard or things that I've experienced myself.
Honestly the only bad part about this book, really, is that it was so short. I wanted hundreds more pages. And I would want to tell the author how much this story meant, how it felt to have this narrative written with sensitivity and with skill, to finally see a medusa story that knows trauma and understands trauma and does not belittle it or set it up as a cutesy thing for a man to help her overcome.
I've never written a review before, but I had to make an exception for this. It really is the best story about medusa that I have ever read. I wish more people would find this book, because it really is life-changing and revolutionary. I'll be thinking about this book for a very long time.
Thank you, author, for writing this.
I've read some terrible books about or featuring medusa before. I've read some that were off the wall. I've read some that were decent. I've read some that I'll reread and some that I'll never touch again. I've read every article or short story I can find, every poem, everything from newspapers to jstor to essay collections to theses from the eighties. And this one is the best, hands down. This one is the one that I could not put down, that I both feared finishing and needed to finish. This book, this tiny, beautiful book, gave name to those unnameable things.
medusa is wholly human in this story. Her monstrosity lies in the gaze of other people, in being looked at; time and time again she hides herself from people, tries to save them, and cannot -- it's not her choice. Very little is of her own free will, and that which is her own free will is punished. She is silenced, cursed, made forever to hide alone, separate from her family and her people.
I have so many feelings about this story I don't think I'll ever manage to convey all of them. I love the whole of it, and the details of it (the refusal to speak or think his name is something that resonated deeply with me). I love this short aching tender story about trauma, about healing, about fate, about choices, about monstrosity. It makes you ask questions of it that never quite get an answer: what makes a monster? can fate be changed? what kind of healing can this story ever have? I approached it already knowing what happens in the original myths and in the version that the author used, and I hoped despite warnings that the story would be changed, that she would be triumphant, that it might be different this time.
The monster is a monster is a monster. It's never the monsters that get new endings, it's the heroes; and this book makes you wonder why. It represents rape culture very well in my opinion, and echoes things that I've heard or things that I've experienced myself.
Honestly the only bad part about this book, really, is that it was so short. I wanted hundreds more pages. And I would want to tell the author how much this story meant, how it felt to have this narrative written with sensitivity and with skill, to finally see a medusa story that knows trauma and understands trauma and does not belittle it or set it up as a cutesy thing for a man to help her overcome.
I've never written a review before, but I had to make an exception for this. It really is the best story about medusa that I have ever read. I wish more people would find this book, because it really is life-changing and revolutionary. I'll be thinking about this book for a very long time.
Thank you, author, for writing this.
May 12, 2021
4 ★
I liked this, it's the very simple and very short story of Medusa & Perseus. I think overall I would've liked it more if it were a little bit longer, at times the story felt very vague as it is supposed to leave you "guessing" at what happens, but at the end I feel like I had to google to make sense of what actually happened. All in all, Medusa was another woman robbed by the gods.
The formatting of this ebook is also god awful. I'm not sure why it's set up into block quotes. The flashbacks to how Medusa was created are separated with a "**" and it just feels like a chapter break between flashbacks would've been so much better imo.
I liked this, it's the very simple and very short story of Medusa & Perseus. I think overall I would've liked it more if it were a little bit longer, at times the story felt very vague as it is supposed to leave you "guessing" at what happens, but at the end I feel like I had to google to make sense of what actually happened. All in all, Medusa was another woman robbed by the gods.
The formatting of this ebook is also god awful. I'm not sure why it's set up into block quotes. The flashbacks to how Medusa was created are separated with a "**" and it just feels like a chapter break between flashbacks would've been so much better imo.
January 27, 2021
The writing is full of potential and has some really beautiful moments (although it is a little awkward at times). I loved this take on Medusa, and Perseus, and it's exploration of themes and events. Honestly, I could have had a whole novel of this.
April 18, 2018
"The world doesn’t want me. There are enough monsters here already."
This is sheer beauty at every turn. The words fall off the pages and I am urged to not stop chasing them to the final line.
A story based on a myth that I know little about, with no assumed knowledge, and a focus on the human and the god; the human in the god, perhaps.
I feel there is little I can say that can give justice to what I’ve spent today reading, let alone express it in a way that compares to how poetic some of these are detailed. It’s heartfelt, non-linear and really, really beautiful.
This is sheer beauty at every turn. The words fall off the pages and I am urged to not stop chasing them to the final line.
A story based on a myth that I know little about, with no assumed knowledge, and a focus on the human and the god; the human in the god, perhaps.
I feel there is little I can say that can give justice to what I’ve spent today reading, let alone express it in a way that compares to how poetic some of these are detailed. It’s heartfelt, non-linear and really, really beautiful.
October 2, 2022
Second time reading:
I'm upping the rating to a full 5 stars. This retelling is so heartbreaking and beautiful, and it's incredibly well written! There's such a punch packed into such a short book. Reading it is a wonderfully tragic experience.
First time reading:
How come I know how the myth goes and I was still shocked at the ending? I want to cry. Medusa is my favorite myth and this novella was a fantastic retelling of her story. I loved the writing!
I'm upping the rating to a full 5 stars. This retelling is so heartbreaking and beautiful, and it's incredibly well written! There's such a punch packed into such a short book. Reading it is a wonderfully tragic experience.
First time reading:
How come I know how the myth goes and I was still shocked at the ending? I want to cry. Medusa is my favorite myth and this novella was a fantastic retelling of her story. I loved the writing!
April 21, 2019
As a reader, it left me deeply moved; as a writer, I’m sick with jealousy.
April 15, 2020
Best hour of the week - a sad but lovely nugget of a short story.
August 12, 2022
3.5
I should start reading synopses 😵💫 I thought this was a book about Vietnam or something
I should start reading synopses 😵💫 I thought this was a book about Vietnam or something
January 9, 2022
Perseus, you fuckboy.
Those are my deep thoughts, thank you, drive through.
This was a really lovely and moving story, which carries a lot more weight than you might think for how short it is. Medusa is one of most well-known names from Greek mythology, but she's also one of the most misunderstood and poorly served ones among the general public. She's the monster with snakes for hair who turned people to stone if they looked her in the eyes. That's the only biography she's often allowed. It might be true in and of itself, but it's not her whole truth. I'm really glad the author wanted to do her part to correct this, to show people how Medusa came to be that way, the pain and trauma that underlies it, and the last gasp of cruelty visited upon her by yet another asshole she had the misfortune to come across.
I appreciated the emotion and feeling given to Medusa here, and I really liked the almost dream-like quality to the writing. Since this is based on myth, it felt very fitting. The moments right before the ending when she's emerged from the cave finally and is experiencing the world—indeed, the world entire—for the first time in ages with all of her senses is incredibly moving and gorgeously written. If you know the myth, you know what's about to happen, but I found myself somehow hoping it wouldn't.
I did wish this were just a bit longer. I know it's only meant to be a short one, but the Kindle edition is only 56 pages and I would have liked to get a little more about her backstory, more explanation of what Athena did to her after discovering her in the temple, more detail about how Medusa managed to pass the many many days of solitude she's endured. But I did really like this, and I hope it can give some people a fuller understanding of this character.
(There was a "let out a breath I didn't know I was holding" moment early on, but I'll forgive it because the rest of the writing was poignant and singular.)
(Also, once again, with feeling: Perseus, you fuckboy. )
Those are my deep thoughts, thank you, drive through.
This was a really lovely and moving story, which carries a lot more weight than you might think for how short it is. Medusa is one of most well-known names from Greek mythology, but she's also one of the most misunderstood and poorly served ones among the general public. She's the monster with snakes for hair who turned people to stone if they looked her in the eyes. That's the only biography she's often allowed. It might be true in and of itself, but it's not her whole truth. I'm really glad the author wanted to do her part to correct this, to show people how Medusa came to be that way, the pain and trauma that underlies it, and the last gasp of cruelty visited upon her by yet another asshole she had the misfortune to come across.
I appreciated the emotion and feeling given to Medusa here, and I really liked the almost dream-like quality to the writing. Since this is based on myth, it felt very fitting. The moments right before the ending when she's emerged from the cave finally and is experiencing the world—indeed, the world entire—for the first time in ages with all of her senses is incredibly moving and gorgeously written. If you know the myth, you know what's about to happen, but I found myself somehow hoping it wouldn't.
I did wish this were just a bit longer. I know it's only meant to be a short one, but the Kindle edition is only 56 pages and I would have liked to get a little more about her backstory, more explanation of what Athena did to her after discovering her in the temple, more detail about how Medusa managed to pass the many many days of solitude she's endured. But I did really like this, and I hope it can give some people a fuller understanding of this character.
(There was a "let out a breath I didn't know I was holding" moment early on, but I'll forgive it because the rest of the writing was poignant and singular.)
(Also, once again, with feeling: Perseus, you fuckboy. )
May 31, 2019
What an interesting read, it definitely has the potential to be an amazing book! A retelling of Medusa done very well! Only wish it was longer.
August 30, 2024
I follow the author on social media and love every bit of writing she posts so of course i also bought the only published book she has though i didn't get around to reading it for a while. It's a great take on the myth of Medusa, one I've not encountered before, and written before the current trend of myth retellings (though in their light should perhaps get some well deserved attention). A short but poignant tale that makes you join the hate club some Greek male heroes truly deserve (Perseus, Theseus... not to mention the gods. It took me Natalie Haynes' mythology books to realise Athena who was my favourite as a child truly is a man's woman and will in any situation involving the two genders pick the man's side).
December 20, 2021
Wow, I can't remember the last book I read that got me in my feelings quite like this!
Here, The World Entire is a very short book (less than 100 pages) written from the perspective of Medusa as she hides in her cave and is visited by Perseus. She speaks with Perseus about her past and they form a friendship, ultimately making her feel alive and like she is still a part of the world... a world that betrayed her so horribly.
The last chapter of this book was especially moving and so beautifully written, I am in awe of Anwen Kya Hayward as an author - one to look our for for sure!
Absolutely loved this, 5 stars!!!!
Here, The World Entire is a very short book (less than 100 pages) written from the perspective of Medusa as she hides in her cave and is visited by Perseus. She speaks with Perseus about her past and they form a friendship, ultimately making her feel alive and like she is still a part of the world... a world that betrayed her so horribly.
The last chapter of this book was especially moving and so beautifully written, I am in awe of Anwen Kya Hayward as an author - one to look our for for sure!
Absolutely loved this, 5 stars!!!!
May 13, 2023
It's the story of Medusa. You know how it starts, and you know how it ends, right?
But it's the middle part that intrigues. Hayward's writing is prosaic, more focused on thoughts and feelings than actions, but I don't know that you could tell this story any other way. And, of course, it makes the ending that much more heartbreaking.
But it's the middle part that intrigues. Hayward's writing is prosaic, more focused on thoughts and feelings than actions, but I don't know that you could tell this story any other way. And, of course, it makes the ending that much more heartbreaking.
August 13, 2020
I have never been so immediately emotionally hooked into a protagonist. Medusa is my favourite of all the mythological figures, and this little 83 page book gutted me. I could reread this every day and never tire of it.
January 12, 2021
“i know that he is a hero; i know what heroes are asked to do.”
beautiful and devastating, please leave me alone to cry. i need a full-length novel about medusa yesterday.
rating: 4/5 stars
May 30, 2017
This book was written by someone I follow on Tumblr. She had hilarious stories about her cat on her blog, interspersed with Greek mythology. She actually posted a shorter version of this story before she turned it into a novella. So, I was very interested in reading the expanded version.
Here, The World Entire is a retelling of the Perseus myth, the part where he's tasked with retrieving Medusa's head. It's told from Medusa's perspective. Maybe that's been done before, but I've never come across it. I sincerely doubt it was so artfully done.
Medusa had a life before she became the snake-headed woman of legend, so ugly she turned men to stone. At least, in many versions of the myth, she does. This story goes with that interpretation, of the woman sworn to Athena, then betrayed by her goddess because Poseidon takes an interest in her.
And then it goes deeper. It posits that Medusa's exile is self-inflicted, because she can't stand turning people to stone. She warns people away, begs them not to look at her, and is heartbroken when they succumb to her curse. This Medusa is no monster, bent on revenge against all men for what one god did to her. She's a human, cursed by the goddess who was supposed to protect her.
The story gets into a lot of what mythology won't tell you. Myths don't depict the human view toward the gods, that they didn't worship them as all-knowing, benevolent entities. The Greek gods were viewed with dread, too, and derision. They were just as flawed as the people who worshiped them. They were just as subject to whims, or prejudices. We want to see Athena nowadays as a feminist icon, but, in the world that built her up, they assumed she hated women as much as they did. Medusa understands that, in this novella, but not until it's too late.
As much as I have a soft spot for mythology retellings, this one is beautifully done. It adds a lot to the Medusa myth, without taking away from what's already out there. I highly recommend it.
Unfortunately, you will not find this book at most retailers. You'll need to order it online if you want to read it. You really should.
Here, The World Entire is a retelling of the Perseus myth, the part where he's tasked with retrieving Medusa's head. It's told from Medusa's perspective. Maybe that's been done before, but I've never come across it. I sincerely doubt it was so artfully done.
Medusa had a life before she became the snake-headed woman of legend, so ugly she turned men to stone. At least, in many versions of the myth, she does. This story goes with that interpretation, of the woman sworn to Athena, then betrayed by her goddess because Poseidon takes an interest in her.
And then it goes deeper. It posits that Medusa's exile is self-inflicted, because she can't stand turning people to stone. She warns people away, begs them not to look at her, and is heartbroken when they succumb to her curse. This Medusa is no monster, bent on revenge against all men for what one god did to her. She's a human, cursed by the goddess who was supposed to protect her.
The story gets into a lot of what mythology won't tell you. Myths don't depict the human view toward the gods, that they didn't worship them as all-knowing, benevolent entities. The Greek gods were viewed with dread, too, and derision. They were just as flawed as the people who worshiped them. They were just as subject to whims, or prejudices. We want to see Athena nowadays as a feminist icon, but, in the world that built her up, they assumed she hated women as much as they did. Medusa understands that, in this novella, but not until it's too late.
As much as I have a soft spot for mythology retellings, this one is beautifully done. It adds a lot to the Medusa myth, without taking away from what's already out there. I highly recommend it.
Unfortunately, you will not find this book at most retailers. You'll need to order it online if you want to read it. You really should.
April 23, 2021
This novella can be easily finished in an hour, with no distractions that is. I had quite a few that took me away from it a few times, and each time I found myself not really in a rush to get back into it.
This whole book was so bizarre and awkward. The writing and editing felt a bit clumsy, I kept stumbling over passages and having to re-read them. There were moments of dialogue where I did not understand who was speaking.
This Medusa is not the Medusa that I know and love. How do you write Medusa without her snakes? How has this Medusa lived for hundreds of years and not figured out how her curse works?
The most tension that I felt while reading this was when a small child wanders into Medusa's cave, but then the scene wraps up so awkwardly that it falls flat. The whole time, Medusa is freaking out and scared of hurting the child. She's hiding in the shadows against the wall of the cave, and yet she's taking peeks at the child and looking at what she holds in her hands. Just...turn around? Don't look at her? This Medusa doesn't have snakes biting her and compelling her to look, so why? I don't get it.
This whole book was so bizarre and awkward. The writing and editing felt a bit clumsy, I kept stumbling over passages and having to re-read them. There were moments of dialogue where I did not understand who was speaking.
This Medusa is not the Medusa that I know and love. How do you write Medusa without her snakes? How has this Medusa lived for hundreds of years and not figured out how her curse works?
The most tension that I felt while reading this was when a small child wanders into Medusa's cave, but then the scene wraps up so awkwardly that it falls flat. The whole time, Medusa is freaking out and scared of hurting the child. She's hiding in the shadows against the wall of the cave, and yet she's taking peeks at the child and looking at what she holds in her hands. Just...turn around? Don't look at her? This Medusa doesn't have snakes biting her and compelling her to look, so why? I don't get it.
September 2, 2023
Here, The World Entire by Anwen Kya Hayward
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
~~~~~
After being accused of desecrating Athena's temple and subsequently cursed with monstrousness, Medusa lives alone on the outskirts of the world, secluding herself from everyone so as to keep both herself and the rest of the world safe. When Perseus comes to ask for her help, Medusa tries desperately to make him leave, but no matter what she does, Perseus stays.
~~~~~
This is a tiny bite of a book that moves away from the traditional depiction of Medusa as a monster, and focuses on her humanity, her gentleness and deep despair after suffering violence and betrayal at the hands of Gods and humans alike.
The writing flowed beautifully and showed such care for the tragic character of Medusa. If you know the myth, then the ending comes as no surprise, and yet my heart broke; it was powerful and sorrowful, and so very beautiful.
~~~~~
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
~~~~~
After being accused of desecrating Athena's temple and subsequently cursed with monstrousness, Medusa lives alone on the outskirts of the world, secluding herself from everyone so as to keep both herself and the rest of the world safe. When Perseus comes to ask for her help, Medusa tries desperately to make him leave, but no matter what she does, Perseus stays.
~~~~~
This is a tiny bite of a book that moves away from the traditional depiction of Medusa as a monster, and focuses on her humanity, her gentleness and deep despair after suffering violence and betrayal at the hands of Gods and humans alike.
The writing flowed beautifully and showed such care for the tragic character of Medusa. If you know the myth, then the ending comes as no surprise, and yet my heart broke; it was powerful and sorrowful, and so very beautiful.
~~~~~
July 8, 2017
It was so hearbreakingly beautiful. I know the myth. I have read the stories. And yet, I wanted her to find a way. Despite that, I think that the story was even more beautiful because she didn't. And it wasn't fair. I enjoyed this more than I originally thought I would. I think this was just what I needed to get myself out of the reading funk I have been in. I highly recommend this story to anyone, especially those who love Greek mythology. Beautiful.
August 22, 2020
Some passages were flowery to the point of not being clear. I thought the avoidance of Poseidon's name could have been done more naturally. Glad I've read it though as it shows a more human Medusa than we're used to
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