What do you think?
Rate this book
Persephone’s Choice
What if the gods were condemned to immortality due to the continued storytelling by mortals? What if Hades met Persephone in contemporary Singapore? Would their story still arrive at its age-old conclusion?
As far as she knows, Sophie is an ordinary florist living an ordinary mortal life in Singapore whilst caring for an aged mother suffering from dementia. One day, a peculiar man with the same name as the ancient Greek god of the Underworld crashes into her life and falls heavier and heavier in her debt. Sophie tries to help him recover from amnesia and get back on his feet, while in the meantime, arranging for him to work for room and board at her flower shop. As time goes by, she grows accustomed to his company. She becomes unsure if she actually wants him to quickly pay off his debt and step out of her life just as abruptly as he had arrived…
Absurd, comedic, and tender at the same time, this whimsical variation of the classic Greek myth will not fail to amuse and delight.
As far as she knows, Sophie is an ordinary florist living an ordinary mortal life in Singapore whilst caring for an aged mother suffering from dementia. One day, a peculiar man with the same name as the ancient Greek god of the Underworld crashes into her life and falls heavier and heavier in her debt. Sophie tries to help him recover from amnesia and get back on his feet, while in the meantime, arranging for him to work for room and board at her flower shop. As time goes by, she grows accustomed to his company. She becomes unsure if she actually wants him to quickly pay off his debt and step out of her life just as abruptly as he had arrived…
Absurd, comedic, and tender at the same time, this whimsical variation of the classic Greek myth will not fail to amuse and delight.
200 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2021
4 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
March 2, 2022
While I appreciated the Asian setting, this retelling just didn’t wow me. It’s cute, but very predictable and there were no real plot twists.
January 16, 2022
4.5 ⭐
This was so charming and perfect!
Even though it was quite simplistic (especially the writing at times), this retelling of Hades and Persephone was so charming, atmosphericall and simple that it made it even more perfect.
The love that Sophie put through in her work and caring for each and every customer and character throughout this story was so touching and remind me a lot of some florists in Japan where they especially design flower arrangements depending on the person's feelings and what they want to transmit by the flowers.
I wish I can find more charming stories like this that puts easily a smile on my face 🥰
This was so charming and perfect!
Even though it was quite simplistic (especially the writing at times), this retelling of Hades and Persephone was so charming, atmosphericall and simple that it made it even more perfect.
The love that Sophie put through in her work and caring for each and every customer and character throughout this story was so touching and remind me a lot of some florists in Japan where they especially design flower arrangements depending on the person's feelings and what they want to transmit by the flowers.
I wish I can find more charming stories like this that puts easily a smile on my face 🥰
July 15, 2023
3 lub 3,5 w zależności, z jakiej perspektywy na tę książkę patrz.
Z perspektywy logiki - 3. Wiele ścieżek fabularnych trzymało się tu na ślinę, jakby autorka wierzyła, że czytelnik, znając oryginalny mit - który zresztą został w książce przytoczony - sam dopowie sobie resztę.
Gdybym miała oceniać tę książkę jako coś na pograniczu romansu i komedii, to 3,5 mimo że relacja Hadesa i Sophie była trochę sucha. Z drugiej strony w miarę pasowało to do kreacji Hadesa, który był bardzo stonowaną postacią. Sophie za to jest przeuroczym promyczkiem, więc mamy tu chyba naleciałości tropu grumpy & sunshine? W każdym razie polubiłam związek tych bohaterów i za to 0,5 gwiazdki wyżej.
Z perspektywy logiki - 3. Wiele ścieżek fabularnych trzymało się tu na ślinę, jakby autorka wierzyła, że czytelnik, znając oryginalny mit - który zresztą został w książce przytoczony - sam dopowie sobie resztę.
Gdybym miała oceniać tę książkę jako coś na pograniczu romansu i komedii, to 3,5 mimo że relacja Hadesa i Sophie była trochę sucha. Z drugiej strony w miarę pasowało to do kreacji Hadesa, który był bardzo stonowaną postacią. Sophie za to jest przeuroczym promyczkiem, więc mamy tu chyba naleciałości tropu grumpy & sunshine? W każdym razie polubiłam związek tych bohaterów i za to 0,5 gwiazdki wyżej.
June 22, 2023
I'm sorry to say this, but this book had no substance whatsoever? I appreciated the setting being Singapore, but other than that, I got nothing out of this. Persephone and Hades had no chemistry at all, Persephone's reaction to finding out she was a goddess was literally non-existent and the fact that her mother just pretended to have dementia was just brushed under the rug? Hades' amnesia was never explained either? Also the inclusion of the pandemic threw me out of the story entirely. I read books to escape from reality, not to relive it. Either I had amesia myself reading this and just didn't register important chunks of the story or this just wasn't that good. P.S.: I read this book as an audiobook and didn't like the narration that much, so maybe that's skewing my judgement here too.
⭐,5 stars
⭐,5 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2024
It was good. That’s all I can say.
As for a Greek Mythology retelling it fell flat. I felt like everything it tried to do was just too modern and it just didn’t work. The romance felt rushed and didn’t feel honest. The characters didn’t make that much sense.
The epilogue was cute but the character development throughout was iffy at best.
As for a Greek Mythology retelling it fell flat. I felt like everything it tried to do was just too modern and it just didn’t work. The romance felt rushed and didn’t feel honest. The characters didn’t make that much sense.
The epilogue was cute but the character development throughout was iffy at best.
June 13, 2023
Another disappointment of the day
March 23, 2022
I love greek mythology, especially when authors try to retell the story and frame it within the modern era. Sometimes, reading the actual greek mythology text can be quite daunting.
Circe was my favorite of all, and now, another one joins the ranks.
Narrated in simple language, the story follows Hades as he landed in the mortal realm, and of all places, Singapore! Suffering amnesia, he isn't sure what his purpose in coming to the mortal realm was. So happens, Sophie aka Persephone witnessed the commotion of his arrival and invites him into her flower shop. Kind Sophie brought him to the doctors to get examined but they still could not find out what was wrong with Hades. No one came forward to claim him as their missing relative, given his temporary amnesia. Sophie kindly allowed him to stay with her and work at her flower shop to pay for his medical bills. From there, their friendship blossomed.
Sophie was staying with her mother, who suffered from dementia. However, one night, she became lucid and threatened Hades to stay away from Sophie. Despite that, the thread of fate or destiny pulled Hades and Sophie closer and closer. It's only midway through the book that we find out that Sophie's mum is none other than the Demeter, Goddess of Harvest. She came to Hade's room one night and made him read the story 'The Abduction of Persephone'. Shocked that he actually did abduct Persephone, Hades resolved that he will do things differently; he would give Persephone a choice.
Demeter is bitter and sure that Hades would steal her daughter away from her and in her fury she let her duty slip; one small tenth of a virus passing from beast to men resulting in the pandemic that we know today. How clever of the author to deftly slip this into the plot! I had to flip to the front of the book to double-check the date of publication.
I wasn't very well versed in the story of Hades and Persephone. Halfway through the book, I had to do a quick google to get a rough grasp of the two Greek gods.
The idea that fate/destiny is set and doomed to repeat through many lifetimes, is explored quite simply here. As fate would have it, the entire story played out as it should. Zeus summoned Hades and Demeter to one of his holiday homes at, you guessed it, Sentosa Cove to uncover what acutally happened to cause the outbreak of the Pandemic. Did Demeter really neglect her duty? Was Hades indirectly responsible for a million+ lives coming through the gates of the Underworld in a year? In the end, Zues ruled that Persephone would spend 60 years with Demeter, and 60 years with Hades for as long as they shall live, or as long as mortals keep retelling their stories.
It's quite a quick read, I finished it in an afternoon. It won't be as epic as the retold story of Circe but it's deniftely worth a read.
Circe was my favorite of all, and now, another one joins the ranks.
Narrated in simple language, the story follows Hades as he landed in the mortal realm, and of all places, Singapore! Suffering amnesia, he isn't sure what his purpose in coming to the mortal realm was. So happens, Sophie aka Persephone witnessed the commotion of his arrival and invites him into her flower shop. Kind Sophie brought him to the doctors to get examined but they still could not find out what was wrong with Hades. No one came forward to claim him as their missing relative, given his temporary amnesia. Sophie kindly allowed him to stay with her and work at her flower shop to pay for his medical bills. From there, their friendship blossomed.
Sophie was staying with her mother, who suffered from dementia. However, one night, she became lucid and threatened Hades to stay away from Sophie. Despite that, the thread of fate or destiny pulled Hades and Sophie closer and closer. It's only midway through the book that we find out that Sophie's mum is none other than the Demeter, Goddess of Harvest. She came to Hade's room one night and made him read the story 'The Abduction of Persephone'. Shocked that he actually did abduct Persephone, Hades resolved that he will do things differently; he would give Persephone a choice.
Demeter is bitter and sure that Hades would steal her daughter away from her and in her fury she let her duty slip; one small tenth of a virus passing from beast to men resulting in the pandemic that we know today. How clever of the author to deftly slip this into the plot! I had to flip to the front of the book to double-check the date of publication.
I wasn't very well versed in the story of Hades and Persephone. Halfway through the book, I had to do a quick google to get a rough grasp of the two Greek gods.
The idea that fate/destiny is set and doomed to repeat through many lifetimes, is explored quite simply here. As fate would have it, the entire story played out as it should. Zeus summoned Hades and Demeter to one of his holiday homes at, you guessed it, Sentosa Cove to uncover what acutally happened to cause the outbreak of the Pandemic. Did Demeter really neglect her duty? Was Hades indirectly responsible for a million+ lives coming through the gates of the Underworld in a year? In the end, Zues ruled that Persephone would spend 60 years with Demeter, and 60 years with Hades for as long as they shall live, or as long as mortals keep retelling their stories.
It's quite a quick read, I finished it in an afternoon. It won't be as epic as the retold story of Circe but it's deniftely worth a read.
June 6, 2023
4.0
A lovely little retelling of Hades and Persephone set in Singapore! I loved the chemistry between Hades and Persephone, they really did seem like they fit together well. I also really liked the use of Demeter as the cause of the pandemic, that was really creative. But despite all this, I think this needed a few more chapters to become a fully formed story, there were just a lot of dryness that didn’t help with the colours of the story, and sometimes the interactions between characters felt unnatural. It could have done with some more pages.
A lovely little retelling of Hades and Persephone set in Singapore! I loved the chemistry between Hades and Persephone, they really did seem like they fit together well. I also really liked the use of Demeter as the cause of the pandemic, that was really creative. But despite all this, I think this needed a few more chapters to become a fully formed story, there were just a lot of dryness that didn’t help with the colours of the story, and sometimes the interactions between characters felt unnatural. It could have done with some more pages.
March 17, 2023
In Singapore at the moment and wanting to read some local authors. A cute read, with some philosophical musings. Nothing really that made me wow, but curiously some passages that were very true to life. I appreciated Singapore as the backdrop but it wasn't overt or in your face - just a reminder that reading local doesn't have to mean it's LOCAL.
July 18, 2022
Hands down my favorite Hades and Persephone retelling I’ve read. It really stood out to me because of how funny and lighthearted it was compared to all the other retellings out there. I also liked that it was a short, quick read. We all need those every once in a while.
January 24, 2022
This was cute, quick and lighthearted.
October 18, 2022
Florist lady with dementia mom meets a homeless and unemployed man who doesn't remember anything. Instead of letting the authorities handle him, she brings him home and he proceeds to stay at her house for the next few months. After all, he needs to repay his debt since she paid for his hospitalization bills and all (which wouldn't have happened if she had left him to the police or the social workers in the first place, but never mind.) He starts working as her part-timer and they fall in love. Mom does not like the boyfriend unfortunately.
While the premise was interesting and full of potential, the book felt unpolished. Furthermore, the two main characters did not have very interesting personalities despite having extraordinary backgrounds. They are just nice and kind and patient, which was a wasted opportunity as the book could have shared a lot more about their inner struggles. For example:
1) Sophie's feelings as a caregiver, breadwinner and daughter of a dementia patient could have been further explored.
2) Sophie's feelings after discovering that she is Persephone, a Greek goddess, and her mom is a Greek god. (The book did explore how she felt after she discovered that Hades is a god but her reaction was quite underwhelming.)
3) Hades' feelings as a man who could not be with his lover for years
4) Hades' experience being in a totally new environment, in Singapore even
Instead, both characters seemed to just accept their circumstances without much struggle.
In addition, the speech patterns of the characters felt a bit inconsistent, which throw me off a little.
1) The characters sometimes speak politely, old-fashioned even -
Sophie to Hades: "No.. I don't mean that. I'm just curious to know what it is you need here, on earth. Or, are you simply on vacation? I certainly don't begrudge that, no, good sir! Even the God of the Afterlife needs a break once in a while."
Hades to Hermes, his underling: "What's toxic is your wretched attempt to keep up with the vagaries of mortal fashions. Please, don't debase yourself so. It's embarrassing to watch."
2) Other times they speak rather casually or crudely -
Sophie to Anne, a new customer: "I'll make him the best goddamned fire truck bouquet in the word."
Hades to Mr Chang, a customer: "Hey, man, you got a minute?"
3) Sometimes they say things that are not usually said during a conversation -
Sophie to Hades: "It's not so conducive to be discussing such portentous topics, whilst scurrying around like thieves in the dead of night."
I also found that there are some gaps in the world building. Firstly, if the continued storytelling is what makes the gods immortal, then why did Hades appear out of nowhere instead of from the start? After all, this book takes place in today's age and so many people all over the world are reading about Greek gods and consuming media about them in the form of movies and TV shows.
Secondly, why is Sophie born in human form with no memories of her past life as Persephone, when her mother Demeter could latch on to those memories in every single human form that she is in and transform into a cat as and when she likes?
Thirdly, despite Singapore's multi-religious background, the book didn't attempt to reconcile the different religious beliefs. Instead, it assumes that the Greek mythology version is the official one, as seen in that scene where Anne's son could be found in the Hades' underworld. Which is funny because what if Anne and her son belonged to another religion? Even Hades himself conceded in a passing remark that there is a Christian hell. Some explanation could have been made, even if it's just fantasy.
Moreover, as Singapore is multi-racial, and Singaporeans are very mindful about race, I am interested to know what race Hades was in when he came to Singapore lol. White? Chinese? Malay? Indian? The lack of any indicator is very convenient for the writer as no further explanations are needed (and by extension, reducing the risks of being inappropriate), but as a reader I do think it's crucial especially in a place like Singapore.
In addition, the context of the pandemic, which is obviously a reference to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was funny, but it should have been elaborated. While it may be obvious to us now what are the implications of the pandemic (mask-wearing, non-essential shops being forced to close temporarily) since we are still going through it, I imagine that it would be confusing for future younger readers who did not go through the whole pandemic. A paragraph explaining the regulations would have sufficed but it was not included I think.
Lastly, the theme of destiny was a bit confusing. It felt like the story couldn't form a conclusion about whether destiny and fate is real or not. In the scene where Demeter confronts Hades with the storybook, Hades declares that "destiny is dead. Fate does not exist". Yet towards the end of the book, Chang, who has since met the woman he wants to marry, commented, "When I think about it this way, how can I not say that yuanfen exists?" Sophie also goes on to be subject to the same sad fate of having to spend time with her mom half of her life and the next half with Hades. Her only choice, it seems, is in whether she wants to marry Hades, which she actually does. By this turn of events, doesn't that mean that Hades has failed in his mission to prove that destiny is dead? After all, realistically no one would want to marry a person that they won't be able to see until they are in their 80s lol, so destiny seems to be the only force that keeps Sophie in love with Hades. (I would be so angry with Zeus if I were Sophie. Tbh, I think I would rather break up with Hades and find a good earthling as my husband instead of an absent one.)
Final comments
Personally, I do believe in yuanfen. Since it's impossible to know everybody in the world, I believe it is yuanfen that brings a select few of people to our lives. However, I also believe that good choices are the key that makes a relationship work. After all, the logic of yuanfen is indiscriminate in the sense that it also brings people you don't like to your life even if temporarily (at least this is what I was taught). I like that the book tried to explore this destiny vs choice debate but I feel that more could have been done to elaborate on the whys behind each choice that the character makes. I also feel that the story could have elaborated on why they are in love instead of showing that they are in love. I just don't buy their love story. Maybe I am just a sceptic but it just seems to me that Sophie is smitten by the fact that a handsome god is working as her deliveryman who happened to be the only person there to hug her and do whatever she wants and nothing else.
Nevertheless, having read Fear of the Guest as well, I would say this book is much more structured and neat. I like that the author incorporated the original mythology in it as I am unfamiliar with Greek mythology. That being said, I feel that FotG, although quite messy, was a lot more raw with struggles that the characters actually attempted to resolve, which seemed to be a little lacking in this book.
While the premise was interesting and full of potential, the book felt unpolished. Furthermore, the two main characters did not have very interesting personalities despite having extraordinary backgrounds. They are just nice and kind and patient, which was a wasted opportunity as the book could have shared a lot more about their inner struggles. For example:
1) Sophie's feelings as a caregiver, breadwinner and daughter of a dementia patient could have been further explored.
2) Sophie's feelings after discovering that she is Persephone, a Greek goddess, and her mom is a Greek god. (The book did explore how she felt after she discovered that Hades is a god but her reaction was quite underwhelming.)
3) Hades' feelings as a man who could not be with his lover for years
4) Hades' experience being in a totally new environment, in Singapore even
Instead, both characters seemed to just accept their circumstances without much struggle.
In addition, the speech patterns of the characters felt a bit inconsistent, which throw me off a little.
1) The characters sometimes speak politely, old-fashioned even -
Sophie to Hades: "No.. I don't mean that. I'm just curious to know what it is you need here, on earth. Or, are you simply on vacation? I certainly don't begrudge that, no, good sir! Even the God of the Afterlife needs a break once in a while."
Hades to Hermes, his underling: "What's toxic is your wretched attempt to keep up with the vagaries of mortal fashions. Please, don't debase yourself so. It's embarrassing to watch."
2) Other times they speak rather casually or crudely -
Sophie to Anne, a new customer: "I'll make him the best goddamned fire truck bouquet in the word."
Hades to Mr Chang, a customer: "Hey, man, you got a minute?"
3) Sometimes they say things that are not usually said during a conversation -
Sophie to Hades: "It's not so conducive to be discussing such portentous topics, whilst scurrying around like thieves in the dead of night."
I also found that there are some gaps in the world building. Firstly, if the continued storytelling is what makes the gods immortal, then why did Hades appear out of nowhere instead of from the start? After all, this book takes place in today's age and so many people all over the world are reading about Greek gods and consuming media about them in the form of movies and TV shows.
Secondly, why is Sophie born in human form with no memories of her past life as Persephone, when her mother Demeter could latch on to those memories in every single human form that she is in and transform into a cat as and when she likes?
Thirdly, despite Singapore's multi-religious background, the book didn't attempt to reconcile the different religious beliefs. Instead, it assumes that the Greek mythology version is the official one, as seen in that scene where Anne's son could be found in the Hades' underworld. Which is funny because what if Anne and her son belonged to another religion? Even Hades himself conceded in a passing remark that there is a Christian hell. Some explanation could have been made, even if it's just fantasy.
Moreover, as Singapore is multi-racial, and Singaporeans are very mindful about race, I am interested to know what race Hades was in when he came to Singapore lol. White? Chinese? Malay? Indian? The lack of any indicator is very convenient for the writer as no further explanations are needed (and by extension, reducing the risks of being inappropriate), but as a reader I do think it's crucial especially in a place like Singapore.
In addition, the context of the pandemic, which is obviously a reference to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was funny, but it should have been elaborated. While it may be obvious to us now what are the implications of the pandemic (mask-wearing, non-essential shops being forced to close temporarily) since we are still going through it, I imagine that it would be confusing for future younger readers who did not go through the whole pandemic. A paragraph explaining the regulations would have sufficed but it was not included I think.
Lastly, the theme of destiny was a bit confusing. It felt like the story couldn't form a conclusion about whether destiny and fate is real or not. In the scene where Demeter confronts Hades with the storybook, Hades declares that "destiny is dead. Fate does not exist". Yet towards the end of the book, Chang, who has since met the woman he wants to marry, commented, "When I think about it this way, how can I not say that yuanfen exists?" Sophie also goes on to be subject to the same sad fate of having to spend time with her mom half of her life and the next half with Hades. Her only choice, it seems, is in whether she wants to marry Hades, which she actually does. By this turn of events, doesn't that mean that Hades has failed in his mission to prove that destiny is dead? After all, realistically no one would want to marry a person that they won't be able to see until they are in their 80s lol, so destiny seems to be the only force that keeps Sophie in love with Hades. (I would be so angry with Zeus if I were Sophie. Tbh, I think I would rather break up with Hades and find a good earthling as my husband instead of an absent one.)
Final comments
Personally, I do believe in yuanfen. Since it's impossible to know everybody in the world, I believe it is yuanfen that brings a select few of people to our lives. However, I also believe that good choices are the key that makes a relationship work. After all, the logic of yuanfen is indiscriminate in the sense that it also brings people you don't like to your life even if temporarily (at least this is what I was taught). I like that the book tried to explore this destiny vs choice debate but I feel that more could have been done to elaborate on the whys behind each choice that the character makes. I also feel that the story could have elaborated on why they are in love instead of showing that they are in love. I just don't buy their love story. Maybe I am just a sceptic but it just seems to me that Sophie is smitten by the fact that a handsome god is working as her deliveryman who happened to be the only person there to hug her and do whatever she wants and nothing else.
Nevertheless, having read Fear of the Guest as well, I would say this book is much more structured and neat. I like that the author incorporated the original mythology in it as I am unfamiliar with Greek mythology. That being said, I feel that FotG, although quite messy, was a lot more raw with struggles that the characters actually attempted to resolve, which seemed to be a little lacking in this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 19, 2024
2.5 ⭐️
Tenia potencial para ser un 4 ⭐️ pero a pesar de tener un lindo mensaje y una buena prosa, termina siendo solo una historia con una buena premisa pero con un tercer acto un poco anti climático y algo decepcionante.
Tenia potencial para ser un 4 ⭐️ pero a pesar de tener un lindo mensaje y una buena prosa, termina siendo solo una historia con una buena premisa pero con un tercer acto un poco anti climático y algo decepcionante.
August 10, 2021
the CUTEST hades & persephone retelling i've ever read!
September 13, 2023
A cute story, but I feel like there were a lot of storyline starts that failed to be incorporated into the whole story, but if you take it as a short story and don't think about it too much then it was a cute little love story
July 22, 2023
przyjemna, chociaż srednio angażująca. Sophie jest wspaniałą bohaterką, wszyscy potrzebujemy kogoś takiego w życiu
August 1, 2021
If you love indie video games, you have probably heard of the roguelike action dungeon crawler “Hades”. If you’re anything like myself (who devoured the game and thereafter discovered a newfound geekiness for Greek mythology), please do yourself a favour and give Persephone’s Choice (“PC”) a read.
PC was a heartwarming read with various topics (depression, the experience and acceptance of loss, friendship and most importantly, love) cleverly explored and interwoven into a whimsical narrative. It is a light-hearted journey that felt suitably paced, and PC left me with a smile on my face. The various characters were surprisingly well fleshed out, and I found myself constantly taking notes on Hades’ valiant mannerisms and idiosyncrasies. To all the ladies out there: please note that Hades in PC sets the bar extremely high as far as being a true gentlemen goes - but most of us mere mortal men will try our best!
In particular, I can’t recommend this book enough for anyone who is coping or dealing with loss. Apart from being a refreshing spin on the age-old story of the Lord of the Underworld and his Queen, PC gives a different perspective and advocates that hope and meaning can indeed be found, regardless of how dire or frightful a situation may be.
A lovely read and perhaps just the motivation we need to get through these strange and troubled times.
PC was a heartwarming read with various topics (depression, the experience and acceptance of loss, friendship and most importantly, love) cleverly explored and interwoven into a whimsical narrative. It is a light-hearted journey that felt suitably paced, and PC left me with a smile on my face. The various characters were surprisingly well fleshed out, and I found myself constantly taking notes on Hades’ valiant mannerisms and idiosyncrasies. To all the ladies out there: please note that Hades in PC sets the bar extremely high as far as being a true gentlemen goes - but most of us mere mortal men will try our best!
In particular, I can’t recommend this book enough for anyone who is coping or dealing with loss. Apart from being a refreshing spin on the age-old story of the Lord of the Underworld and his Queen, PC gives a different perspective and advocates that hope and meaning can indeed be found, regardless of how dire or frightful a situation may be.
A lovely read and perhaps just the motivation we need to get through these strange and troubled times.
October 3, 2023
Overall, I thought the story was so cute and darling. The semi-ending... meh.... but the rest was cute.
The facts around the hinted-at covid??... Really NOT correct.
Face masks, by admission of the US government itself FINALLY, did not and does not, make any difference in stopping the spread of covid. In fact, because people constantly touch old, reused face masks, it actually HELPS to spread disease. Sadly, face masks were used as a political rallying tool by the liberal left.
You physically cannot read the expressions on a person's face when they are wearing a face mask. The smile does NOT "come thru" the opaque mask, nor is it clear from the eyes alone or even tone of voice, that a person is smiling or frowning etc. Face masks were a huge impediment to the hearing impaired and the deaf, indeed to communications even among unimpaired persons. The use of face masks and the social isolation feel they caused, in addition to the imposed-governmental physical "social" isolation (an oxymoron), helped to cause countless suicides.
We cannot romanticize the hugely deleterious impacts of the political decisions to enforce face mask use and social isolation.
People die from flu complications all the time, but they are not counted as the primary cause of death, as covid was... the "millions" of people who died is a fallacy. The covid virus has been around for thousands of years, and will continue to be around for thousands of years. We never kept numbers on covid complications before, so any numbers now are certainly going to be higher than nothing, and counting every death that may or may not have had "covid" associated with it (motor cycle accident with covid, or heart failure with covid, etc) create meaningless covid death counts.
A virus that kills it's host immediately has no hope of spreading, thus viruses that are highly deadly usually die out very quickly with their hosts. A virus that mutates to a milder form, allows the host to live, and thus gets spread more easily than any deadly virus does.
After the initial engineered covid strain that came out of a Wuhan lab (that also had funding by the US government under Fauci) the engineered-covid was a threat only to those who had 2.5 pre-existing conditions.... the very old and the very young... in the same way that RSV and the flu are a big threat to these populations.
Spoiler alert:
No, I would not have had Sophie stay with her mom for 60 years. How silly. A man leaves his mother and a woman leaves her home, and the two become one. A very selfish mother indeed denies her daughter's marital happiness.
The facts around the hinted-at covid??... Really NOT correct.
Face masks, by admission of the US government itself FINALLY, did not and does not, make any difference in stopping the spread of covid. In fact, because people constantly touch old, reused face masks, it actually HELPS to spread disease. Sadly, face masks were used as a political rallying tool by the liberal left.
You physically cannot read the expressions on a person's face when they are wearing a face mask. The smile does NOT "come thru" the opaque mask, nor is it clear from the eyes alone or even tone of voice, that a person is smiling or frowning etc. Face masks were a huge impediment to the hearing impaired and the deaf, indeed to communications even among unimpaired persons. The use of face masks and the social isolation feel they caused, in addition to the imposed-governmental physical "social" isolation (an oxymoron), helped to cause countless suicides.
We cannot romanticize the hugely deleterious impacts of the political decisions to enforce face mask use and social isolation.
People die from flu complications all the time, but they are not counted as the primary cause of death, as covid was... the "millions" of people who died is a fallacy. The covid virus has been around for thousands of years, and will continue to be around for thousands of years. We never kept numbers on covid complications before, so any numbers now are certainly going to be higher than nothing, and counting every death that may or may not have had "covid" associated with it (motor cycle accident with covid, or heart failure with covid, etc) create meaningless covid death counts.
A virus that kills it's host immediately has no hope of spreading, thus viruses that are highly deadly usually die out very quickly with their hosts. A virus that mutates to a milder form, allows the host to live, and thus gets spread more easily than any deadly virus does.
After the initial engineered covid strain that came out of a Wuhan lab (that also had funding by the US government under Fauci) the engineered-covid was a threat only to those who had 2.5 pre-existing conditions.... the very old and the very young... in the same way that RSV and the flu are a big threat to these populations.
Spoiler alert:
No, I would not have had Sophie stay with her mom for 60 years. How silly. A man leaves his mother and a woman leaves her home, and the two become one. A very selfish mother indeed denies her daughter's marital happiness.
April 29, 2023
3.5 stars but rounding up. I listened to to this book. It’s an interesting retelling of the Greek myth about Hades and Persephone. Hades drops down into the modern world of Singapore. He appears to be injured and can’t remember his name. Sophie, a sweet and caring young woman, who owns a florist shop, cares for him as he recovers. Sophie is caring for her mother who has dementia, so gives Hades her room and share a room with her mother. The Greek gods come alive in the modern world when their stories are retold by mortals which is how Hades appears in Sophie’s world as the Hades myth is one of her favorite stories. Hades and Sophie fall in love but Sophie’s mother who is actually Demeter, objects and somehow Zeus comes into the story to resolve the conflict between Demeter and Hades and how Sophie AKA Persephone will divide her time between the two worlds. The final chapter before the Epilogue wherein Hilda’s story about her mother (I think added to explain the mother-daughter bond that is the crux of the Persephone-Hades love story seemed odd. I rounded this up to 4 stars because I enjoyed the narrator.
February 21, 2022
A Singaporean adaptation of the Greek legend of Hades sweeping Persephone away into the underworld. Having read Stephen Fry's Mythos at around the same time, and understanding about the original myth of how winter came to be as a result of Demeter's grief from Persephone's absence, made this modern rendition feel somewhat lacking. Demeter here felt unreasonable, suspicious and angry at a prophecy instead of understandably heartbroken from the sudden loss of a beloved daughter. The lead up to a climax felt linear, with the lack of a twist. It was all over as soon as it started. With that said, I appreciated the Singaporean flavour and localisations in the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2023
I read a review that said - "Absurd, comedic, and tender at the same time, this whimsical variation of the classic Greek myth will not fail to amuse and delight," and I have to say that is a good summary of the book.
I enjoyed the book. An interesting twist on the story of Persephone & Hades. The tie in of the pandemic was interesting. If you like Greek Mythology and retellings of them, you will enjoy this story.
I enjoyed the book. An interesting twist on the story of Persephone & Hades. The tie in of the pandemic was interesting. If you like Greek Mythology and retellings of them, you will enjoy this story.
July 3, 2022
cute, light-hearted read. it's predictable and there's no real conflict (none that we already know of), and the dialogue segments are loooong/stories in themselves. but this is a good read for getting out of a reading slump; it moves quickly.
September 7, 2023
całkiem urocze i zabawne, chociaż epilog trochę zbyt cukierkowy (chociaż - w sumie w konwencji). lubię retellingi, a mit o Persefonie jest jednym z moich ulubionych, więc byłam ciekawa, jak wyjdzie w takiej lżejszej formie. jest nieźle, miło się słuchało tej historii, ale nic poza tym.
October 20, 2024
Not great literature but a whimsical, light feel-good story. I was quite entertained for most of the story. The end, however, was weak, and not only because it was so very predictable, but also shallow and, yes, tacky. Still, three - small - stars from me.
May 17, 2022
This was such a sweet story. I enjoyed every minute of it. Quick easy read that was throughly enjoyable
July 14, 2022
2.5. it was painfully predictable also why would they add the pandemic into the story i’m looking for escapism not reality
February 8, 2023
Listened to the audio book. It was cute simple sweet retelling of Hades and Persephone and it was a good a nice quick listen. Some parts did get a little annoying and cringey though it was good.
July 12, 2023
This was not good at all. Even though this was a retelling, the story did not make any sense and the whole Asian setting seemed pointless - it did not add anything to the story.
December 30, 2023
Super cute and wholesome retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth 🥰
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews