Dancing the Labyrinth: A dual-time novel steeped in Greek mythology

by Karen Martin

When Cressida falls pregnant, her overwhelming fear is she will pass on her father’s violent DNA. It takes an ancient matriarchal culture to teach her otherwise.
Dancing the Labyrinth moves between contemporary and ancient Crete in this tale of a young woman from an abusive background who discovers the veiled history of Europe’s most advanced civilization of the Bronze Age – the Minoans.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mythology

308 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 28, 2021

About the author

I am an Australian independent playwright, and author living in Australia. I am known to have run away with the Women's Circus, created plays in prisons, and written theatre that strived for transformation. I won awards for my work, received funding to travel to write in situ, and learned to listen carefully as the muses whispered in my ear.

I have contributed to several non-fiction books: The Women’s Circus: Leaping the Wire, and Women in Theatre: Ewa Czajor Memorial Award Recipients, and received a Local History Award for the writing and publication of two booklets on my award-winning production of The Women’s Project.

Dancing the Labyrinth was written while living on Crete, where it was first published in Greek.

Thematically I am interested in boundaries and my work explores the space within transition.

Reviews

[Ioana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has left me with so much!
It is hard and honoring to review a book with such a big charge.

This is the story of Cressida, a young girl who moves for a summer on a Greek island, to escape the memories of her violent father and her never protective mother. Her journey starts just as she finds out she is pregnant, however, by no means is her journey than linear. Her path intertwines with an experience she has, the woman she befriends, and the visions she has of the last women to protect the cult of the Great Mother.

I was attracted to this book because of the labyrinth, I imagined there would be some sort of Ariadne connection but this was so much more. A great gamble of shading light on the cult of Great Mother, the last days of the matriarchy and how patriarchy emerged to take its place and how all reverberated to this day.

Like Angela's ways, it is all pictured in deep brushes, the visions are felt very powerfully by Cressida and their magnitude is the same. Strong, earthshattering moments well balanced with mundane scenes where our modern heroines try to make sense of them. There is an economy of details and the scenes are almost theatrical, the authors experience in this domain is obvious in the structure constructed.

While you can read this book as simply a narration (and there may be some rituals and ideas that can be triggering, so be advised), I believe its power dwells in the past world it portrays and the bridge between the worlds it builds. On many accounts the story hit close home, and I believe Cressida and Angela's lives are very relatable. Also, I loved finding pieces of mysteries, Maria Gimbutas and ho'oponopono embodied in these pages. They just warmed my heart like meeting old friends. I cannot wait to see how the next story will take form!

I thinks this is the kind of book that finds you where y0u're at. So it if finds you, answer its call.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

[James Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dancing the Labyrinth is a fantastic debut novel - moving between modern day Crete, where the female protagonist, finding escape in Crete after the death of her parents, finds an old tomb when sheltering from a storm.

From there, the author then brings to life the final stages of an ancient Minoan matriarchal society just before the transition to a more violent, patriarchal one. It's something I wasn't aware of, but Martin brings it to life so vividly, it's spurred me on to learn more. The author weaves the present and past narratives, with Cressida, the protagonist, finding some peace and acceptance through learnings of the past.

A timely novel given the recent MeToo movement and attacks on women's rights in a number of countries right now - I'm looking forward to the next book from Karen Martin already.

[Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

The imaginative and visual portrayal of a matriarchal civilisation is what drew me in; even though I am not a huge lover of Greek methodology but do enjoy reading feminist literature. The story centres on a young woman's efforts to forget the traumatic events of her upbringing, which involved her parents. Her mother's inability to defend her kid and protect her from her abusive father was just as frustrating as her father's violence. When she became pregnant, she began to picture a society where women held all the power. This led her to offer a new and interesting viewpoint on concepts we had learned since early childhood. The story is told in such a way that it gives the impression that it is attempting to create a connection between the events of the past and those of the present, illuminating how we, as individuals, have contributed to the development of Western civilisation in the here and now. Although Cressida is my favourite, each of the characters has a lot of depth to them. In addition, the book embodies qualities such as power, insight, tolerance, and a feeling of being unstoppable. The idea that "we are the one in charge and can pick how our story has to progress, we can write our own story, and doesn't have to follow whatever society feeds us to" was incredibly intriguing to me. I can write my own story, and it doesn't have to follow whatever society feeds us. On the other hand, the plot moved at a glacial pace and included a lot of needless information, which dragged things down even further. Overall, It's a Good Read.

[Aditya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a fascinating read. I loved every part of it. So here are my thoughts about the book.

There are no spoilers ahead of any kind.

The book was unique in the sense of story, plot, and characters. I have never read something so unique, slow, and fast at the same time. The story's main focus, the middle, and the ending just make me awe at the sheer talent of the author to sew together this utterly chaotic plot into a beautiful story that we can read.

The characters are so well written. Their development is not at all rushed but by no means does this makes the book slow and boring. There are close to no fillers in the story and even if there are they are so good that they seemed an essential part of the story. Props to the author for writing such a great book for us to read and enjoy.

At last, if you still are in the midst of deciding whether to buy the book or not. Just do it, it's a lifetime experience, and while doing it show the author some love and support. My utmost gratitude to the author for writing such a great piece of literature.

Thank you
Happy Reading

[Hannah Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really wonderfully written book. What a beautiful blend of greek mythology and feminist fiction. I so enjoyed the imaginings of a matriarchal society and the stories being told. Karen Martin clearly has a passion and it came across in her writing.

Like a painting, Martin did a wonderful job at weaving the stories and characters together, never losing the thread. Bringing worlds together. This book, if I recall correctly, is the first in a thematic series--an intriguing concept where the books can be read separately, but all share the feminist, woman-centered theme.

I really look forward to seeing where Martin goes next in this theme and what other stories she'll tell us.

[Aditya Jha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dancing the Labyrinth is a wonderful and fascinating story of a young woman Cressida. It is a unique story which is an amalgamation of many genres but it is a bold and excellent experiment by the author. When Cressida gets pregnant, she has great fear of passing on her father's DNA to her baby, the fear stems from her abusive background and it takes an ancient matriarchal culture - that of the Minoans to teach her otherwise.

The story of this novel moves back and forth between contemporary and ancient Crete as Cressida discovers the history of the Minoans - one of the Europe's most advanced Bronze Age civilization. The concept of this book is refreshingly unique and very well executed. If I say I haven't read anything like this book before, it would be nothing but the truth.

The story and the character development as well as the world building in this novel is excellent. The book is an engaging and gripping read. It is easy for the reader to get lost in the pages of this book. The book is thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable. At some points it evokes emotions and at other points it is thought provoking. It is an indulging and captivating read with an interesting story.

Overall, this book is a great read and everyone will enjoy reading it and will appreciate the author's brilliance that radiates through the pages of this amazing book.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book as a fan of Greek mythology I was drawn in by the blurb. I really wanted to like this one but unfortunately I have to concede defeat. I tried several times to finish but I found the story very slow paced and I struggled to get through it. There were things I enjoyed, the character of Cressida, the Greek island setting, and the almost lyrical prose. I liked the contemporary modern parts but struggled with the past chapters. I don't often read historical fiction but the subject matter of this one appealed to me, particularly the idea of a matriarchal society. While ultimately not for me, I can see how this book would appeal to those who love ancient history or feminist literature. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Veronica Mcniff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Total drivel

Virtually unreadable,plotless word salad.How this was published is hard to imagine. Wasted my time trying to wade through this so do not recommend you try

[Coleen Dailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. I like time travel books and am looking forward to the sequel.

[T. Vand · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very feministic story, so if you are one who doesn't like to read stories with strong feminist tones then this book is not for you. For everyone else, this is a good book that takes some time settling into. There is a lot of emotion and journey through trauma so be careful of possible triggers (trigger warning would be nice from the author). The mythology is well explained so don't let the fact you may not be familiar with it hold you back. Though at parts it does feel a bit lecturelike and telling and did pull me out of the story. But it also allowed me to not feel lost. Overall it was good, but for me I wasn't fully immersed into the world and I found it a bit wordy.

[Karen Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course I LOVE my own book. Written while living on Crete: learning about the matriarchal Minoans - who I previously had no idea existed - walking its trails, swimming its clear seas and discovering its secrets, this debut novel holds a special place in my heart.

Dancing the Labyrinth is set in the transition from ancient Goddess worship to patriarchy. It is a timely expose of women’s history in the landscape of the #MeToo Movement and #EnoughisEnough. I recommend it to helps us understand that our history is not just the one told by the conquerors.

[Rebecca Augustine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully Woven Novel that Combines...

... a present day young English woman with a troubled family past and an uncertain future to a group of women from matriarchal Crete.

[Purnima Khanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karen Martin's "Dancing the Labyrinth" belongs to feminist genre. It is such a unique and powerful plot where past meets the present in an incredibly inside way.
The story is about Cressida, who finds about her pregnancy while she is running from her tragic and violent past. However, she comes to know about a Minoan tale from Greek mythology about the women's fight against patriarchal abuses.
The narrative is crisp yet powerful and enriched with vivid imagination of the author. Characters are so well written that you start to know them intimately.
It is one of those stories that stay with you. This is first book in the series. Eagerly waiting for the next one.

[Kate Traynor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really couldn’t get into this. I found both parts of the story too sparse and didn’t feel any character was fully developed. Not for me!