Ariadne, Awake!

by Doris Orgel, Barry Moser (Illustrator)

Enter the maze of myth, where a young girl awakens to the mystery of love & learns its price. Daughter of the tyrant Minos of Crete, half sister to the savage Minotaur, Ariadne is only beginning to dream of a love that will transform her. Then the young hero Theseus, handsome prince of Athens & her fathers prisoner, arrives, & Ariadne is ready to defy her father to prevent his death. Fleeing with him, she leaves behind all she holds dear — & finds danger, betrayal, & finally, happiness. Intimate yet breathtaking portraiture reveals the ageless human drama at the heart of the ancient myth of Theseus, the Minotaur — & Ariadne. (YA)

Genres: Mythology

74 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Doris Orgel is a children's writer. She was born in Vienna, Austria. As a child, she and her family fled to Yugoslavia and finally the U.S. during the rise of the Nazi party in Europe. She attended Radcliffe College from 1946 too 1948, and graduated cum laude from Barnard College in 1950.

In her career, Ms. Orgel has written and translated several fairy and folk tales, as well as served as a translator for other authors. Prior to her work as a children's writer, Orgel was in magazine and book publishing. Her first original book, Sarah’s Room (1963) was published under the pseudonym Doris Adelberg. It was also republished in England and in Switzerland in German. In 1960, Ms. Orgel received the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award for her translation of Willhelm Hauff's Dwarf Long-Nose (1960). Her book The Devil in Vienna (1978) received a Phoenix Award Honor in 1998. Ms. Orgel has also worked as a children’s book reviewer for "The New York Times".

She is married to Dr. Shelley Orgel; has three children: Paul, Laura, and Jeremy; two daughters-in-law: Sharon Lamb and Ling Chen Orgel; three grandchildren: Willy, Jennifer, and Julian; and three granddogs: Woof, Buster, and Otto. She lives in New York City.


For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/doris-orgel

Reviews

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story ... but the treatment of daughters, and all women, disturbs me, especially knowing it is still this way in parts of the world.

[Amy Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty dense picture book that did a great job at telling the story of Ariadne, the Minotaur, Theseus, and Dionysus.  With beautiful watercolor illustrations and a rich storyline, this retelling offers a look through the eyes of the young Ariadne and her growth into a more mature person as she makes trials and errors in order to remain truthful to herself.  

Review cross-listed here!

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting retelling of the Minotaur myth from Ariadne's point of view. The writing was well done, especially once Ariadne was on Naxos and then when she met Dionysus, but the illustrations weren't my style. I enjoyed how realistically Ariadne was written and how she was a sympathetic, yet relatable character. Theseus was written in a very charming and suave manner, which made his inevitable betrayal all the more heartbreaking.

[SmarterLilac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations, and the story isn't bad.