The Leto Bundle

by Marina Warner

When a mummy in the Museum of Albion is unpacked it is found to contain a bundle of curious objects and documents which tell of the wanderings of an unknown woman, Leto. On the run, in a far-off era of civil strife, Leto gives birth to twins, shelters with wolves, survives in a desert stronghold as the lover of its commander, stows away on a ship loaded with plundered antiquities and then works as a maid in a war-torn city. She loses her son but saves her daughter during a long siege. As the novel sweeps from mythological times and the Middle Ages to the treasure-hunting of Victorian Europe and into the present day, Leto reappears in different guises. Eventually she becomes a servant to a rock singer, and begins to search for her son.

Genres: Fiction, Mythology, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, English Literature, Unfinished

408 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Marina Sarah Warner is a British novelist, short story writer, historian and mythographer. She is known for her many non-fiction books relating to feminism and myth.

She is a professor in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre at the University of Essex, and gave the Reith Lectures on the BBC in 1994 on the theme of 'Managing Monsters: Six Myths of Our Time.'

Reviews

[Elena Sala · Rating 2 out of 5]

THE LETO BUNDLE is based on the myth of the female Titan who is raped by Zeus, thereafter becoming pregnant. Zeus promises to help her, but soon abandons her when Hera, his wife, makes objections. Forced into exile, Leto is condemned to wander throughout the world after she gives birth to her twins, Apollo and Artemis. Warner uses the myth to trace the plight of the refugee through the centuries. It sounds like an interesting perspective, as Leto could work as a recognizable icon of all the victims of our postmodern, globalized era.
But this is a baffling, disappointing novel. Her characters seem to be symbolic archetypes and I felt it was impossible to relate to their story. The narrative structure is very complicated, and the accumulation of pointless descriptions as well as the distracting narrative clutter really taxed my endurance. I believe Warner's academic writing is much better than her fiction.

[My Little Forest · Rating 2 out of 5]

[2.8] A bit disappointed. This was so promising(!!!), but things started going downhill for me. I would've liked it if the story was told differently and more focused on a different character (I have one in mind, but I want this to be spoiler-free). All things considered, the writing style is definitely what stood out to me the most.

[Siobhan Markwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published 24 years ago, this book feels incredibly fresh. It's musings on the causes and challenges of population displacement and the human cost are empathic, spiritual, blunt and brutal. Warner's background as a historian meets her interests in mythology and fable, Christianity and feminism and contemporary pop culture all combine to make this a novel with an epic time sweep and an, at times, disconcerting, fluidity of period and character. She's created some likeable, believable and honestly-rendered characters and she isn't afraid to bury a sucker-punch in an otherwise conventional narrative arc...rabbit sex anyone?? Her displaced people are kind and tough and evoke our sympathy without ever descending into a weak victim trope. This is a clever book with an unusual structure and an urgent message. Very impressive.

[Clodagh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is... a bit mad... mix of mythology, commentary on modern society, history...most of the main characters are women. I don't think i've ever read english like it... are these words that are out of use, or did she make them up? the story is a bit of a mind bender, spanning thousands of years, a character like Orlando or something (what I can remember of the story). I think i need to read this one again!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Themes of dispossession, immigration, redemption thread through this book. The time-warping story of Leto the Titan who becomes Laetitia the martyr, Lettice the stowaway, Ella the maid and Nellie the refugee teaches us that not only the dispossessed and underprivileged are lost, and challenges us not to become trapped by the very freedom we seek.

[Suzanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am in awe of Marina Warner as a mythographer. This novel was not as impressive to me as books of hers like Phantasmagoria and Fantastic Metamorphoses, Other Worlds.

[Sara]

01 longlisted for booker prize

[Fi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huge fan of her non-fiction ie. No Go The Bogeyman but, unfortunately Ms Warner's fiction doesn't live up to the high standards of her other work.