You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

One of the group reads for December is Hera Jennifer Saint] Please discuss the book in this thread.

Margo will be leading the discussion.

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1. have read the book before or during December 2024.
2. discussed it in this thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read, for example, thoughts, opinions, impact it had on you, what was your favorite part, was it what you expected it to be like etc. You may also like to review the book and post a link to the review in this thread. Please refer to our group spoiler policy for further information.
3. Report that you have read AND discussed the book in the reporting thread (include a brief summary of what you thought of the book).

A note on discussion: Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read, for example, thoughts, opinions, impact it had on you, what was your favorite part, was it what you expected it to be like etc.

In addition to this, the group reads are meant to be a "read along" so it is preferable that you discuss the book as you read rather than wait until you've finished the book.

And finally, discussion is not about just listing your thoughts. Please interact with the other group members, comment on their thoughts, and if they comment on yours, respond to them. This is what makes a good book discussion!

You may also like to review the book and post a link to the review in this thread.

Please refer to our group spoiler policy for further information.

General Rules:
1. Please mark your spoilers with the spoiler tags along with mentioning what stage of the book you are at so other's don't get a nasty shock. Chapter numbers/titles are generally best as they are the same across all formats and editions. See our spoiler policy
2. The book may be combined with the Year Long Challenge, Topplers, and Monthly Challenges.

Happy reading!

I started this morning but probably won’t get too far today. I’m curious how Hera will be written about. I know her reputation isn’t the greatest so this should be fun.

I'll probably finish my current book tomorrow, and this one is next on my list.

I am through chapter 2

I don’t know why I’m always surprised how amoral the gods are..(view spoiler)[ so Zeus is just creating life for his own amusement. Seems his dad did too because he liked being worshipped by them. He even made a baby with one of his sisters- so incest is cool amongst gods I suppose. (hide spoiler)]

Unchecked power is on full display so far.

I am at the beginning of Part 2 (21%)

These gods remind me of overindulged children who will never be satisfied.

(view spoiler)[ The three men gods ( Zeus, Poseidon and Hades) have divided up the world for themselves and the women gods are trying to carve out their place in this new world. Zeus wants to marry Hera and consolidate his power. She runs from him, he finds her, rapes her and now she is marrying him.

My 2024 sensibilities are outraged. This love of power will not end well. It’s amusing to read this as a middle aged person. I think my feelings about mythology have changed so much the older I get. I find it fascinating how completely unaware of their flaws they are. No sense of self awareness at all. lol (hide spoiler)]

Through chapter 7 (24%)

It’s starting to grab my attention and I’m very curious how this all will play out.

(view spoiler)[ Zeus had a daughter, Athena, who was born from his forehead and he adores her. Hera had her own baby a boy named Ares who is a hellion. She schemes to get him a throne ( over Athena’s objection) but it seems Athena will be a thorn to Hera. Zeus likes to play people against each other. He only seems to care that he’s adored. (hide spoiler)]

I am planning on reading this one this month, but I have like 10 library books checked out digitally so I have to get through those first

I am at 36%

Hera is an interesting character. She is ruled by her anger which I think must come back to bite her. Some of the side characters are intriguing to me as well especially Gaia and Athena.

(view spoiler)[ Zeus is still a philandering mess. The disdain the author has for him makes him semi comical. He seems oblivious to the scheming around him and is ruled by his ego.

Hera now has three children:Ares, Hephaestus and Typhon and doesn’t seem very maternal at all. She had Typhon on her own and has hidden him with a snake goddess so he can grow up and challenge Zeus. (hide spoiler)]

I think I would like to read a book about how these mythological stories came about. Some of the creatures are so wild I’m curious what inspired them. If they were written today I’d assume the author was on drugs.

Hey all -
Just an FYI that Margo is currently having Goodreads technical issues and will be back on the thread as soon as possible. So keep on reading everyone!

Thanks Jayme, I'm back!!! For some reason I couldn't get into YLTO for the last few says. The only option that was working for me was the messaging menu. Arrrgh!

Anyway, I'm out and about ATM but I have finished Part 1 and I'll post later today.

How annoying, Margo. I'm glad your access has been fixed.

Very frustrating, Margo. I had some GR issues yesterday or the day before (it all blends...). I could get into everything except one of my groups. For some reason just that one group would not load.

I’m through chapter 20 (67%)

I’m not finding it as compelling as other mythological books I’ve read recently. These gods are almost universally unlikable and not in a charming way. (view spoiler)[ so much rape and Zeus is like a Tom cat populating countless offspring through force. Hera tries to thwart him over and over but so far unsuccessfully. (hide spoiler)]

My saga continued....l was in my car yesterday AM passing time till a dental check up so I decided to try GR. Low and behold I got in on the app and posted to this thread. Later in the afternoon I tried from my laptop at home and once again couldn't get access! Couldn't get in on my phone either on my phone. Today I got in so I won't beat about the bush in case it goes again 🙄

I finished part 1 and started part 2. So far I'm enjoying it much more than Elektra.

(view spoiler)[
From the start of the story we are thrown in the deep end with a ton of complicated names. If, like me, you are listening to the audiobook, this is very off-putting, but I down loaded the free sample of the kindle edition and there is a family tree at the start.

The first part of the story is mostly a description of the very dysfunctional Olympians. They were an incestuous bunch, but if you accept that they were a race superior to humanity then they really had noone else to breed with - except that when a mortal caught their eye they weren't too much inferior to stoop to seduction/rape. At the center, we have Zeus, scheming and manipulating his way to power. When that doesn't get him what he wants, as in Hera, he resorts to brute force and overpowers her. I was amazed that she still agreed to marry him but, like all good (?), mythological Greeks, she is out for revenge and noone can make a man suffer better than his wife LOL



(hide spoiler)]

Marnie wrote: "I am through chapter 2

I don’t know why I’m always surprised how amoral the gods are..[spoilers removed]

Unchecked power is on full display so far."

Hi Marnie, sorry for abandoning you! Blame GR. It's still giving me some grief today but at least I have access to this thread, though it is by a far more complicated route than usual.

(view spoiler)[ I had similar thought about bad behavior and incest. They were an undisciplined bunch to put it mildly!

(hide spoiler)]

Katrisa wrote: "I am planning on reading this one this month, but I have like 10 library books checked out digitally so I have to get through those first"

Yikes, that's a lot of books to get through! Hope you're able to join in later Katrisa 😀

Marnie wrote: "Through chapter 7 (24%)

It’s starting to grab my attention and I’m very curious how this all will play out.

[spoilers removed]"

Completely agree! (view spoiler)[ I couldn't see how she would marry him after that brutal rape. I was wondering is Saint was going to go for a reimagining where they never married, but next thing we're at the wedding feast. We do get to see a bit of thinking on the marriage afterwards though -she plans to make him miserable!

Zeus certainly did put his sisters in their place with the allocation of the kingdoms, didn't he? It seemed that one of them at least knew what was coming and accepted it. Was it just because she knew the he was was the strongest sibling hence no point in arguing?

(hide spoiler)]

I need to read my IRL bookclub book before Mondays meeting so I probably won't make a huge amount of progress in this over the weekend, but, access permitting, I'll pop in and see you all!

Chapter 10
(view spoiler)[ Zeus is horrible! He has no redeeming qualities. He sees a women he wants and grabs her. He's all powerful so there cannot be consequences.

Hera is no earth mother. She has distain for her second son and doesn't appreciate his skill as an actist. She hates that he tries to please her and sees only the contrast between the beauty of the things he makes and the ugliness of his appearance. He's the only character so far that I like. Ares on the other hand doesn't do anything to please her and that makes her angry too! All she wants from her kids is for them to scheme with her to destroy their father, is that so much for mother to ask???
(hide spoiler)]

I got through my library books that were due the soonest so I got to put this book in my rotation :)
I am part way through ch 10.
(view spoiler)[ I am interested to see where this goes with Hera. She is well known in mythology for cruelly punishing women whom Zeus has "affairs" with (i.e. rapes). So far Saint has shown that Hera was also raped and wants revenge. I am curious to see how her anger with Zeus ends up being transferred to the women who are his victims. (hide spoiler)]

I am in ch 15 now (view spoiler)[It is interesting that Saint made Hera Typhon's mother. I hadn't heard that origin story and had to look it up. I guess Typhon being Hera's son alone was from a Homeric Hymn to Apollo. In that version she is mad about Zeus creating Athena and wants her own child by herself too. But I like what Saint did with it - with Hera just releasing all her rage in a primal scream to Gaia who gives her Typhon. It's a good thing for men that women's rage doesn't really allow us to birth rage monsters, lol! (hide spoiler)]

Margo wrote: "Chapter 10
."

lol!!

Glad you got through your library books Katrisa, you're a powerful reader!

Chapter 12:
(view spoiler)[ Hera gives birth to another son and calls him Typhon - ominous! This one wasn't conceived from a man but by some some weird pathogenesis, you gotta love the ancient Greeks! She claims Gaia caused the baby to start from Heras rage but was this a cover story for her getting it on with some wild animal? Either way, it sees like she will try to use this son in her quest for revenge.
(hide spoiler)]

I like the part with Typhon. I hadn’t heard about him before. Female rage is so epic lol.

Marnie wrote: "I like the part with Typhon. I hadn’t heard about him before. Female rage is so epic lol."

I hadn't heard of him either Marnie. Epic indeed lol

Just finished chapter 14 so part 2 done.

(view spoiler)[ forgot to mention in chapter 12 we discovered that Hera has a soft spot for little monster grandchildren. Or maybe she is impressed by their potential usefulness?

Poor Hep. Cought between his feuding parents and very badly used by both! I hope he finds his way out of that volcano. Those two definitely need some parenting classes 🤣

Looks like life will pretty much go on as before for the Olympians but with but feathers have been well and truly ruffled. With two sons and multiple grandkids missing, Hera has even more to be bitter about.

(hide spoiler)]

Margo wrote: "Glad you got through your library books Katrisa, you're a powerful reader!


Well I didn't get through all of them - just through enough of them that I can have some wiggle room :)

I am in ch 20
(view spoiler)[Well, I think Saint might have taken on a woman character from Greek mythology that it is too hard to shift the narrative much with Hera. I was wondering how she would get around the fact that Hera cruelly punishes the women that Zeus rapes and impregnates. And so far, Hera's rage and desire to punish Zeus is clear, but you can't escape the fact that she is still punishing Zeus's victims. So knowing the background that she was one of Zeus's victims also doesn't excuse her actions toward the women. (hide spoiler)]

Katrisa wrote: "I am in ch 20
[spoilers removed]"

Agreed. (view spoiler)[ As a child I read a lot about the the Greek gods. Very sanitised, the incest was played down lol Zeus was portrayed almost as a lovable rogue, always trying to cheat of on his battle axe of a wife, but she was the one who always caugt him out. The punishment of the victims was not not dwelt on. Rhey was loose women trying to steel another womans husband. In this retelling they are mostly either raped, bullied or tricked into bed.

My take on it is that Hera was broken by her own rape. She is bitter and completely motivated by revenge to the extent that she sees any kind of affection or empathy as weakness. She has become as much of monster as Zeus because she believes that is the only way to beat him. She can love those who are potential weapons in her battle with her husband and has nothing but distain for his victims. They are collateral damage and beneath her notice.

(hide spoiler)]

Chapter 22
(view spoiler)[ The fates cannot be beaten! Perseus son survives the snake attact that Hera plotted for him and in the process kills two snakes, fulfilling the Prophecy that he would be a monster killer.

I'm enjoying the way Saint is weaving other myths into the narrative without really dwelling on them e.g. Persephone and Hades, Medusa etc
(hide spoiler)]

I am in ch 23
(view spoiler)[Well, I feel like now we are in the realm of just straight up retelling of myths - which is not necessarily bad - I still love mythology and will read the stories all day long, In past books Saint has brought the female perspective to mythology in a way i appreciate, but I am not feeling that so much in this book. Hera punishes both Zeus's "lovers" (mostly rape victims - though Semele seems to have been a willing participant) and his children if she can get away with it. But I don't feel like this book is adding much of a different perspective to the myths as retellings try to do. Ultimately I like the book as a Greek myth, but I am not seeing that it is adding anything to the tradition. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 25
(view spoiler)[ Did I just say I liked the way the author brings in other myths? I am over that! The last few chapters have just ben a summary of mythologies with a dizzying amount of names I half remember thrown at me. The few parts that do relate directly to Hera feel rushed. I'm glad that Hep found a way to demonstrate his feelings of abandonment in the volcano and the giant war definitely needed to told but I think Saint could have spent more time on these events and cut some of the more peripheral stuff.
(hide spoiler)]

Katrisa wrote: "I am in ch 23
[spoilers removed]"

Starting to agree!

I finished today. I give this one 3.5 stars.
(view spoiler)[I think my favorite part was when Hep comes up with his gift throne and traps Hera. I love when she says to him - I may not have helped but I am not the one who hurt you - why are you punishing me? And he throws it back to her by asking why she torments Zeus's women and children and then Hera says Well that's different.
Overall my feelings about this book are the same as my last post - I just don't think the subject of Hera really lends itself very well to retelling where you add something new to the story. Taking out her anger with her husband on women who she should have some sympathy for is hard to reframe. My favorite of Saint's mythology books is Atalanta. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 26
(view spoiler)[
Hestia has realised what all gods would do well to keep in mind - 8t is mortals who keep gods alive through their belief and worship. I would go a step further and say that mortals create gods in their own image. How else to explain the vanity on need worhip that is a common theme of all religions? Look at how mortals behave behave when we get a taste of power, mentioning no names of course lol
(hide spoiler)]

Finished the book. I'll give it 3 stars. I have a question about the final chapter (view spoiler)[ was the playwright Socrates? I have never read any of his work.

I enjoyed the first half of the book but not the second. I had the impression that the author had run out of thoughts about Hera and uses general Greek mythology as filler for the second half. Maybe she redeemed herself in the final chapter when Hera seemed to separete the woman from the goddess, but TBH by that time she had lost me as an audience. This author used be pretty much auto-buy for me, but after listening to this story and Elektra, she has been downgraded to maybe-if-its-a-good-deal.
(hide spoiler)]

Katrisa wrote: "I finished today. I give this one 3.5 stars.
I the..."


[spoilers removed]"

I liked Atalanta and Ariadne.

(view spoiler)[ I enjoyed that conversation with Hep too. He risked everything to free her and she didn't even try to find him! What could she expect? And yes, the irony of "punish the victim " wasn't lost on me!
(hide spoiler)]

Hi all.
I had GR troubles for quite some time after I changed my email address. I could read posts and do everything but post comments. I am currently on the mobile app and cannot read spoilers. I finished reading the book two days ago. I really enjoyed it! I finally feel like I have a much better grasp on who the Olympians were and Hera, especially. I never understood her nor why she did the things that she did. I thought the author put together a great story. It felt believable to me. It was easy to read and I had a wonderful time Googling names and places throughout the story.
I will try to get on the on-line app today. I have so much to update!

Look forward to reading your thoughts Cherie!

I had GR trouble at the start of the month too and shortly before christmas I went down with Flu. I was diagnosed 3 weeks to the day after being vaccinated. The doctor said they got the predictions very wrong this year. Pete got it too and we were a miserable pair, on the plus side, we've never eaten as little at xmas 😂

Hey all - Don't forget to report your read in the reporting thread.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...