I picked up this book because I have seen so many of Saint’s novels at book stores and I was hopeful she would fill the void Madeline Miller has left in my heart. A comparison of the two authors is kind of inevitable when they occupy the same sub genre of modern re-tellings of Greek mythology.

I think there’s a lot of potential here. Re-telling the famous tale of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece from the perspective of an often ignored but talented woman is sort of a statement in and of itself. It was unexpected and fascinating that this great epic was mainly a side plot in Atalanta’s story. I loved that Saint took the wind from Jason’s sails and highlighted his reliance on the witch Medea, centering her as the true hero of the tale. Saint was much more concerned with telling the story of Atalanta than she was with the typical adventures in Greek epics. This has the potential to slow down the plot, but not necessarily - Miller’s Circe is a great example of this.

The problem is that I left the book not understanding who Atalanta is. She feels so muddled as a character. Saint ends the book writing “I am wild, I am free, I am Atalanta.” But who is Atalanta? At the start of the book, Atalanta is focused on survival, gaining Artemis’ favor, and protecting her friends in the Arcadian forest from any threats but primarily those of men. Atalanta sees firsthand the potential men have to hurt her and those she loves and is constantly warned about this from Artemis. Naturally, It felt like whiplash when romance quickly budded between Atalanta and her fellow voyager Meleager, despite the fact she claims later in the novel to not love him. We’re supposed to believe that Atalanta; who spends the first part of the novel training to protect her friends from men, who is a devout follower of Artemis, who is desperate to tell her story and earn the acclaim of her male counterparts; would risk so much to have a tryst with a man she doesn’t even love? Just because he is not sexist and awful? And if these changes are actually in character, what events are there to prompt Atalanta’s changes and what is this meant to say about human nature in general?

After returning, Atalanta manages to avoid Artemis’ wrath and takes up residence with an older couple in the forest, providing for them as they provide for her son. She spends her days happy and blissful hunting in the woods until Hippomenes shows up and tells her of her father and that her legend is not being remembered. This upsets Atalanta enough to leave her solitude, return to her father, and accidentally issue a trial for all men of Greece to win her hand. Hippomenes, her friend, enters without her consent and tricks her by throwing golden apples she can’t resist during the race. Atalanta happily marries him and the two earn the wrath of Aphrodite and end up getting turned into lions, roaming the forests hunting forever.

I can understand why Atalanta actually ends up relishing the fate of being turned into a beast - she loves nothing more than running, hunting, and being free in the forest. I can’t understand why she chooses to befriend and then fall for Hippomenes though. Atalanta never really talks about feeling like she’s missing something while living in Artemis’ realm, perhaps only the opportunity to prove herself and earn great glory. Yet as soon as she leaves, she makes so many decisions that actively derail that plan. As the reader im left wondering why? And what is the author trying to say here? To me, it’s quite tragic and depressing. Even a woman as powerful and independent as Atalanta, who unlike Medea had the opportunity to make her own choices and exist independently of men, ultimately allows them to be her demise, choosing them over what she seems to value most (freedom, independence).

I think Madeline Miller’s story really shines because adds her own perspective into the source material, weaving everything together seamlessly. She isn’t afraid to tweak a detail here or there in order to tell the story she wants to tell, that she wishes would’ve been told. Jennifer Saint seems unable to add that extra magic in Atalanta, focusing instead on crafting cohesive narrative from the scraps left in the classics. I appreciate that cohesive story and I’m glad it exists, but it’s just missing the power and beauty I was hoping for. I wish she would’ve focused more on crafting Atalanta as a character than adhering exactly to who she was in the past.