Review: Kill the Beast

Kill the Beast by Serena Valentino
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

SPOILERS AHEAD

This reimagined history of Gaston paints him as not a villain, but the devoted and thoughtful best friend to the prince-turned-beast. While that might make you think that Gaston deserves and will get a better fate than the original Disney story gives him, all this true history does is make it extra sad to see his final days play out.

Gaston’s memory wiped, the curse turns him into an arrogant, narrow-minded braggart, obsessed with Belle and killing the beast he thinks he remembers killing his parents. Of course, none of this is his fault - Gaston isn’t even targeted for a curse because of his deeds. No, he is a sad side effect of the true villains of this story, the odd sisters, who can see the past and future (as it stands in the present) and are intent on shaping things to their will. They want to the prince to be punished, and not break the curse or receive his happy ending with Belle, so they manipulate Gaston’s mind, driving him crazy with the need to kill the beast, save Belle, and have her to himself. In one page, he forgets his friends and family, his whole entire past, and who he really is. Because *magic.* This man whose kindness we see in action throughout almost his whole life dies as a subpoint in someone else’s story. That’s the true tragedy.

I can’t say I loved reading this book, but that’s probably because I had a feeling how it was going to end and was dreading that conclusion. I’m also not a big fan of stories where we’re told “bad things are going to happen, just wait.” Also, this part is my fault but I didn’t realize the stories in this series intertwined and referred to one another, so it’s much more confusing to read them out of order. This one was a gift, and I assumed it was a stand-alone retelling of Gaston’s story, which it is not. Also, why would you make me like someone and then torture them? 😭 The universe of this series is clearly complex and intertwined, and I can see a lot of people loving that aspect of it, but I’m not sure it’s for me.

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Review: Stephen Fry's Odyssey

Odyssey by Stephen Fry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A fantastically funny and at times heartbreaking retelling of the aftermath of the Trojan war and the journeys home of each of the major players. The primary character is, of course, Odysseus, who takes the longest to make it home, has the most adventures, misses his wife and son the most, and somehow also fathers the most children along the way. But we also hear how other major players faired, from rapist Ajax and daughter-sacrificing Agamemnon to triumphant Menelaus with his Helen and Roman-founding Aeneas.

The gods, of course, are still interfering in frustrating ways, shaping the course of each person’s life (and death) as they see fit and arguing amongst themselves, but for some reason, I am less angered by them in this book. Maybe that’s because I feel like everyone who dies deserves it (other than all the oarsmen and slaves who had no decision making powers and were just along for their labor). Maybe it’s also because the gods themselves discuss how they are become less and less important in the lives of humans, now that there are so many of them, and perhaps it’s time they truly rule themselves.

Either way, I enjoyed this book immensely - Stephen Fry does a great job distilling what could be a confusing mess of storylines into a cohesive, interconnected narrative, drawing from Homer’s Odyssey, of course, but also other ancient sources. Relationships, conversations, and actions are clear, both in their practical and emotional impact and in what they would have meant to people at the time. And as always, I appreciate the frequent footnotes, reminding us of people we’ve met in previous books, as well as the maps in the front and cast of characters in back.

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