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Quiver Stephanie Spinner Books

Download As PDF : Quiver Stephanie Spinner Books

Quiver Stephanie Spinner Books

I love retellings. Of myths, of fairytales, of classics novels. Any retellings of any kind. I am fascinated by them, I enjoy wondering and discovering how an author will re-invent an old, often well known, tale. I am endlessly surprised and amazed at the seemingly endless ways a story can be approached and retold without ever getting boring.

This is why Quiver, by Stephanie Spinner, has been sitting in my to-read list for nearly two years, until, finally, I got my hands on it last week. In her debut novel, Spinner tackles a Greek myth. And let me tell you, I love Greek mythology, from Homer to Xena: Warrior Princess, I rarely get tired of it. And I am even more excited if the retelling tells the story of a little known myth, or mythical figure, and I become intrigued and fascinated if said figure is a girl or a women, as their voices are so often forgotten, stifled or ignored. More often than not, in fact, they do not have a voice, or I should say, are not given one.

In Quiver, Spinner gives a voice to Arcadian princess Atalanta, the swiftest human in Greece, and one of its best hunters too. Abandoned by her father at birth, because she was not a boy, the myth says that Artemis, chaste Goddess of the Moon and the hunt, sent a bear to rescue baby Atalanta. The girl then, while growing up learning to hunt, and shoot and run, dedicated herself to the Goddess, promising to stay chaste always. It is then in her girlhood, that her father recalls her to him and intends to marry her off so she can produce an heir. In her desperation to stay true to the Goddess, Atalanta makes a deal with her father saying that she would only marry the man who can outrun her in a race. All who fail must die.

Spinner stays true to the myth, not diverging from the events or settings that form Atalanta's plight and fate, and the book might suffer a bit from it. In the end it's not so much a retelling as an account of the myth from its main protagonist's point of view. Quiver is more interested in looking at the reasons behind the events. What were the thoughts and motivations behind such seemingly cruel acts? Why did Atalanta do what she did? There are no innovations or surprises beyond the new voice in which it is told, especially if one knows how the myth goes.

Quiver is a small and quick read, easy to go through in a couple of hours or so, and while most people might not get attached to Atalanta as a character, I didn't think the point was to make her likeable. It was to make her heard. I kept wanting things to go differently, I kept hoping she would do things differently, but all I could do was watch the events unfold to their inevitable conclusion.

I am still glad I read it. Glad it was written. Glad a voice was given to an almost unknown heroine, even if it's not the voice I would I've liked to hear. Now if only there were more books doing the same things. I would read stories upon stories about such women as Ariadne, Medea, Andromache and countless others who are lost among the Achilles, Jason, Theseus and Hercules of history.


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Quiver Stephanie Spinner Books Reviews

When her father abandoned her to die in the woods as an infant, Artemis sent a bear to nurse her. Raised by the hunters who found her, Atalanta runs like the wind and can hit any target with her bow and arrow.

When she turns sixteen, her father, a cruel king, summons her back to his palace and demands that she wed and produce an heir. Afraid to betray the vow of chastity she made to Artemis, she tells her father that she will only marry the man who can beat her in a race. The losers will be put to death.

Many suitors try and fail, but when handsome Hippomenes takes up her challenge, Atalanta is no longer sure she wants to win.

I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling. Atalanta was a strong character and the verbal sparring between Artemis and Apollo made me laugh. Also, that thing with the lions was new to me. I've read several versions of this story and never encountered that twist before.
I gave this book to my 12 year old daughter this summer, and she devoured it in 2 days. She also proclaimed it her favorite book of the summer (and she read a LOT of books!)
Quiver was a wonderful integration of mythology, romance, and adventure. I have recommended it to many of my friends and my Latin teacher. The main character, Atalanta, was one of the many characters beautifully brought to life through dialogue and description. The plot was a delicate mix of the many tales of Atalanta. I look forward to reading many other books by Stephanie Spinner.
Quiver was a wonderful integration of mythology, romance, and adventure. I have recomended it to many of my friends and my Latin teacher. The main character, Atalanta, was one of the many characters beautifully brought to life through dialogue and description. The plot was a delicate mix of the many tales of Atalanta. I look forward to reading many other books by Stephanie Spinner.
In this retelling of the story of Atalanta, Stephanie Spinner continues in the tradition of great novelists like Mary Renault who render ancient history and mythology fresh, accessible and immediate without adulterating the original power of the stories. Atalanta, a mythical huntress with a remarkable story, is still a teenaged girl -- confused, hormonal, and horse-crazy. Anyone who has ever been a adolescent girl or known one will feel a certain affinity to and sympathy for her.
Spinner doesn't fall into the trap of stylistic modernization, however. Despite her character's accessibility to the modern reader, Atalanta remains undisputably an inhabitant of an ancient, mythical world in which creatures like centaurs are an unremarkable (though smelly and obnoxious) aspect of everyday life, and the gods are flawed, mercurial and fickle. Apollo and Artemis carry on conversations filled with the idle, slighty vicious barbs one would expect from siblings, though not, perhaps, from devine ones. That our heroine, long-suffering and stoic, is at the mercy of these creatures seems the ultimate injustice she is so much better than they.
I suppose that injustice is part of what makes "Quiver" so convincing and evocative of the original myths it is based on. The Greek Gods of Homer and Ovid were never especially divine in judgement or emotion; what makes them so terrifying and moving is that they are just like us, only bigger, more powerful, and even more ruled by the drives and emotions we deem ignoble, primal, and unmanagable. In this godly muck of jealousy, revenge and chaos for the sake of it, Atalanta is a beacon of level-headedness, humanity, and nobility.
I love retellings. Of myths, of fairytales, of classics novels. Any retellings of any kind. I am fascinated by them, I enjoy wondering and discovering how an author will re-invent an old, often well known, tale. I am endlessly surprised and amazed at the seemingly endless ways a story can be approached and retold without ever getting boring.

This is why Quiver, by Stephanie Spinner, has been sitting in my to-read list for nearly two years, until, finally, I got my hands on it last week. In her debut novel, Spinner tackles a Greek myth. And let me tell you, I love Greek mythology, from Homer to Xena Warrior Princess, I rarely get tired of it. And I am even more excited if the retelling tells the story of a little known myth, or mythical figure, and I become intrigued and fascinated if said figure is a girl or a women, as their voices are so often forgotten, stifled or ignored. More often than not, in fact, they do not have a voice, or I should say, are not given one.

In Quiver, Spinner gives a voice to Arcadian princess Atalanta, the swiftest human in Greece, and one of its best hunters too. Abandoned by her father at birth, because she was not a boy, the myth says that Artemis, chaste Goddess of the Moon and the hunt, sent a bear to rescue baby Atalanta. The girl then, while growing up learning to hunt, and shoot and run, dedicated herself to the Goddess, promising to stay chaste always. It is then in her girlhood, that her father recalls her to him and intends to marry her off so she can produce an heir. In her desperation to stay true to the Goddess, Atalanta makes a deal with her father saying that she would only marry the man who can outrun her in a race. All who fail must die.

Spinner stays true to the myth, not diverging from the events or settings that form Atalanta's plight and fate, and the book might suffer a bit from it. In the end it's not so much a retelling as an account of the myth from its main protagonist's point of view. Quiver is more interested in looking at the reasons behind the events. What were the thoughts and motivations behind such seemingly cruel acts? Why did Atalanta do what she did? There are no innovations or surprises beyond the new voice in which it is told, especially if one knows how the myth goes.

Quiver is a small and quick read, easy to go through in a couple of hours or so, and while most people might not get attached to Atalanta as a character, I didn't think the point was to make her likeable. It was to make her heard. I kept wanting things to go differently, I kept hoping she would do things differently, but all I could do was watch the events unfold to their inevitable conclusion.

I am still glad I read it. Glad it was written. Glad a voice was given to an almost unknown heroine, even if it's not the voice I would I've liked to hear. Now if only there were more books doing the same things. I would read stories upon stories about such women as Ariadne, Medea, Andromache and countless others who are lost among the Achilles, Jason, Theseus and Hercules of history.