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3.5 

L'Esprit de L'Escalier

By Catherynne M. Valente
L'Esprit de L'Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

From the award-winning, bestselling author of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland comes Catherynne M. Valente's dark fantasy tale "L’Esprit de L’Escalier", a Tor.com Original.

In this provocative and rich retelling of the Greek myth, Orpheus, the musician son of Apollo and Calliope, successfully rescues his wife Eurydice from Hades after her untimely death.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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23 Reviews

3.5
“A modern retelling of a Greek myth in the incredible voice of Valente. This hits all the right notes for me. It is short, but packs a punch when it comes to characters, perspective, and overall tone. Merged review: A modern retelling of a Greek myth in the incredible voice of Valente. This hits all the right notes for me. It is short, but packs a punch when it comes to characters, perspective, and overall tone.”
“When he gets home that night, he has to step over the green-black river that churns through the foyer, separating the land of the living room from the land of his wife. I don't even have the words to describe how this made me feel. It was beautiful, it was musical, it was heart-wrenching, macabre, and decay-ridden. I loved how visual everything was, all the parallels to the original Greek myths that show up, how modern and realistic it feels but Eurydice is an undead shadow literally held together by mold that threatens to consume everything in her and Orpheus' house and everyone is just *fine* with it. I love this myth to pieces — both sides of it. The first is that Orpheus is entirely justified, even relatable in wanting to save the woman he loved at any cost, and his love for her is what makes him turn around. The second is that we consider that Eurydice does not want to be saved, and Orpheus retrieving her from death back into the land of the living is an act of pure selfishness. And I love how this story explored these things, even flipping the first around on its head: “Why didn’t you turn around?” Eurydice whispers. Orpheus tells the truth. “I knew you were there, baby. I never doubted it for a minute.” https://www.tumblr.com/whipcreamsucks/740696588555616256?source=share Orpheus stops on the stair. For a moment, just a moment, he thinks that perhaps she is there. Asking him not to go. Eurydice as she always was, adoration in human form, the way he remembers her. The way she should have been. Maybe it will all be all right, and this was just the last test, the last barrier between life and death.”

About Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente is the New York Times and USA bestselling author of over forty books of fiction and poetry, including Space Opera, the Fairyland novels, Deathless, and The Refrigerator Monologues. She is the winner of the Nebula, Otherwise, Lambda, Hugo, and Sturgeon Awards. She lives off the coast of Maine with her family.

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