The Palace of Eros
A shimmering story of love, desire, freedom, and being authentic unfolds in the pages of this book. The ancient Greek myth of the mortal woman Psyche and the immortal Eros (better known as Cupid) is given a fresh and riveting retelling. In this version, Eros is the goddess of desire, and the daughter of Aphrodite, goddess of love. Aphrodite dispatches Eros to get rid of Psyche, whose beauty is said to rival Aphrodite’s own. Instead of eliminating Psyche, however, Eros falls in love with her. This forbidden love causes Eros to build a hidden palace sanctuary for Psyche and herself to shield them not only from Aphrodite but from all the gods and goddesses of Olympus.
Eros feels this shielding to be necessary because of her own true self as a being not fully female, but not fully male either. In this sanctuary, Eros becomes the woman-husband of Psyche, who fully accepts Eros as she is. During this growing acceptance, however, Psyche evolves and realizes her need for the freedom to make individual choices, as well. This leads Psyche to the fateful urge to push boundaries, which splits their private world apart. Sanctuary gives way to a shattering and chaotic opening of both of their worlds.
Beautifully evocative language tells this story in a way that is both dramatic and motion bound, but also translucent and mesmerizing. The reader is swept up in the currents of change that follow initial fear, unexpected desire, and growing love. These emotions in turn are accompanied by an increasingly insistent need for freedom, calculated actions, difficult consequences, and finally, life-affirming change. Highly recommended.
