Sonderbooks Book Review of Lost in the Labyrinth

****Lost in the Labyrinth*

by Patrice Kindl

Reviewed March 29, 2003.
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 2002. 194 pages.

I’m a big fan of Patrice Kindl. Owl in Love is a haunting story of a teenage shape-changer with a crush on her teacher. Woman in the Wall is a wonderful character study of a shy girl who actually disappears into the walls of her house. Goose Chase is a delightful twist on a fairy tale.

I wasn’t as crazy about this new book, but it’s not that Patrice Kindl didn’t do an excellent job of writing it. I simply didn’t like the story as well. I suppose I’d have to blame the Greeks.

Lost in the Labyrinth is a retelling of the myth of the Minotaur of Crete. The narrator, Xenodice, is the daughter of Queen Pasiphae of Crete and her husband Minos. Their palace is a great labyrinth. Xenodice is in love with Icarus, the beautiful son of the inventor Daedalus. It turns out that what the Greeks call the Minotaur is actually Xenodice’s half-brother Asterius. He is the son of Pasiphae and the god “The Great Bull of the Earth.” He is a bit wild, but Xenodice loves him dearly. When Theseus of Athens shows up, anyone who knows the myth at all will know that Xenodice is in for some grief, even if she didn’t have the misfortune of being in love with Icarus.

The story is well-told. I like the twist of telling it from the point of view of the Cretans and how different this version is from that told by the Greeks. Since this is myth, there’s plenty of violence and treachery, so it’s not the most pleasant of stories. Still, this is well worth reading, especially for anyone interested in mythology.

Reviews of other books by Patrice Kindl:
Owl in Love
Keeping the Castle
A School for Brides

Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

***Lost in the Labyrinth

by Patrice Kindl

****Lost in the Labyrinth*