Lies We Sing To The Sea by Sarah Underwood (Young Adult fiction, Electric Monkey Books)
'Lies We Sing To The Sea' remains one of my favourite retellings of Greek mythology; with its lyrical prose, haunting narrative and grief-wracked characters, the book has stayed with me ever since reading it last year. Sarah Underwood is now one of my most anticipated voices in YA fiction; I cannot wait to read her second novel, 'Gentlest of Wild Things', out in August this year.
'Lies We Sing To The Sea' is inspired by the story of the twelve hanged maids of Ithaca, a curse bestowed upon the island by the wrathful Poseidon. Our protagonist, Leto, is one such sacrifice, destined to die by the rope. But Fate has other plans: instead of dying, Leto wakes on the shores of Pandou, whose immortal custodian Melantho informs Leto of her destiny. Leto has the chance to break Ithaca's curse which demands the death of twelve maidens each year; all she has to do is kill the prince of Ithaca.
But Prince Mathias is not the enemy Leto hoped to face; instead, he is kind, seeking his own way to break his island's curse. With Leto's love for both Melantho and Mathias growing by the day, they face a choice which will change the course of history. Succeed in breaking the curse, and thousands will be saved. Fail, and Death will take them all.
This novel perfectly encapsulates the dichotomy of love and loss in everyday life; grief, hope and deep connection fill its pages in the most beautiful way. The gritty undertones created by the protagonists' visceral anguish as they fall in love with the very people they must let go made for a really powerful read, capturing young love and the deep seated fear that we all have of losing those who matter most to us. Although the book definitely feels like a very sad read, I think that it is ultimately a book about love, and about the sacrifices we have to make for causes bigger than ourselves.
I loved the tenderness with which Melantho and Leto's connection is written- their teasing of each other feels so well observed, yet it never takes away from the depth of feeling that they have for one another, making it a really relatable love story for modern readers.
I also enjoyed how likeable Mathias is; I think it was a much more meaningful choice to make him a compassionate and tormented character rather than a stereotypical foe, for me it added much more realistic and complex nuances to the book's overall themes.
I really like the fact that Sarah Underwood has chosen to give agency to the voices of young people in this novel; many books in the Greek retellings genre that I have read focus on adults, and the remarkable. I admire Sarah Underwood's choice to give the ordinary and the young a chance to tell their stories- the characters all feel like teenagers trying their best to find their places in the world as they begin to understand just how much people mean to each other; there is none of the bitterness or hubris in 'Lies We Sing To The Sea' that is so often present in this genre, perhaps because it is YA fiction rather than adult. Underwood's characters feel like a breath of fresh air, young people whose experiences will echo through the centuries to modern readers, allowing the kind of true connection to the characters which I struggle to find in other books in this genre.
Although the plot is complex in terms of deeper meaning and the journey to understanding how to break the curse, 'Lies We Sing To The Sea' feels like a really accessible read, as it never feels heavy on the historical detail, and it doesn't really require the reader to have much prior knowledge of Greek mythology. This made the reading experience even more enjoyable for me, as I could fully focus on the characters and their lives without constantly wondering who was who, something I often find myself thinking about in other Greek retellings.
All of the protagonists have their flaws and shortcomings, which I really liked, as this is woven into the plot with a level of subtlety that makes the characters so much more authentic and relatable as people. The shifting dynamics between the three are so cleverly portrayed; the novel is written in third person, yet each chapter follows a different one of the three main characters, allowing you as the reader to connect with each, then dislike them by the time you've read the next page and seen the consequences of their actions on another one of the characters you love.
For me, Melantho is my favourite character. Constantly on the periphery of her own life, grieving and misunderstood, I really connected with her sense of loneliness and the lack of power over her own life. Melantho really epitomises what it is to love, and her grief for those she has loved and lost is depicted in the most emotional, raw and yet honest way; this was one of my favourite elements of the narrative to read and learn more about. Melantho feels like the voice of all the women who have been reduced to the footnotes of history, and shows the true impact of violence and assault on the lives of women; although immortal, Melantho feels very relevant in a modern context, and always reads like a person, not something other. The ending of the book feels so right for the story, and I loved that the ultimate question is 'how is this going to end?', not just 'will there be a way they can all survive?'. However, I still feel devastated that Melantho never gets an extended period of happiness after all that she has been through. Even when I found out the role Melantho plays in the curse, I still remained on her side, a testament to Sarah Underwood's skill as a writer!
I loved learning more about Leto's childhood, told by her in snippets of stories to Melantho- I really liked that, as it captures the intimacy of falling in love for the first time through Leto telling Melantho her deepest hurts and fears. Despite Leto's feelings of inadequacy being linked to her father's grief after the death of Leto's mother, I think many young people will relate to the feeling of having to reach unattainable and inauthentic standards in order to be deemed worthy; Leto's feelings of loss and rejection by her father really stood out to me as a concept explored in the book.
I loved the way that Mathias's relationship to his sister Selene is portrayed; I felt like I knew her even though she died years before the start of the book, and this aspect of the narrative really showcases the power of deep love, which never fully leaves us. It makes the ending of the book even more poignant, and perfectly represents that one person we all have and look to in order to find our way in life.
'Lies We Sing To The Sea' is a book about fate, loss and finding love in unexpected places. The characters are authentic and relevant, and the plot is beautifully rendered as an empowering expression of young people finding their places in the world. If you love Greek mythology, romance, and curses, then this is the book for you! Sarah Underwood's second novel, 'Gentlest Of Wild Things', is out on August 15th.
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