Reviews

Medea:A Modern Retelling by Christa Wolf

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franzi_issi's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

jonaske's review against another edition

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4.5

Das Buch bietet eine neue Sicht auf die antike Figur Medea, indem die Autorin sie nicht als Kindsmörderin, sondern als Opfer einer ungerechten, patriarchalen Gesellschaft darstellt. Durch die wechselnden Perspektiven der Figuren wird deutlich, wie Vorurteile und Machtstrukturen das Bild von Medea verzerren.
Die verschiedenen Stimmen der Charaktere sind gut herausgearbeitet, was den Roman spannend und vielschichtig macht. Allerdings ist die Sprache manchmal etwas schwer zugänglich, was den Lesefluss hemmen kann. Trotzdem ist es ein lesenswerter Roman, der zum Nachdenken über Schuld, Wahrheit und Macht anregt.
Natürlich muss man sich im klaren sein, dass dieses Buch im antiken Griechenland spielt, das Setting muss einem natürlich auch ein wenig zusagen.
Außerdem gibt es keine klare wörtliche Rede und die einzelnen Perspektiven sind natürlich sehr einseitig, was mich anfangs etwas daran hinderte sehr gut reinzukommen, allerdings hat sich das auch einigermaßen schnell gelegt.
Gleichzeitig bieten eben diese verschiedenen Perspektiven viel Möglichkeit zum nachdenken. Sie zwingt den Lesende, gängige Vorurteile zu hinterfragen und sich intensiv mit der Frage nach Wahrheit und Lüge auseinanderzusetzen.

albanueva's review against another edition

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4.0

This Greek heroine relives with intensity and emotion, showing traits that I had never been before. A powerful book, strongly recommended.

aika1801's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

madfil's review against another edition

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1.0

(25 March, 2024)

A quick read but definitely not an easy one. Wolf takes a great story and turns it into a joke. Her targets? Jason and Medea.

In this awful retelling, Medea is a selfish little princess willing to live in a rich man's world, any rich man, because the trappings of luxury are apparently just too hard to resist. She could ignore her father's wishes and bolt, something she does anyway, twice, but she thinks she can manipulate and dupe everyone to fit her own agenda. Oy! Gone is the strong Medea of old, the Medea who knows what she wants and gets things done, rightly or wrongly.

Jason, the impulsive, glory-seeking ass-hat, is transformed into a clueless tool. In the original tale(s), he is despicable, true, but he has personality. Here he's a colourless dick and the story suffers for it.

Every other narrator is bland and nondescript, to wit: I forgot their names as soon as the page was turned. They are awful. It is also weird that everyone, especially Medea, hates foreign cultures and practices, it adds nothing and makes them all seem like hick xenophobes.

The author's motivation to tortuously change 'Jason And The Argonauts' into this mess escapes me. Replacing a determined, self-aware Medea with an entitled and whiny wretch, one who is incapable of accepting responsibility for her choices is incomprehensible to me, I am happy to say.