The Great God Pan

Rating:
Summary: Expected better but mildly interesting...
Review: I've read some of the author's other retellings and was a bit disappointed with this one. We meet Pan, the half goat/half god who basically flits around the woods with other mythical creatures all day. It isn't until he meets Iphigenia and falls in love with her that his life really seems to have a purpose. People with any background in Greek mythology know that Pan had a curse placed on him upon birth that he will never be loved in return. His quest to find Iphigenia again then seems a bit fruitless to the reader, but what we don't realize is that he may be able to save her from her father's mission to sacrifice her. This book needed more detail. I felt it was lacking in some other areas as well, as the plot meandered quite a bit. I did like how the author included a family tree at the beginning so we understood how everyone was related however.

Rating:
Summary: Not her best, but sparkling with rich detail and new love!
Review: If you have read anything by Donna Jo Napoli, you would already know how she takes old legends and faerie tales and makes them sparking with new life and love. This is definitely an example of her ability to do so, although not one of my most favorite works by her, it is a very absorbing tale, rich with detail, lust, and the suspicion of unrequited love. Here, the heart-breaking tale of the half-goat, half-god, Pan is brought to life. Pan has always been happy. He is loved by both the gods and the goddesses, satisfied with frolicking about with the myaids of the wood which he lives in. His father is Hermes, of the winged slippers, Hermes, who guides the dead to Hades, his mother, a nymph whom he has never met, who abandoned him with his father at birth. Pan is joy. Pan is playful. "Perfect Pan" say the maiyads. "Pan of panic" says his father. Pan is happy, yes. Until he meets Igphenia. Igphenia is daughter of a king and queen, only she is really the daughter of Helen, of Troy. Igphenia, who knows as much about herbs and plants, if not more, than Pan himself. Igphenia, who is a mortal. "Never fall in love with a mortal," the goddesses tell him. "There is too much pain." Yes, Pan's story is one of pain. He meets her in a field, where they talk about herbs, sharing new remedies with each other. And then she goes, back to her mother and father, and he cannot stop thinking about her. And later, after another accidental meeting, he is even more infuatuated with her. In his mind he denies that he is in love with her, in his mind and his mouth, yet he is. Pan of Pain. In the end, he proves his love, his deep love, more than a simple infuatuation, when he makes his ultimate sacrifice for her. This is a lovely book with a horribly sad ending, an ending that will stay with you long after you read the last words.