Psyche in a Dress - Francesca Lia Block

Francesca Lia Block's short work of poetry and prose, is a retelling of the Greek myth, set in a more familar contemporary setting.

Psyche is also a book about what it is to be woman. She takes a lover, Eros, though she is forbidden from seeing his face. Convinced by her sisters to expose him in candlelight, Eros flees, and Psyche is forced to spend her years searching for her lost love. In that time, Psyche is personified as several other mythological women, including Persephone, queen of the underworld, Demeter, goddess of the harvest and Eurydice, wife of Orpheus banished to the underworld.

Manipulative and deeply sexual, Blocks gods and goddesses are both delicate and beautiful yet terrible and cruel. Psyche in a Dress is filled with complex metaphors. I admit to not being able to decipher them all myself! However, I was able to appreciate the uniqueness of Block's writing, and the nature of the stories being (re)told - although set in a modern world, the stories and characters maintain a classic mythological feel.

Psyche in a Dress is worth a read by anyone with an interest in Greek mythology, though Block's particular style may not be for everyone.

Other blog reviews:
Stella Matutina
Rhinoa's Ramblings
The Written World
Things Mean A Lot