While I enjoyed The Door in the Mountain, by Caitlin Sweet, I’m not jumping up and down with excitement over it. It’s a retelling of the Greek myth about the Minotaur, Asterion, through the eyes of Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos of Crete, and a slave girl, Chara. The story contains all of the major players from the myth, including Daedalus, Icarus, and Theseus. It’s full of vivid imagery, and the world came alive easily in my mind. However, there were times when the pace got slow enough for me to get a bit bored.
I’m fond of the growing trend of telling old stories and myths from the perspective of the “evil” characters. Ariadne is one of those characters. As a little girl, I felt sympathy for her because of how Pasiphae, her mother, treated her. However, I also disliked her. I could see what she was becoming in order to get attention and approval. My dislike continued to grow as she became more and more conniving, deceitful, jealous, and hateful. Near the end, though, there was a moment I pitied her. I never truly hated her. Instead, I understood that she would never be redeemed because that’s all she knew how to be.
Despite the pacing issue, I still recommend reading this book. It’s a quick read, at a little over 200 pages, and anyone who loves Greek mythology will enjoy it.