Wake, Siren (ARC Review)

 I’ll be honest. I read Wake, Siren partly out of anger. 

When I came upon its listing on Netgalley (where I get my ARCs), the only review I saw said merely:

“I was hoping for something like Circe…” and gave it 2 stars. 

 And I thought that was completely unfair. Even if the book was bad, it would be bad on its own two feet and should be given credit for such. Expecting it to be something (which it never claims to be) then giving it a bad review because it wasn’t that is just, well, unjust. 

 So, even though I tell myself not to read anthologies (especially as ARCS) when I’ve come to accept my favor lies with full-length works, I requested it. I thought that out of all the books I requested (Coral, Mooncakes, etc.) it may be my least favorite but at least I’d give it a fair shot.

 I was wrong. 

 It was much much better than I expected and certainly much more than the crappy 2-star review would have you believe (shame on you 2-star reviewer!). 

 Wake, Siren is exactly as it says it is; Ovid Resung. It’s the stories of Metamorphoses, metamorphized into their feminist, modern versions. The focus shifts from Ovid’s version so that women are center stage, the time period alters and the stories become much more readable (and relatable) for today’s audiences; here we get to see the figures of classic myths go to 7-11, eat Skittles, and sing in rock bands. 

 Some of the characters in Wake, Siren will be more than familiar to you (Daphne, Medusa, Hecuba) while others have only been side characters (Arethusa, Leucothoe, Procne). Partly because of this, Greek mythology buffs or fans of Ovid will get the most out of these stories, since there is no wasted time making sure you’re up to snuff. But even without the knowledge, you’ll still stand to enjoy and earn something from these narratives.

 The real strength of this collection stems from MacLaughlin’s ability to create voices. Emphasis on the plural here, because there are a lot (more than you might expect) of women featured in this book and each gets their own narration and time to shine. With the entirety of the pieces written in first person, this helped to differentiate between one and the next but also made the characters each feel more real and complete, connecting you to them more quickly, even though some only had a few pages to be made known. 

 Many of the stories were purely…well, resung. The stories of old brought into a more modern version, the original story translated into modern-English. But there were also quite a few which dive into more experimental territory when it comes to their narrative structure. And these were my favorites.

 MacLaughlin is a master at creating one-sided conversations that not only sound two-sided but which are well-rounded enough to feel like a full story while still maintaining a sense of realistic dialogue. The voice was strongest, in my opinion, in these stories, which may be why I enjoyed them so much. 

 Myrrha, Procne and Philomela, Iphis, and Scylla were my favored chapters although I found something to love in almost all of them. 

 In any collection, there will be some stories that stand out above others. But unlike most collections, there were really no stories in this book that I hated, or even disliked. 

 If there was one thing I could critique about this collection it’s that it could have gone further, I could have had more …but I won’t say that it’s needed or would have even been wholly beneficial.

 Could there have been even stronger differentiation between voices? Sure. Some, over the course of the entire book, were similar. But voice is a tricky thing to nail, especially when trying to do it 33 times. And each certainly has more personality than Ovid gave them.

 Could some of these stories have been longer? Perhaps. MacLaughlin’s writing can be beautiful enough to be intoxicating and makes you want to continue on even after it is over.

 Could there have been more experimentation? I say yes. But the more experimentation, I realize, the more you might sacrifice going over your reader’s heads or making them confused. And as it is, it toes the line between too abstract and completely readable, so that it can be a bit of both and cater to each audience.

 Could it have been darker? Sometimes, perhaps. But it gets pretty dark as it is. 

 Should I stop asking questions and then answering them? Absolutely.

These stories strike a very good balance and are organized in a very smart way. The effect is not only that the stories bring the old myths to life for a new audience, and elaborate on skimmed-over characters, but that together, these stories show how women are still (unfortunately) struggling with many things that ancient Greek women were. Some things have changed, sure, but at their core, the stories remain true to the originals and yet still feel relevant and realistic. And that’s pretty dark.

 I ended up rating Wake, Siren 4.5 out of 5 stars, which is quite a high rating for a collection. This book is artistic, and thoughtful, and successful in portraying its purposes and themes. I think those who enjoy the tone and themes of Amanda Lovelace’s poetry will appreciate MacLaughlin’s work as well, and fans of Circe may also, I admit, enjoy this…but don’t be expecting it to be the same thing!

Wake, Siren will be released November 19th, 2019.

Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the opportunity to read a digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!