Her style is on the whole
pleasingly arch, as for example when she mentions that Cronus must have
been “not of a very inquiring turn of mind” when he swallows a rock
instead of Zeus. On the negative side, Guerber often robs the tales of
their drama: she skims over such incredible feats as Bellerophon’s
destruction of the invincible Solymi, and fails to tell how exactly the
sons of Boreas destroyed the harpies, or where King Admetus managed to
find and ride a chariot drawn by boars. I also found the tales gutted in
places; I’m not speaking of obvious bowdlerization such as references
to homosexuality, but surprising omissions such as how Heracles ripped
Theseus’ hips when he rescued him from Hades, or why Echo was punished
by Hera (it wasn’t just for talking too much). Guerber doesn’t even make
it explicit that Achilles refuses to fight in the Iliad! These odd gaps
aren’t too distracting, however, as Guerber is usually thorough, and as
noted before, her style is entertaining.
three stars
