A historically perceptive and cheeky tour of a licentious mythological figure.
An illustrated survey focuses on the artistic sources documenting the legendary lecherousness of Zeus.
Zeus figures prominently in Greek mythology as the “god of the sky, of lightning and thunder and king of the gods on Mount Olympus.” He’s the subject of innumerable depictions in visual art and poetry, both ancient and modern. Patricia Ann Colón and Angel Rafael Colón concentrate on two particular aspects of Zeus’ legend, his lurid reputation as a “seducer, rake, roué, and rapist” and his general, immoral “vindictiveness.” The book points out that “mythological tales usually cast Zeus as a lustful, narcissistic, temperamental and vengeful god who launched puissant thunderbolts with wild abandon to those who offended him, apparently an unsettling common occurrence, and is known as a consummate reprobate who maintained and further fostered the family tradition of incestuous relationships, whether sanctioned by marriage, seduction or rape.” The authors astutely draw on a rich literary tradition that features Zeus, including ancient writers such as Homer and Hesiod and modern ones like William Butler Yeats. Nevertheless, the highlights of the volume are its discussions of Zeus’ pictorial representations as well as those of his family and victims, often overlapping groups. Zeus was an equal opportunity predator, victimizing other gods, including his own kin; nymphs; and “vulnerable mortals.” The authors include nearly 100 beautiful illustrations of paintings and sculptures, a diverse offering of work by the likes of Rubens, Titian, and Rembrandt. And while the subject matter can be grim—Zeus is linked to dozens, if not hundreds, of rapes—the authors attempt to inject a spirit of levity into the book, sometimes exploring the gossipy salaciousness of Zeus’ transgressions. Toward the end of the volume, they include a newspaper article from the ersatz tabloid the Olympian Times with the headline “Zeus Again Accused of Rape.”
A historically perceptive and cheeky tour of a licentious mythological figure.Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64970-193-0
Page Count: 188
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Not so deep, but a delightful tip of the hat to the pleasures—and power—of glamour.
A coffee-table book celebrates Michelle Obama’s sense of fashion.
Illustrated with hundreds of full-color photographs, Obama’s chatty latest book begins with some school portraits from the author’s childhood in Chicago and fond memories of back-to-school shopping at Sears, then jumps into the intricacies of clothing oneself as the spouse of a presidential candidate and as the first lady. “People looked forward to the outfits, and once I got their attention, they listened to what I had to say. This is the soft power of fashion,” she says. Obama is grateful and frank about all the help she got along the way, and the volume includes a long section written by her primary wardrobe stylist, Koop—28 years old when she first took the job—and shorter sections by makeup artists and several hair stylists, who worked with wigs and hair extensions as Obama transitioned back to her natural hair, and grew out her bangs, at the end of her husband’s second term. Many of the designers of the author’s gowns, notably Jason Wu, who designed several of her more striking outfits, also contribute appreciative memories. Besides candid and more formal photographs, the volume features many sketches of her gowns by their designers, closeups on details of those gowns, and magazine covers from Better Homes & Gardens to Vogue. The author writes that as a Black woman, “I was under a particularly white-hot glare, constantly appraised for whether my outfits were ‘acceptable’ and ‘appropriate,’ the color of my skin somehow inviting even more judgment than the color of my dresses.” Overall, though, this is generally a canny, upbeat volume, with little in the way of surprising revelations.
Not so deep, but a delightful tip of the hat to the pleasures—and power—of glamour.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593800706
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
A frank and funny but uneven essay collection about neurodiversity.
An experimental, illustrated essay collection that questions neurotypical definitions of what is normal.
From a young age, writer and comedian Myers has been different. In addition to coping with obsessive compulsive disorder and panic attacks, she struggled to read basic social cues. During a round of seven minutes in heaven—a game in which two players spend seven minutes in a closet and are expected to kiss—Myers misread the romantic advances of her best friend and longtime crush, Marley. In Paris, she accidentally invited a sex worker to join her friends for “board games and beer,” thinking he was simply a random stranger who happened to be hitting on her. In community college, a stranger’s request for a pen spiraled her into a panic attack but resulted in a tentative friendship. When the author moved to Australia, she began taking notes on her colleagues in an effort to know them better. As the author says to her co-worker, Tabitha, “there are unspoken social contracts within a workplace that—by some miracle—everyone else already understands, and I don’t….When things Go Without Saying, they Never Get Said, and sometimes people need you to Say Those Things So They Understand What The Hell Is Going On.” At its best, Myers’ prose is vulnerable and humorous, capturing characterization in small but consequential life moments, and her illustrations beautifully complement the text. Unfortunately, the author’s tendency toward unnecessary capitalization and experimental forms is often unsuccessful, breaking the book’s otherwise steady rhythm.
A frank and funny but uneven essay collection about neurodiversity.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9780063381308
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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