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Galatea: A Short Story
Galatea: A Short Story
Galatea: A Short Story
Ebook31 pages21 minutes

Galatea: A Short Story

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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In Ancient Greece, a skilled marble sculptor has been blessed by a goddess who has given his masterpiece – the most beautiful woman the town has ever seen – the gift of life. Now his wife, Galatea is expected to be obedience and humility personified, but it is not long before she learns to use her beauty as a form of manipulation. In a desperate bid by her obsessive husband to keep her under control, she is locked away under the constant supervision of doctors and nurses. But with a daughter to rescue, she is determined to break free, whatever the cost...

Pygmalion's story has moved millions through the centuries, inspiring George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, and later the beloved musical My Fair Lady.  Ecco is proud to publish Orange Prize-winning author Madeline Miller’s E-book original short story Galatea which will appear in the forthcoming anthology xo Orpheus: Fifty New Myths to be published in October. This retelling of the Pygmalion myth from the statue’s perspective is a tale that will make readers rethink how they relate to the great myths of our time.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateAug 13, 2013
ISBN9780062319654
Galatea: A Short Story
Author

Madeline Miller

Madeline Miller is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two novels: The Song of Achilles, which won the Orange Women’s Prize for Fiction 2012, and Circe, which was short-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019. Her books have been translated into over thirty two languages. Miller holds an MA in Classics from Brown University, studied in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms, and taught Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare to high school students for over a decade.

Read more from Madeline Miller

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Reviews for Galatea

Rating: 4.074554281685575 out of 5 stars
4/5

617 ratings20 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The examination of the meaning of art from the art's perspective was a fascinating read. When beauty is all that matters for your worth, when your value is determined solely on what others are willing to pay to preserve you, would you fight for more, run, or work to destroy your artist? While there is much to delve into regarding the beauty standards for women in our world, I am also interested in what this story means for the relationship between creator and creation.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I felt that it is a good one time read. The male character was really hateful and that was the main point of the story. The plot was very vague and general. There was no character representation in the story. Though I would say that the cover photo is fantastic but I really love Madeline Miller's other books. They are fantastic.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    "Galatea" by Madeline Miller is, retelling of the Greek story Galatea and Pygmalion told by the statue Galatea point of view.

    I would give "Galatea" by Madeline Miller a 4 star review because, 1; it was highly interesting to have this told in Galateas point of view 2; it took place it a more modern setting 3; it kept my attention from the getgo but 4; I really did wish it was longer though I can see how the shortness is, quite a important point for the story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    How much do I love Madeline Miller's work? This story, Galatea, was strange in the topic, yet riveting.
    I literally have stopped reading books and listening only to audiobooks. For this author, an exception must be made. Galatea was apparently written almost a decade ago.
    The Song of Achilles is one of my very favorite books of all time. Circe was excellent but little measures up to Achilles. I gave Song of Achilles out as a gift. (Note: It contained one part that was beneath the book re dancing girls but...).
    At the conclusion of this Galatea there is a paragraph about the author along with her picture. She looks so young and beautiful and her educational background and chosen studies are terrific and daunting.
    I am going to research her next work so I can buy it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Tells an imaginative ending of Galatea, the woman made of marble.

    We begin with Galatea In a hospital, telling why she is cold and pale. “I was stone.” But her husband, creator, had said she was mad. The truth is Galatea wanted out, we also find out she has a daughter, who she gave birth to. In the end, Galatea ends her abusive relationship. She turns back into marble after drowning him.

    Over all an amazing short story! I would recommend it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Beautiful writing & narration. I enjoyed this book so much. If I didn’t have other books I want to read, I’d listen to it again right now. I had read Madeline Miller’s second novel, Circe, first, and I didn’t think anything could top that. I think I may have liked this even more!

    I saw another review that mentioned “graphic sexual acts” and I was surprised that someone would see it that way. I thought the intimate moments were perfectly subtle and not graphic at all. The descriptions of violence were far more graphic (even though the writing was still exquisite).
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This story is an aftermath of the “happily ever after” ending of Pygmalion and Galatea’s story. And it’s a really dark and cynical take of the story. It’s short but Miller was able to show us a glimpse of what obsessive love could do and how it could destroy someone.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    For such a great story, a lot of audience must read your book. You can publish your work on NovelStar Mobile App.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great job author, I really like your writing style. I suggest you join Novel Star’s writing competition on April.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I didn't expect it to be THIS good! Truly enjoyed this short story!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I have not read Madeline Miller yet, despite The Song of Achilles being on every book list ever, so when I saw this short story the other day at my local BN, I thought this could be a good introduction to her writing for me.A retelling of the Pygmalion myth, Miller sets Galatea in a hospital ward, where her husband keeps her under medical lock and key so only he has access to her, for her “protection”, and his obsession. However, Galatea will go to any length to protect her daughter and see her one last time, and not even her husband will be able to stop her.Telling the story from Galatea’s POV, Miller has created a feminist take on this myth, that is direct and somewhat brutal. Be sure to read the new afterword in this edition, as Miller gives a deep dive into her creative process for the story.#books #bookstagram #book #booklover #reading #bookworm #bookstagrammer #bookinfluencer #read #mythology #galatea #bookreview #booksofinstagram #instabook #readingtime #bookblog #blogger #bookrecommendation #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #reader #booklove #instabooks #literature #madelinemiller #frommybookshelfblog #frommybookshelf #bookish #happyreading
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
     An incredibly short retelling of an ancient myth. This one was interesting, but ironically, it left me feeling cold. A sculptor brings his creation to life and falls in love with her. Romantic on the surface, but in this retelling he is abusive and controlling. I love her other work, but I felt like this one wasn’t strong enough to be published as a standalone book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I wish this was longer or part of a short story collection! I would have probably rated it higher had it been a little more fleshed out or part of a collection - but alas - I will take my Madeline Miller where I can get it. Galatea reimagines the myth of Galatea and Pygmalion. A sculptor creates the most beautiful woman and wishes she were alive. When she awakens she is immediately impregnated finds out that life is not meant for her. It is all controlled by the sculptor. She is locked away and kept in constant supervision by doctors and nurses who drug her. But she knows what she wants and that is her daughter. She may have been made of stone - but her heart beats for one thing only and that is her daughter.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A short & grim read. Sadly, some aspects of it still familiar in our society now.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An Amazon single, Galatea is a longish short story, not a novel, written prior to the publication of Miller's two wonderful books, Song of Achilles and Circe. It tells the story of Pygmalion, but from the viewpoint of his statue-wife. Pygmalion had prayed that his most beautiful statue would come to life and be his alone, but once his wish comes true, he is dismayed to find that his beloved is now a lively, intelligent, sociable human being, not merely a work of art. Obsession and jealousy rage, and he locks Galatea in a hospital and puts her under the constant supervision of doctors and nurses. But she is determined to do whatever it takes to ensure that her daughter has the freedom that she has been denied.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    very nice
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent short-story retelling of the ancient myth where the goddess Aphrodite answered sculptor Pygmalion's prayers that his perfect woman statue Galatea be brought to life. But just like Liza Doolittle in the modern day retellings in George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" or Lerner & Loewe's "My Fair Lady", what if the statue could talk and give its version of the story? You may have overlooked this, as I did, between the publications of Madeline Miller's two stunning modern novelization retellings of Achilles and Circe, but don't miss it now!

    3 people found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Read as part of a Scribd evaluation. Spooky and interesting, but just a little on the short side.

    2 people found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Galatea by Madeline Miller
    This is actually a short story but it’s available as a digital “book,” so I’m including a review.
    Like Miller’s The Song of Achilles, this story retells an ancient story. Here, she takes on the Pygmalion myth and tells it from the statue’s point of view.
    What a fascinating study. The statue, brought to life by her maker’s prayers, has feelings and needs of her own. The sculptor doesn’t honor anything but his own desires, and they are lustful to the point of repulsion.
    When she discovers that he has carved another statue of a young girl, she recognizes the girl as her daughter…and knows the fate that awaits the girl in the sculptor’s bedchamber. Her final sacrifice saves the girl from life while providing her with the release she so desperately wants from her semi-human life.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This is really, really short. I know that's the idea of Kindle Singles, but I think this just guaranteed I won't buy another of those. Twenty pages for £1.50? Are you serious?It's not a bad little story, though it brings parallels to Angela Carter and so on to mind. It's nothing particularly groundbreaking, in that regard: it gives a woman from mythology a voice and a will of her own. Madeline Miller's writing is nice enough, though it didn't stand out, here.

    1 person found this helpful

Book preview

Galatea - Madeline Miller

Galatea

M

ADELINE

M

ILLER

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C

ONTENTS

Galatea

About Madeline Miller

Books by Madeline Miller

Credits

Copyright

About the Publisher

G

ALATEA

IT WAS ALMOST sweet the way they worried about me.

You’re so pale, the nurse said. You must keep quiet until your color returns.

I’m always this color, I said. Because I used to be made of stone.

The woman smiled vaguely, pulling up the blanket. My husband had warned her that I was fanciful, that my illness made me say things that would sound strange to her.

Just lie back and I’ll bring you something to eat, she said. She had a mole on the side of her lip and I liked to watch it while she talked. Some moles are beautiful and distinctive, like dappling on a horse. But some have hairs in them, and look pulpy like worms, and hers was this kind.

Lie back, she repeated, because I hadn’t.

You know what I think would be good for my color? A walk, I said.

Oh no, she said. Not until you’re better. Feel how chilled your hands are?

That’s the stone, I said, like I told you. It can’t get warm without sun. Haven’t you ever touched a statue?

You’re chilled, she repeated. Just lie back, and be good. She was rushing a little by then, because I had mentioned the stone twice, and this was gossip for the other nurses and a breathless reason to speak to the doctor. They were fucking, that’s why she was so eager. I could hear them sometimes through the wall. I don’t say this in a nasty way, for I

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