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Dancing the Labyrinth - Women Unveiled
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Womens Fiction
Age Groups: 18+
Formats: Ebook, Paperback
Winner of the International 2024 Eyelands Book Award (Self Publishing)
Cressida flees to Crete, hoping to escape her abusive past. Nothing goes to plan when she discovers she is pregnant, and she fears her baby may inherit her father's violent genes. It takes an ancient matriarchal culture to teach her otherwise.
Dancing the Labyrinth moves between contemporary and ancient Crete in this tale of a young woman from an abusive background who discovers the veiled history of Europe’s most advanced civilization of the Bronze Age – the Minoans.
Reviews
Ionna (verified reader, Amazon)
It is hard and honoring to review a book with such a big charge.
This is the story of Cressida, a young girl who moves for a summer on a Greek island, to escape the memories of her violent father and her never protective mother. Her journey starts just as she finds out she is pregnant, however, by no means is her journey than linear. Her path intertwines with an experience she has, the woman she befriends, and the visions she has of the last women to protect the cult of the Great Mother.
I was attracted to this book because of the labyrinth, I imagined there would be some sort of Ariadne connection but this was so much more. A great gamble of shading light on the cult of Great Mother, the last days of the matriarchy and how patriarchy emerged to take its place and how all reverberated to this day.
Like Angela's ways, it is all pictured in deep brushes, the visions are felt very powerfully by Cressida and their magnitude is the same. Strong, earthshattering moments well balanced with mundane scenes where our modern heroines try to make sense of them. There is an economy of details and the scenes are almost theatrical, the authors experience in this domain is obvious in the structure constructed.
While you can read this book as simply a narration (and there may be some rituals and ideas that can be triggering, so be advised), I believe its power dwells in the past world it portrays and the bridge between the worlds it builds. On many accounts the story hit close home, and I believe Cressida and Angela's lives are very relatable. Also, I loved finding pieces of mysteries, Maria Gimbutas and ho'oponopono embodied in these pages. They just warmed my heart like meeting old friends. I cannot wait to see how the next story will take form!
I thinks this is the kind of book that finds you where you're at. So it if finds you, answer its call.
BookLife / Publisher Weekly April 4, 2022
Martin's dreamy, esoteric book of female empowerment, maternal love, and overcoming abuse is dark, breathtaking, painful, and lovely, all at once. With the interwoven settings of present-day and ancient Crete, the reader will be immersed in an otherworldly tale saturated in femininity.
Keeping with its surreal quality, Martin's prose is melodious and lilting. She does not shy away from the grotesque, often supplying the reader with difficult-to-process imagery, coupled with the inherent beauty of the Grecian island on which the book takes place. Martin is able to harness complex emotions within a few sentences. Martin is excellent at writing heroines, lending a statuesque beauty to the women about which she writes. The men often seem to be caricatures of toxic masculinity, but overall the book is pretty to behold and moving to read.
Dancing the Labyrinth is strange, beautiful, and riddled with pain and growth. The blending of past and present, myth and reality, feeling and concrete experience, makes for a highly unique read.
Book Commentary - reviewed by JANE RILEY November 22, 2021
Cressida is a young woman who visits the beautiful Greek Island of Crete to escape her troubled past, but her life takes an unexpected turn when she discovers she is pregnant. Now, Cressida fears that her father’s abusive traits and her mother’s dismissive, uncaring nature would pass down to her child. However, in her quest for answers and meaning, she uncovers the history of the Minoans —the most advanced civilization from the Bronze Age. Through the hidden history of Europe, she unveils ancient traditions and the shift from matriarchy to a patriarchal society. Learning from the wisdom of these women of the past and ingraining changes in her current life is the only way forward for Cressida.
Dancing the Labyrinth by Karen Martin is a tale that highlights how past experiences of women have shaped the current dynamics of the world and led to the most recent #MeToo and #EnoughIsEnough movements on digital platforms. It brings the inequalities and injustices that women have faced through the centuries to the forefront and gives a message of tranquillity, unity, and the collective efforts required for a positive change in society.
Today’s generation has much to learn from the current and ancient meanings of belonging and femininity and Karen Martin brings this message to readers with superior writing and storytelling that is not just strong but fascinating. She creates a protagonist that readers will love; she is genuinely flawed, resilient, and an embodiment of the frustrations and pains that most women have carried with them over centuries. The deeply rooted problems of the current dynamics are explored through a painful journey of the leading and secondary characters that are fully drawn and unforgettable.
Awards
The Eyelands Book Award 2024
Nov 28th, 2024