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Savage Her Reply

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Savage Her Reply

By: Deirdre Sullivan
Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
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About this listen

A retelling of the favourite Irish fairytale The Children of Lir. Aífe marries Lir, a chieftain with four children by his previous wife. Jealous of his affection for his children, the witch Aífe turns them into swans for 900 years.

Retold through the voice of Aífe, Savage Her Reply is unsettling and dark, feminist and fierce, yet nuanced in its exploration of the guilt of a complex character.

©2020 Deirdre Sullivan (P)2021 Bolinda Publishing Literature & Fiction Young Adult Witchcraft Magic Users Fantasy

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This is a glorious book. I read it in 1 sitting. Sheer class! Beautiful. I was a bit weary of the idea of the retelling but now I feel the author did a beautiful job humanising the main characters. I feel that this story conveys a more authentic portrayal of the original essence of the story compared with version taught in school. A great read.

Beautiful prose

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SPOILERS IN REVIEW

This was really interesting. Marketed as a "feminist" retelling of the Children of Lir, it explores the story through the eyes of Aífe (Lir's wife who turns the children into swans). I really enjoyed that this was an exploration of Irish mythology, as you so often get re-imaginings of Greek, Roman and Shakespearean tales - one might forget the rich availability of Irish folklore.
I think this could have done more though - at times it felt like a play by play narration of the tale I already knew.

I did like the exploration of Aífe and how she came to be this "evil" queen, however i felt her character development kind of transitioned abruptly. She was semi fond of her sisters children, and suddenly so jealous she resorted to witchcraft?

It was a good, if grim tale. I think it could have been better.

Dark, dramatic retelling of Irish Mythology

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