Reviews

Delphi” is the new book by Karen Martin based on the Oracle at Delphi myth. Delphi, the new novel by Australian author Karen Martin, inspired by ancient Greece, dives in the Castalian Spring and comes out with answers to questions of the modern woman. The new novel follows the previous Greek mythology-inspired book by the author, Dancing the Labyrinth, which was published four years ago. The heroine is yet again Cressida. She now travels from the Minoan cave to Delphi to ask Pythia the burning questions a woman needs answered. Childhood wounds that resurface force Cressida to make a crucial decision. Inspired by dreams, she travels to Delphi seeking counsel from the Oracle, unaware that she has an important role: to save humanity from catastrophic misery. In the well-known vivid and deep way that Karen Martin introduced readers in her previous book, the author returns to Crete to continue the story of Cressida. This time, the heroine, on her way to self-knowledge, must take refuge in the Oracle of Delphi to be able to heal the wounds of the past. In her novel Delphi, inspired by ancient Greece, the author bridges the world of ancient women with modern women and the challenges they have to face in the patriarchal society they live in. The novel focuses on the forgotten wisdom of the Great Mother and reminds the reader of the importance to achieve self-awareness and explore in depth her inner world. Feminine power The narrative in Delphi is full of feminine power. The Great Mother of the ancient Greek world is a dominant element, as is the transformative power of discovery and acceptance without fatalism or complicity. Cressida is empowered to feel and face her doubts, fears, and emotional wounds. The novel offers a juxtaposition of the main characters in the different timelines. While the women of modern society focus on their personal lives and traumas, the ancient women focus on their duty to the Great Mother and preserve her wisdom against adversity. Karen Martin’s narrative is full of symbolism: oracles, serpents, springs, prophecies, and ancient gods intertwine. Women of the ancient world, carrying the wisdom of the ancients, are in dialogue with modern day women and challenge today’s ways. The dive into the Castalian Spring is a dive into the inner self, and Pythia represents the inner world. Snakes and prophetic visions haunt the heroine as she searches for her own truth. History and mythology merge in Delphi, offering the reader a colorful view of the ancient world.

How can I best review this book and offer a relevant view on it as it spoke so much to me?! I may fail, but I will try. I am grateful to have received this in order to share my view on it, though I will probably buy it in paperback and everything :) First, while Cressida has another book, this can be read as a standalone. The experience of reading all the books in the series is enriching, but this book alone may be enough if Delphi is your interest. This is the story of Cressida the mother, as she learns to offer her child the gentle parenting she did not receive. As she tries to know herself, far from her parents influence. As she fights the influence her genes and upbringing present. And as she begins to know herself, she understands her mother. This book is her reparenting and her being a new mother. All this change and tribulation opens again her connection to an ancient Oracle, who protects her and guides her steps. Hence, her definitory trip to Delphi. And moments so extraordinary, far beyond what you'd think could be past life memories, so much more than that. To say this book is well written is a default, the scenes progress harmoniously while there is enough space for the characters' inner turmoil, there is a lot of holding space even if that means Cressida refusing to dig too deep into her problems and abandoning them mid analysis. There is no dull moment here, and there is no guessing how it will all end. Just when you thought this is Cressida's story, it's Ashtar's part and even Apollo gets his moment. As I let this story glide, surprise me and speak to me, I appreciated greatly its ending. An ending than can only come with deep acceptance and deep compassion and love for oneself. It helps the Universe offers a gift, but is it a gift when you align with it, as Cressida does her inner work and sets herself on her heart path?! In a world of predictable endings, of traditional happily ever afters that bypass the complex feelings, this was refreshing and so real. This book is a warm story, set in an enchanting scenery, featuring one adult woman's journey of knowing herself and her past and becoming unapologetically herself out of its acceptance. And on the back of her journey the author weaves the story of transition from the times of the Mother to patriarchal times, with tremendous understanding and talent, giving voice to the actors that shaped this moment at the center of the heart, Delphi. Along with this understanding, there is so much poetry, the phrases so skilled and the images so enchanting. Even the wind is a character here, with his power of traveling whispers, and the magnitude of the Mother Earth's wound will stay with me forever, with its vivid imagery and its penetrating emotion. I have waited for this book from the moment I found out it was to be written. What I did not expect was for its impact to be so big and to get so much out of reading it. It changed how I view so many little things and it was beautiful to read Cressida's journey of finding her place in her adult years, as so many of us are. Not to mention my view on Athena totally changed, what an extraordinary insight on this Goddess! I could write so much about this book and I feel there are still things that I have to uncover that it gifted me. I think this book should grace the sections of famous retellings of Greek Myths. It is not only that, it is much more than that. This book is a celebration of womanhood, of motherhood, of tenderness, of transition and of love. There is so much here, this is such a powerful work of the heart.

The launch of Australian author Karen Martin’s feminist novel Delphi was held on Sunday at the Greek Centre, drawing a large and engaged audience. ‘Delphi’ is the second book in Martin’s Women Unveiled series and continues the journey of Cressida, the protagonist, as she returns to Crete and seeks guidance from the Oracle of Delphi to confront and heal the wounds of her past. Dean Kalimniou, the keynote speaker, praised the novel as a profound exploration of psychological trauma and memory. Advertisement “Karen Martin’s text becomes a meditation on trauma, its linguistic expression, and the role of memory in shaping individual and cultural identities,” Kalimniou said. He highlighted the novel’s incorporation of psychoanalytic, post-structural, and sociocultural theories, alongside its engagement with myths of primordial violence and redemption. Kaliminou added, “Through the deconstruction of language and her connection to chthonic deities, Cressida ultimately embraces the Delphic maxim to ‘know herself,’ allowing her to work through her past and symbolically save the world.” The event concluded with a dynamic Q&A session, offering the audience a chance to delve deeper into the themes of the book and engage directly with the author. ‘Delphi’ continues to build on the critical acclaim of Martin’s Women Unveiled series, promising a compelling narrative that resonates with readers exploring identity, trauma, and self-discovery.

Karen Martin’s Delphi, a sequel to Dancing the Labyrinth, is a novel that bridges the past and present, taking the reader on a journey through time and place in search for self-discovery and meaning. Delphi focuses on women’s lives, traumas, conundrums and stories. In doing so the author weaves a tapestry of ancient myths, folklore and psychology - Jung is mentioned twice and there is a reference to the Jungian concept of Shadow - in the storyline. The book is part of the series Women Unveiled. The narrative is ripe with feminine power; the Great Mother of the ancient Greek world is a dominant feature as is the transformative force of discovery and acceptance without compliance or complicity. The main character, Cressida, is allowed to feel and face her doubts, fears and emotional wounds. The novel offers a juxtaposition of the main characters in the different timelines: while the women of contemporary society focus on their own personal lives and traumas, the ancient women concentrate on their duty to the Great Mother and the preservation of her wisdom against all odds. Karen Martin’s skilful storytelling employs symbolism – oracles, serpents, springs, prophecies, ancient Gods - and dialogues between women to bring the ancient knowledge into the questions and challenges of today’s world. A thoughtful and insightful novel that invites the reader to dip into the Castalia spring and converse with the Oracle within.

In Delphi, by Karen Martin, the reader is invited into a world where the boundaries between myth and reality blur as the protagonist, Cressida, embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Torn between her love for Gorgios and her reluctance to accept his marriage proposal, she grapples with a profound dilemma: how to shape her future while navigating the complexities of her present, including a secret pregnancy that weighs heavily on her mind. To find clarity, Cressida seeks out the wisdom of an oracle, hoping for a vision of her destiny and a deeper understanding of herself. Her path takes her to Delphi, where ancient stories come alive, supernatural forces intervene, and myths unravel in unexpected ways. Martin masterfully intertwines history and fantasy, creating a narrative rich in detail and imagination. The novel’s vibrant depictions of gods and legendary creatures, from tales of Artemis and Apollo to encounters with the Minoans and matriarchal societies, captivate the reader. These elements are woven seamlessly into Cressida’s transformative journey, where even familiar myths, like the tale of the Minotaur and the labyrinth, are imbued with new meaning. The labyrinth serves as a compelling metaphor for the shadows we all carry, embodying both light and darkness, and it enriches the book’s thematic depth. The fantastical elements shine brilliantly. Each mythical encounter and supernatural event is vividly described, capturing the wonder of ancient legends and drawing in lovers of fantasy. Particularly striking is Cressida’s meeting with the oracle, a pivotal moment that illuminates her internal struggles and propels her forward on her quest for truth. The narrative skillfully portrays Cressida’s turmoil and introspection, presenting her inner voice with an authenticity that resonates, even though it is written in the third person. Her fears and hopes are palpable, and her contemplation of how her choices impact those around her, especially concerning her pregnancy and her feelings for Gorgios, is compelling and deeply relatable. I do feel that the storyline feels like it has many characters and events introduced in rapid succession. This lack of narrative focus occasionally detracts from the central arc of Cressida’s emotional and spiritual growth. For example, I believe that the relationship between Cressida and Aunt Margaret, which holds significant potential, could have benefited from more development. Delphi is undeniably a unique and magical book. Its lush and engaging characters, along with its intricate tapestry of myths and legends, paint a world that fantasy enthusiasts will find hard to resist. The novel’s rich imagery and imaginative storytelling transport readers into a realm of sirens, oracles, and Greek deities. Karen Martin’s Delphi is a celebration of myth and self-discovery, offering a rewarding experience filled with beauty, complexity, and wonder.

The Little Book of Red Flags by Karen Martin, illustrations by Thomas Corboy 💥 QOTD: do you have a favourite meme, or type of memes? ✅️ A celebration of the wisdom of memes ✅️ Illustrations ✅️ Short but snappy and you could read it over and over Books with illustrations get me every time - but a book with illustrated memes? Works. My friend @kazjoypress has self published another book, I'm so proud! This one is a reflection on her journey through and after divorce, with the byline "Navigating the prickly path of love and heartache". And she explains it, "a tangled dance of love and loss sprinkled with a dash of social media wisdom and a pinch of self-respect". Organised chronologically by year, Karen shares wisdoms from GIFs which resonated strongly with her through her journey. Knowing her meant my heart broke for her a few times, but fundamentally, the collection felt like a celebration of femme strength and wisdom. Also a beautiful homage to those memes that we all love so much, with a fresh take, with the addition of beautiful illustrations. Swipe through to see some that resonated for me. I'd wholeheartedly recommend this one to anyone, it's not long and you could pick it up over and over; you can find it on Amazon along with Karen's other self-published books. Proud of you bella @kazjoypress #thelittlebookofredflags #karenmartin #indieauthor #independentartist #relationships #nonfiction #selfpublished

“Karen Martin attempted something risky and extremely difficult, but at the same time rare: To resort to a largely unexplored historical - and even prehistoric - period to draw material and performances and create a modern novel. The result justifies it.” Makis Petsas, (Chania, Crete)

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.

Dancing the Labyrinth by Karen Martin is a story filled with myths, legends, and goddesses. Karen has woven a tale of the past connecting flawlessly with the future by covering the bridge with a vision of the priestess. Dancing the Labyrinth is a story that makes you question your beliefs. I love tales which makes you broaden your horizons and forces you to see and experience something different, something that changes your perspective. Cressida, whose life changed when she arrived in her dream country of Greece, stumbling into a tomb where she experienced the parallels of the world, the past and the future. The experience was divine, yet gruesome. Author Karen Martin describes the existence of a matriarchal society. Many religions claim it to be true, but Karen captures the essence of it. The transition that shifted society to a patriarchal and violent nature, the story tells this perspective through Pythia, Ashtar and Lydia. The Priestesses, the embodiment of the Mother, the Goddess. It’s a tale of time, conveyed to Cressida through her dreams. But the story doesn’t stop here. Instead, with the help of Angela, Cressida tries to understand and to decipher what happened to the civilization, the existence of the tomb. It is a harrowing story. With the suffering inflicted upon women, to the modern world. Greek mythology is famous all over the world, but the perspective on it in this book is unique and intriguing. The story continuously switches writing styles. The book starts casually and with contemporary language and then switches to old an older writing style. Along with this we also get switches in point of views. The story is also filled with Greek myth references that will definitely appeal to readers who are familiar with the mythology.

This book was a fascinating read. I loved every part of it. So here are my thoughts about the book. There are no spoilers ahead of any kind. The book was unique in the sense of story, plot, and characters. I have never read something so unique, slow, and fast at the same time. The story's main focus, the middle, and the ending just make me awe at the sheer talent of the author to sew together this utterly chaotic plot into a beautiful story that we can read. The characters are so well written. Their development is not at all rushed but by no means does this makes the book slow and boring. There are close to no fillers in the story and even if there are they are so good that they seemed an essential part of the story. Props to the author for writing such a great book for us to read and enjoy. At last, if you still are in the midst of deciding whether to buy the book or not. Just do it, it's a lifetime experience, and while doing it show the author some love and support. My utmost gratitude to the author for writing such a great piece of literature.

Worth reading 😎 This story of a modern young woman whose life is changed by visions of ancient priestesses is definitely worth a look. SYNOPSIS When Cressida falls pregnant, her overwhelming fear is that she will pass on her father’s violent DNA. It takes an ancient matriarchal culture to teach her otherwise. Dancing the Labyrinth is a young woman’s odyssey. It weaves a contemporary story of a young woman from an abusive background with the history of Europe’s most advanced civilization of the Bronze Age – the Minoans. It is a celebration of women’s history, courage, friendship and hope. Set in the transition between ancient Goddess worship to patriarchy, it is a timely expose of women’s history in the landscape of the #MeToo Movement and #EnoughisEnough. Cressida, a young Australian woman, comes to Crete fleeing an abusive family situation. She finds a job and somewhere to live, but there’s just one problem: she’s pregnant. Cressida is in emotional turmoil, but when she takes shelter in a cave from a storm, the women of ancient Crete step in to help. A series of visions of female struggles more than three thousand years before lead Cressida to a new friend, Angela, and to an understanding of her past that will help her make peace with her present. There is much here to admire. Martin has clearly done her research and this is a fascinating possible version of a culture – Minoan Crete – about which we still know frustratingly little. Her writing is evocative of Crete as a place, so much so that the setting is almost a character itself. The storm that drives Cressida into the cave to experience her first vision doesn’t feel accidental. It was also great to read a book that so thoroughly passes the Bechdel Test: two female characters get to discuss something other than men. Despite this, I didn’t quite manage to love it. This was in part because I found the historical characters of the Pythia and others less engaging than Cressida. The transition from a matriarchal to a patriarchal society is reasonably well-trodden ground in historical fiction, and I did myself making comparisons with Marion Zimmer Bradley and Mary Renault, as examples of where the emotional and personal struggles involved have been rather more convincingly done. Particularly in the second half of the book, the modern storyline also features a lot of exposition by Angela to Cressida of various theories, which I also found a little reminiscent of some of the more exasperating bits of The Da Vinci Code and its imitators. However, Martin’s message of female solidarity and the possibility of changing not events in the past, but how we feel and respond to them in the present is a positive one, and I was sufficiently interested in both Cressida’s story and the Pythia’s to keep reading. Come for the Cretan landscape, stay for the women’s history: if either of these interest you, this is definitely worth a look.

https://www.netgalley.com/book/236613/reviews aelat w. Reviewer Excellent story! Totally engrossing! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Could not put this down! Ioana M reviewer This book has left with so much! 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. Jeanne G reviewer What would Matriarchal life be like today if it had survived? In this book the author tells us that in Minoan culture a Woman was God (Goddess) and women and the Earth were connected. Women were celebrated for their power and intuition, prophesies, and ability to give birth and celebrate all the mysteries of their culture. I wanted to like this book, but I had difficulty following the unexplored histories of the two modern day characters through whom we experience this Minoan culture. The writing is disjointed and confusing, and frankly tedious. Characters appear suddenly as an important part of the story but were not mentioned before. The two women strike up an unlikely friendship, which just comes on quickly and is not fleshed out. One of them is pregnant, which seems to fade into the background for the central part of the stories and comes back as an ‘oh yes, that pesky pregnancy’ at the end. Dreams, visions, speaking as if controlled by ancient deities seem to affect both characters, not just the one who found the cave with ancient cave art and artifacts. I struggled to finish the book, and don’t recommend it. Mila S Reviewer This was an interesting book and I understand why it would appeal to someone who likes Ancient Greek history. Following Cressida who falls pregnant, she escapes to the Greek Islands as she fears that she will pass on her father's violent tendencies. This was an incredibly beautiful book and super interesting. I had a lot of fun reading it and the connection to Minoans was super cool.

I feel that centuries have passed since the last time I participated in a similar event, due to the dystopian conditions we experience in health, but not only. And I honestly think that, if something is missing, almost torturously almost, it is not so much the norms of everyday life or the most relaxing recreational element of life as that lively creative breath that the direct communication of creators and spectators-readers with the vehicle offers. speech and art, in all its forms. That liberating cultural activity that constitutes a refuge, but also a stubborn act of continuing life and expression directly, through life, mediated by the otherwise useful modern technological tools. And of course, Radamanthis publications ,always pioneers, they take care to remind us of this non-negotiable authentic communication. Karen Martin attempted something risky and extremely difficult, but at the same time rare: To resort to a largely unexplored historical - and even prehistoric - period to draw material and performances and create a modern novel. The result justifies it. The power of "In the Dance of the Labyrinth" is based on its originality, both in form and content, in the deep historicity it exudes, but also in the psychographic penetration that characterizes its ethnographic dimension. It is certainly a fascinating - although the word has been misused and misused - literary text. The special interest it arouses in the reader lies, in my opinion, in the following particular elements: -Fiction writing is intertwined with a number of historical, philosophical, psychological, anthropological and other extensions and implications. -It is impressive the careful and gradual construction of the character of the heroine on her anxious attempt, through the historical dive she attempts, the reflection and the search, to lead to self-knowledge and to the fundamental reconstruction of the essence of her life. -Although, of course, the goal is not the historiographical record, the historical approach of the text is excellent, with the necessary reductions in modern reality, and the regeneration of the atmosphere of the Minoan era, a period that for the most part experienced its dominance matriarchal organization of society, which, despite being scientifically substantiated, remains relatively unexplored, but also challenged by anti-historical interpretations. The main character of Karen Martin, Cressida, through her, in the tragic sense of the word, adventure, the abrupt reversal of fortune, finds the occasion that she subconsciously sought to confront her past and future. Through an extraordinary narrative trick, she falls on the prehistoric past of humanity, looks back at the entries in the collective subconscious from that time, to draw strength to exorcise the demons she has dragged since her childhood (hovering over the narrative - never to deliberately analyze the incidents - the figure of an authoritarian father and a submissive mother). Like an explosion, a world of revelation rises before her. The social roots of this world, its pedestals, its structure, its morals, its rituals push the heroine on a path of purification, purification of the soul, as she traces the causes of the racial and mental oppression she has experienced. The appeal to the collective subconscious, the immersion in the distant past, the consequent change of perspective towards the experiences and representations of life form the basis for the attempt to map and decipher the mind, the soul, the ambitions, the very existence of Cressida. Whether this is achievable on her part is left to the reader to discover, perhaps turning to himself. A weapon of the author, but also a coherent element of the text, become the exceptional narrative techniques that she masterfully treats: -The boxing of the historical narrative, which works in the context of the dream element. The historical memories have as a shell the dreamy escapes of Cressida. -The purely symbolic character of place and time. Evolution is structured on two time levels, that of the Minoan era and today, which are intertwined harmoniously, in a magical, fairytale way. The creative mixing of the myth, the apparition, the dream element with the modern reality embossed the timelessness of the distributions. -The utilization in imaginary terms of primordial separate female deities and forms. Mother Earth, a symbol of fertility, euphoria, but also of natural harmony, Pythia, placed in another place and time, the legendary Amazons. -The symbols of the Minoan era with a modern meaning (the labyrinth, the urovorous serpent, the catalytic role of blood, human sacrifice). -And of course an exquisite, evocative, mystical, without any exaggeration, description of the rites of the matriarchal era in the Minoan context. With a sharpness that certainly could not be rendered without the solid and expressive linguistic performance of Iosif Alygizakis. Of particular value in Martin's work is the extensive representation and recording of the social institutions and manifestations of the given social structure of the Neo-Palace Minoan Era, before and during the transition to the Post-Palace and the new conditions of social hierarchy. The special, positively distinguished and prestigious position of women during the matriarchy era was intertwined with a completely different, communitarian-type social organization. It was certainly not inversely exploitative, as some claim, it was not a product of inequality, but of the particular importance of dealing with the household as a public affair, as a central economic activity in the context of community coexistence. The overthrow of the matriarchy, as the great Friedrich Engels notes in his monumental work The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, marked a world-historical defeat of the female sex, the beginning of the very class differentiation as the first manifestation, the inequality, the consequent humiliation, which passing through all the exploitative socio-economic systems reaches to the present day and takes expressions like those that stigmatize season and topicality. It was, therefore, economic-productive and not biological or abstractly patriarchal the reasons for this overthrow that accumulated the unbearable double oppression of women, socio-economic and racial, to this day. That is why getting rid of this deeply anachronistic situation presupposes radical economic and social upheavals and upheavals and not hollow declarations of equality, like the ones that are coming to the fore today, I consider this retrospection to the teachings and practices of the period of matriarchy to be a trigger, a call from the author to women, but also to all, to realize that it is not a natural phenomenon to cultivate stereotypes and oppressive patterns. The recourse to prehistoric roots, which Martin seeks, signifies the whole treatment of the issue of gender-based violence, of gender relations in general, and testifies that these distinctions are as deeply rooted as they are anti-social and anti-historical at the same time. And they non-negotiable require uprooting. Finally, I consider the book to be a triumph of redefining not only social relations, and the very relationship between man and nature, but also the true identity of each. The story of the women of the matriarchal era, the story of Cressida, as eloquently stated in the flow of the book, is the story of every woman, every man who wants to follow in the footsteps of the eternal search. Let us also seek this meaning by wandering through the pages of the novel and let us dare to walk in these paths. Good reading and thank you for your patience and attention. Karen Martin loves Crete and has studied it deeply. With her novel, she offers us a fascinating glimpse of history, in the era of Matriarchy on the island. The protagonist of her story, Cressida, travels to Crete on a course of self-knowledge. She is trapped in a cave, and there, unexpectedly, she will make a long journey through time, when the Great Mother was worshipped on the island. The author, with literary mastery, gives us incredible images and descriptions of the ceremonies and the daily life of thousands of years ago. At the same time, however, the narrative is not lost in the labyrinth, but holds the thread that leads back to the light… A truly fascinating novel.

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. https://thebookcommentary.com/view-book.php?id=231&banner=no

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.

This was a really wonderfully written book. What a beautiful blend of greek mythology and feminist fiction. I so enjoyed the imaginings of a matriarchal society and the stories being told. Karen Martin clearly has a passion and it came across in her writing. Like a painting, Martin did a wonderful job at weaving the stories and characters together, never losing the thread. Bringing worlds together. This book, if I recall correctly, is the first in a thematic series--an intriguing concept where the books can be read separately, but all share the feminist, woman-centered theme. I really look forward to seeing where Martin goes next in this theme and what other stories she'll tell us.

Recently released in the original English and a Greek translation, Karen Martin’s novel, set in sun-kissed Crete exhausts the constructs of time, language and identity. From the outset a conceptual tension is apparent between the English and the Greek versions of the novel which should be considered separate artworks in their own right, the Greek version being notable for the exceptionally high quality of its prose, rendered by Iosif Alygizakis. In English, the title, “Dancing the Labyrinth,” is polyvalent. At first reading, it alludes to empowerment, in that one has sufficient mastery over whatever maze they find themselves in that they can actively “dance” it, that is, either that they dance through it, indicating that traversing it is easy, or they can make the Labyrinth itself dance. Either way, here, it is the Labyrinth that is the passive party. The Greek title on the other hand, conveys altogether different connotations. «Στον Χορό του Λαβυρίνθου», (In the Dance of the Labyrinth), suggests that the active party is the Labyrinth. It is the maze that determines the dance, while the passive parties, those that dance a dance dictated to them by the Labyrinth, are the protagonist and/or the readers. In both versions of the novel therefore, we are given to understand that the Labyrinth, with all that it symbolises, is key to understanding the story as it unfolds, and the reader should have regard to the traditional Greek conception of a tale unwinding as it progresses, like Ariadne’s thread in the hands of a Theseus, on the way to confront the Minotaur. We encounter a similar polyvalency in the English and Greek versions of the main character of the novel, Cressida. Attempting to deal with a violent past, after the demise of her parents, Cressida seeks solace and healing in Crete. Falling pregnant, she experiences conflicting emotions with regard to her impending motherhood as she contemplates the distinct possibility that her offspring will inherit the violent genes of her father, a patriarchal original sin of ever there was one. In the Greek tradition, there is only one Χρυσηίδα and she too is a victim of the patriarchy. As she appears in Homer’s Iliad, she does not even have a name. Instead, she is identified simply as Chryses’ daughter, an object. Taken prisoner by Achilles, she is appropriated by Agamemnon, who refuses to allow her to be ransomed, accordingto the mores of the time. As a result, Apollo sends a plague sweeping across the Greek armies, causing Agamemnon to return Chryseida to her father and appropriate another of Achilles slave girls. Significantly, according to the Trojan War Cycle, Chryses comes to the Greek camp to thank the Greeks for seeing that his daughter was fairly treated (never mind that she was raped), and in gratitude, gives his daughter back to her rapist. This mythological background, the treatment of the mythical Chryseida as a commodity, her betrayal by those who are tasked to protect her and the appropriation of her sexuality as a gift offering among men is vital in comprehending the psychological trauma experienced by Karen Martin’s modern incarnation of same name in the Greek version of the novel. In the original English version however, Cressida carries with her the weight of a western cultural history that exists outside the Greek discourse. For in the West, Cressida, as reshaped by Boccaccio in his Il Filostrato, Geoffrey Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, and best known through Shakespeare’s play, Troilus and Cressida, is a symbol of inconstancy and the archetype of the faithless lover. Falling in love with Troilus,one of King Priam’s sons, she abandons him when taken hostage by the Greeks and falls in love with Diomedes instead. In this literary tradition, Cressida is not a human being, she is a motif. As soon as she has betrayed Troilus, she has fulfilled her purpose and the men who have written about her do not mention her again, save for Chaucer who grants his Criseyde insight as to how she will be portrayed in literature: "Alas, of me until the world's end shall be wrote no good song." Here the right of any woman to choose who she will love or stop loving is considered not all. In Scottish poet Robert Henryson’s version: ‘The Testament of Cresseide,’ she is depicted as repentant after having contracted leprosy and been abandoned by Diomedes. These literary tropes, of a patriarchy making value judgments about a woman’s sexuality and the means by which she chooses to express it, inculcating in her feelings of guilt or unworthiness are also intrinsic to an understanding of the guilt and feelings of panic and despair experienced by Karen Martin’s Cressida. As a turbulent storm of angst rages inside a traumatised Cressida, she is caught up in the violence of a physical storm. Seeking refuge in a cave, she falls and ends up with dirt in her mouth, which tellingly symbolises in one irology, the need to make amends or to ‘clean’ up an aspect of one’s life, while geophagia is a phenomenon known to affect certain pregnant women. Inadvertently, she discovers a cave filled with ancient Minoan paintings. Through the medium of the Minoan artisan Lydia, she learns to decode the images and is granted knowledge of the story of Pythia, a Minoan priestess, who established a women’s community to safeguard their ancient worship of the Mother Goddess from the onslaughtof an increasingly male-dominated religion. Combining ancient Greek mystery cults with the Minoans that preceded them is an inspired approach, revealing an author sensitive to and deeply cognisant of, the intricacies of ancient thought and society. In each version on the novel, that relationship with time has its own phrasing. In English, the magical realism in which the story is imbued creates a narrative of rich hues and startling cadences as the past confronts the future in order to reconcile reality. In the Greek version, on the other hand, we are plunged into a discourse whose conception of time has never been Linear (A or B), and where past, present and future have always co-existed and informed each other. As a result, the element of magical realism is more subtle and nuanced, as befits a cultural narrative in which the distinction between myth and reality, is not always apparent or negotiable. Consequently, in both language versions, Karen Martin’s dexterity in the transcension of time and context is exceptional. Like all initiates, her Cressida is granted the requisite gnosis in order to change her life and she is empowered through the assistance of other sympathetic and possibly initiated women, to challenge the narrative of her troubled past and to create a new future of her own choice, infused with hope and meaning. The mediation of healing and hope through the Minoan world is significant. Narratives combining elements of the Classical World abound in Western literature and much has been written of late about how these appropriations serve to assert the superiority of “western” or “white” culture. In turn, the (decidedly fewer) Greek language treatments of the same theme often try to assert equality with the West, or to express feelings of inadequacy at the legacy of supposedly “superior” ancestors, whose example their descendants have fallen short of. Karen Martin brilliantly circumvents these vexed questions by constructing her own imagined past of a people claimed by no one and of whom we know very little and those to whom little emotional, political or gender baggage exists: the Ancient, possibly pre-Greek Minoans. Yet even here, ambivalence lies as to the true nature of the MotherGoddess and her cult which serves as the rear-guard of a united sisterhood resisting the incursion of the patriarchy and the conduit for Cressida’s re-birthfrom the womb of the cave as a person made anew. We simply do not know enough about the Minoan religion to plausibly assert that the Mother Goddess truly was a symbol of female empowerment. After all, if our civilisation vanished tomorrow and all that was left were a few iconsor statues of the Virgin Mary, would not the archaeologists of a future time, unaware of the role of male theologians in establishing the importance of the Mother of God in the Christian religion also come to similar yet possibly erroneous conclusions? Nonetheless, as Jean-Bertrand Klus commented: “The artist creates the myth to obscure the art.” In this context, Karen Martin correctly identifies the healing and redemptive qualities of myth-making as far more important that the dry analysis of what actually may have transpired. After all, the modern Greek form of such myth-making, the paramythi, means, in its original form, consolation. And no one can deny the reality of that which heals us, or helps us to deal with the obstacles that stand in our way. To express one’s immense love for a topos, in Karen Martin’s case, her beloved island of Crete, is one thing. To distil that love into a complex, multi-faceted narrative that skilfully melds past and present, in order to negotiate a labyrinth of persistent gender equality issues that have dogged our social development down the centuries in a tenable and strident but not polemical manner, is quite another. In choosing to release her book in a dual English and Greek form, the author suggests to us that while historical, linguistic and social considerations may combine to shape diverse understandings and discourses of the issues affecting women in a world that still does not treat them as equals, fundamentally, there is unity in the way in which women draw upon the past wisdom and experience of those who came before them, regardless of how these are mediated, and upon each others’ strength in order to assert and claim the place that rightfully belongs to them. As such, “Dancing the Labyrinth” is a powerful and profound celebration of women’s resilience, courage and indomitability.

“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.”

January 15, 2023 What a journey! This is a work of fiction centered around Sara, that daughter of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. While their teachings are there, and Mary Magdalene is often present, this is Sara's book entirely, it is not used for her parents to be the center of attention, she is. She has a certain gift and her destiny is, or is it?, to help a young Cathar girl save her mother's manuscript as her group's fortress is burned down. This being said, I appreciate greatly the immense courage the author had to release this kind of subject into the world. And I appreciate so much she gave Sara a voice. If your are looking for the Magdalene, though, you will find her here. The author's theatre background creates sometimes short and sketchy scenes, very rapid, and your attention is necessary to keep pace with Sara's many travels into other persons (yes, you read that right, this is her gift). However, among the many nuggets of wisdom there is so much poetry and and a sort of dreaminess, I really don't know how to name it better. I feel it is a big depart from the previous book in the series as the story unfolds softer, richer, in wonderfully described environments. The desert, the beach, the space under the trees and the mountains, all landscapes are beautifully depicted and a strong part of the story. I appreciate very much the complexity of the story and how the wisdom is written down. In the beginning I felt some characters explained too much with a modern voice the many details that had to be known to make the book develop. But then I reveled in the presence of key characters, with their eccentricity, like the Gipsy Queen, or in the historical encounter Sara has. I value how everything is seen with clear eyes, especially in this times when some people seem to romanticize too much what we believe was the Cathar faith. Plus, as its subject gets to see a glimpse of them, the book doesn't shy away from the many horrors history is known to feature. This story has extraordinary moments, like I have never encountered before in a book. How the Initiation in the Mysteries is felt, embodying Sophia, what it means to go beyond body and float as a spirit, there are some scenes here so surreal, so powerful, of such grace and beauty, they left me in awe. I could write so much about this book, of its so many layers. Yet, I hope, and tried, to be as objective as I could in this review, giving how close this subject and so many of the places and moments featured here are to my heart. My greatest hope for this book is that it is read with an open mind, beyond the inevitable political questions we, people of a certain faith, cannot get over. May this book find you where you are and give your what you need.

The second standalone entry in Martin’s Women Unveiled series declares its boldness of vision from the first line: “I should have assumed with parents known to the world as Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ, I would be different.” In the vividly realized historical novel that follows, playwright/author Martin continues the striking storytelling of Dancing in the Labyrinth, exploring stories of women in history and myth pushing against the boundaries of patriarchal societies. This time, the setting is both Jerusalem, in the years of narrator Sara’s birth, and also 13th century Montségur as the French Royal Forces persecute the Cathars, a Christian sect deemed heretical by the pope. Sara may be “a swaddled babe in a hammock” in 34 AD, but her “memories are future moments yet to be lived,” she tells us. Born to visions, she often awakens inside others, throughout time. Eventually, she awakens in a young Cathar, Sarah-Marie. In both of the novel’s major time-settings, Sara and her loved ones face religious persecution. In rich, clear, and sometimes playful prose—Sara uses the word “ginormous”—Martin offers a heady meditation on belief and oppression, the strength it takes to persevere, and what Sara calls “the conspiracy of time” as the narratives pass through continents and millenia. Crucial themes center the origins of Christianity in older systems of belief and efforts throughout history to erase those origins. One gripping passage finds Sara awakened inside a young man during the canonization of the New Testament, privy to discussion about what other books were eliminated and why. While much of the novel is exploratory, with Sara feeling her way through stories and epochs and tribulations, the central thread of Sarah-Marie and her prescribed fate—“death by burning” in a massacre—generates welcome suspense, as Sara tries to find a way to save her. Perhaps what’s most remarkable about this layered, ambitious, poetic novel is its clarity and coherence, as Martin finds dramatic means to explore religious and historical complexities and spiritual connections between women through the ages. The Bringer of Happiness is occasionally challenging but more often illuminating. Takeaway: This time-crossed novel examines women, faith, persecution, and the establishment of religious canon. Great for fans of: Charmaine Craig’s The Good Men, Elaine Pagels’s The Gnostic Gospels.

For those lover's of the television series "Quantum Leap," this is a must read. Sara, being the daughter of Jesus and Mary Magdalene is enough to grab a reader's attention, but Martin offers much more. Sara travels inside and through time inside the bodies of other characters and with each leap you're brought to the point where you wonder what's next. Martin's prose is prolific as she describes scenery and surroundings. She also keeps Sara's character the main focus of the story. This is a fictional story that explores history, the spiritual world and time travel. A real complex plot, but still a page-turner. https://www.amazon.com/review/R1GI61OXQZLEC7/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

James Browne's Reviews > the Bringer of Happiness My rating: 5 of 5 stars the Bringer of Happiness (Women Unveiled, #2) by Karen Martin (Goodreads Author) James Browne's reviewDec 23, 2022 It was amazing Karen Martin's second book tells the story of Sara, daughter of Jesus and Mary Magdalene - Sara (Aramaic for "bringer of happiness", hence the title) can time travel and so sets out to save Sarah-Marie, a young Cathar girl in 13th century France. As with Martin's first book, it's a wonderfully told story built on lots of historical facts, making it as much educational as it is entertaining. Martin's prose is beautifully descriptive and immersive, drawing you into the sights, sounds and smells of the various stops along the way. The underlying factual aspects make for a really interesting backdrop - as a result, I've drawn up a list of books to procure and read to learn more - in particular the journey of Mary Magdalene and her gospel. As with the first novel, Dancing the Labyrinth, the narrative focuses on the female protagonist and experiences, making it a refreshingly new perspective for me (lapsed Irish Catholic) and learnings from my youth. First and foremost, however, it's a great story and a very enjoyable read - highly recommended and I look forward to the next book in the series.

5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This story is based on a novel concept: if Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene had a child, what would that child's life be like? The Bringer of Happiness by Karen Martin follows the life of Sara, the daughter of Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ. Sara's physical life is spent fleeing the Romans who persecute those who follow the teachings of Mary Magdalene. Her spirit, however, is able to leave her body and travel forward in time. She spends these travels trying to make sense of how both of her parents' teachings could be so distorted and used to promote hate and intolerance. Her journey is both beautiful and sad. From her early life in Jerusalem to her travels north in search of a safe place to practice their religion, Sara is surrounded by familiar biblical characters from the New Testament. She struggles to find her destiny as the child of such important and revered teachers. The teachings of Mary Magdalene described in this story are moving, and it's difficult to watch Sara try and ensure her mother's words are not lost. There is an urgency to Sara's mission as she works to control her gift for time travel without realizing that her destiny could lie in a different direction altogether. This book is filled with unfamiliar concepts that are well-explained. Sara's surroundings and storyline are also well-described. The writing is incredibly beautiful and paints a clear mental picture for the reader. There is a scene in the book while Sara is in spirit form where she comes across a field of butterflies that is especially noteworthy. There are also several poems and (for lack of a better term) sermons by Sara's mother that contribute to the beauty of the story. History tells us that the teachings of Mary Magdalene are not widely accepted and were mostly lost, but that does not mean that the reader will correctly guess the ending of the story. I loved everything about this book and therefore gave it the highest rating possible because of the overall concept, the plotline, and the writing. I highly recommend this story to anyone with an interest in the genre of ancient history, mysticism, and magic.

The Bringer of Happiness by Karen Martin is about Sara, the daughter of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. The story is about Sara and her destiny to spread the light of happiness to the people. Martin tries to look at the plight of being a woman in a man's world since 34 AD. She does not base this on just Sara and her mother's encounters with ill-treatment by men they cross paths with but rather explains this from various perspectives, including that of men during that period. As Sara can 'float' through time into other people's bodies, she sees the real world for its cruelty and injustice. This treatment was evident in how men in one of her 'floating' experiences laughed at the thought of Mary Magdalene's efforts to impart knowledge of life. Since birth, Sara has been a curious child, inquisitive about everything around her. Martin brought out this child-like curious Sara aptly. When she writes about her experience as a host of a girl forced into getting married to a man who abuses her because she does not want to lose her virginity, she adds the sense of confusion and horror a child would have had to witness such a situation. Martin's writing is patient as she dives into Sara's emotions and explains why she feels the way she does. Currently, where everything can end up being controversial, especially regarding religion, Karen's book is courageous and revolutionary. The extensive research into giving an in-depth historical context and aligning it with the timeline is noteworthy. I recommend this book to those interested in retellings of myth and history. These retellings give the characters of a myth that have never been in the limelight a fictional platform to tell their side of the story; this book does that beautifully, making it a must-read.

DocMonster Reviewed in Australia 29 March 2023 Sara, the daughter of Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ, travels with her mother while learning her parents’ teachings. Sara can also travel through time, where she sees the persecution of, and future bloody and violent massacre of the Cathars by the Romans. Sara believes she has a role to play, but what is it? A narrative of historical events, themes of personal growth, destiny, faith, and the power of religion explore Sara and her mother’s story. A strong premise throughout the novel is the original peaceful teachings of faith are often manipulated to serve those in power for their own greed and gain. As someone who enjoys history, I was in awe of the amount of research and events the author had referenced in the novel. Furthermore, the author has an ability to write in such a manner that is incredibly illustrative, this enables the reader to picture the events that are unfolding. Overall, a very intelligent and captivating novel.

The book "The Bringer of Happiness" by Karen Martin is a captivating and thought-provoking work of fiction that explores the intriguing idea of Jesus and Mary Magdalene having a child named Sara. The author's use of historical facts and religious mythology adds depth and richness to the story, making it both informative and entertaining. The descriptive prose immerses the reader in the sights, sounds, and smells of the various locations throughout the book, making it easy to visualize the scenes. The main character, Sara, is a strong and complex woman with a unique gift that allows her to travel through time. Her journey to save a young Cathar girl in 13th-century France is thrilling and emotional. The author's portrayal of the female protagonist and her experiences adds a refreshing perspective to the story. Overall, "The Bringer of Happiness" is a well-written and engaging novel that will appeal to readers who enjoy fiction with a historical and spiritual theme. The mythologies and fictionalized story creates a unique and powerful narrative that will leave readers pondering the ideas presented in the book. It's a must-read for anyone interested in exploring new perspectives on religion and spirituality. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5304440013