Jeanette Winterson, Weight

I picked up Weight for an absolute bargain at Hylands House, confident I would like it, and luckily I wasn't disappointed.

I was even more excited when I read the introduction and realised it was part of a series by the publisher, canongate, to enlist well respected authors to retell classic myths.  Unknowingly, I've already read two in the series, Philip Pullman's The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, and Margaret Atwood's The Penelopied  and I look forward to reading the others. 

Anyway, back to Weight;

ISBN: 9781841957753

The Plot: Condemned to carry the weight of the weight of the cosmos for eternity, freedom appears unattainable for Atlas, until he receives an unexpected visit from Hercules, the only other person strong enough to shoulder the burden, who offers him a deal.       

Although the story has been around for thousands of years, to avoid spoiling this retelling my thoughts are under the jump.

Book Haul

Here is my recent book haul from Hylands House, they're second-hand but look like they've barely been read and I got them for a grand total of £3.10! 

1. Jeanette Winterson, Weight: I'm a big fan of Greek mythology, so I put this short novel in my basket as it is about a deal made between Atlas and Hercules.

2. Irvine Welsh, Filth: A novel about a corrupt police officer investigating a racially motivated murder (highly topically at the moment, with the recent Stephen Lawrence inquiry). For my review of another Welsh novel click here

3. Elizabeth Wurtzel, Bitch: I felt slightly embarrassed about handing this over to the sweet, old ladies behind the counter. It is a collection of essays about 90s feminism and how bad girls have more fun.