Bull

Bull was nothing short of BRILLIANT! It is a retelling of the myth of the minotaur, written in verse. Each character has their own voice and form of poetry that mirrors their personality. Poseidon does what he wants, entering the novel with "Whaddup, bitches?" (Elliott 3). Minos, the king, uses couplets; Pasiphae, his queen who gives birth to the minotaur, doesn't really have a rhyme scheme as she slowly goes insane. Daedalus, the engineer who designed the labyrinth uses a very rigid four stanza scheme; Asterion, the minotaur, uses eight line rhyme schemes, and Ariadne, his sister, uses traditional end rhyme scheme.

Poseidon very brashly interjects and narrates the story as the reader learns how the minotaur was born to Pasiphae and how show more he came to be locked in the labyrinth-at the king's revenge seeking hand. Elliott makes Asterion, the minotaur, come across as very simple minded and gentle; readers will feel sorry for him as he is cast away from his family for nothing of his own doing. His sister, Ariadne, secretly plans to help him escape and the two of them are going to fly away and be free, but **SPOILERS** Theseus, a jock-resembling prince of Athens slays the minotaur and ruins her plans.

Readers who have grown up on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series will LOVE this book, and those of us who don't remember the myth of the minotaur as well as we should will LOVE it as well. Poseidon's narration is everything. It adds humor and life to a slightly disturbing story. This book is NOT for small children, I wouldn't put it in the hands of anyone younger than freshman only because of the language that Poseidon uses as well as his imagery. Overall, I highly recommend this novel-in-verse to anyone looking for a good laugh and refreshing take on mythology. show less

One of the most fun novels in verse I have ever read. David Elliot does an amazing job retelling the story of Thesues and the Minotaur in hilarious down to earth prose. The book literally starts out with "Whaddup, bitches?" and just rolls from there. It was soo much fun and it breathed so much life into this classic Greek tale. I wish I would have read this adaptation in high school! The prose is broken into sections; Poseidon breaks the third wall and talks to the reader and the other characters have their own little sections. I can't get over how inventive and fun this us. FUCKING READ IT! I had no expectations based on the cover and the one sentence summary I saw of this book but I am SOOO SOO glad I picked this up. A true gem!

I absolutely LOVED this book. Maybe because I'm predisposed towards Greek mythology or maybe because I've always been a fan of telling Greek myths as dynamically as possible. Elliott takes the story of Asterion, the Minotaur that Theseus one days slays during his many "heroic" quests, and offers an accounting that paints no one as a hero or innocent and everyone as some manner of villain for allowing this tragedy to occur.

The basic myth:
Minos asked of Poseidon something, Poseidon said sure but do this thing, Minos doesn't do the thing, Poseidon gets upset and bewitches Pasiphae (Minos' wife) to be horny for a bull, Pasiphae ends up having Asterion, the Minotaur, due to this. Years later, after some wheeling and dealing on Minos' part, show more Athens is sending their yearly tributes and that happens to include Theseus. Ariadne, Minos and Pasiphae's daughter, falls for him and helps him defeat the Minotaur and save the sacrifices before running off with him.

As with most Greek myths there's a couple different versions floating about with variations according to the geographic location of its origination, but there you have the basic myth. Since the story of the Minotaur is meant to be part of Theseus' Journey to Hero Level or Ariadne's larger overarching story, not a story on its own you won't find much by way of embellishment about its life.

I said earlier that everyone is at fault here, but really its just two guys - Minos for being (as all old Greek rulers seem to be) an arrogant ass who doesn't pay proper tribute to the Gods they supposedly feared so much, and Poseidon for being (as all old Greek Gods seem to be) an arrogant petty ass who used innocents to teach Minos a lesson.

I can see this being a being a hit or miss with teens however. The ones with a flair for drama and far flung imaginations, may embrace this for all the unique opportunities it presents a creative soul. The ones invested in the words in front of them and have a more literal mind set, may feel a bit more at a loss since this can't be read straight through like a novel. This would make for a great student/summer stage production to be honest. Minimal costumes, props or set work - everything is in the acting.

In the end I found this quite exciting, but your mileage may vary depending on what you are looking for when you start it.

(warnings for mature content, Elliott doesn't pull punches in regards to the curse that Poseidon places on Pasiphae) show less

OMG. One of my favorites this year! I think this is an ingenious retelling of the Minotaur mythology tale. The different voices are written in various poetic forms, which is fantastic for the classroom. I laughed and gasped and felt something for the characters you just don't get through other tellings.
As a former classroom English teacher, I would have LOVED to use this to teach mythology and poetry. The strong language aside, it is a fantastic teaching tool. I can see this being used at the high school and college level Literature classes.
Be sure to read the information at the end of the book provided by the author.

"PROLOGUE

There beneath the palace walls
the monster rages, foams, bawls,
calling out again and again,
Mother!
Mother!

No other sound
but the scrape
of horn
on stone,
the grinding cranch of human bone
under callused human foot."

David Elliott’s Bull is a modern retelling of the story of the Minotaur, relayed in verse.

I thought this retelling was original and funny. It has a similar feel to “Hamilton” in the fact that it has a distinct beat, and I constantly heard Lin-Manuel Miranda’s voice narrating the part of Poseidon. I also thought it was interesting to read it in this format, trying to figure out the unique rhyming style the author chose for each character.

While the author sought to stay true to the original myth, he did invent some of show more the behind-the-scenes motives and actions of some of the characters, which I wasn’t really a big fan of. Because of this, it made Asterion (the Minotaur) come off as whiny kid who wanted his mommy instead of as a ferocious beast, Adriadne (King Minos’ daughter) come off as well-meaning but naïve instead of as brave and rebellious, and Theseus (the Athenian hero) come off as an arrogant jerk rather than as a fearless, brave hero.

It was a short and quick read, though almost a little too short. I don’t think this format lent itself well to strong plot or character development, and I felt it was lacking in both. I also don’t think that adequate time was given to the actual myth of “Theseus and the Minotaur” – it felt glossed over and lacking in heft.

However, I enjoyed it. I don’t usually read YA books, and I felt that it was refreshing and has an appeal to a rather broad audience. And it was really, really funny.

Overall, I’d give this book three stars for originality and humor.

Thank you to NetGalley and HMH Books for Young Readers for an advanced copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review! show less

What a wickedly delicious version of the Minotaur. Many points of view in varying poetic styles, give a rather sympathetic portrayal of Asterion, ruler of the stars, as our minotaur is named.

I'd not recommend this one for middle grade, as there is language and discussions of just how the minotaur came to be, rather crudely. But I do think that those who love mythology will find it quite fascinating.

Super quick read. Written in poetic form and depending on the character you will notice a different form. It is the story of Minotaur and all those involved with his life. It is actually masterfully written. I really enjoy Greek mythology and like to hear new tellings of it. This read comes off of Circe (which I loved). I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. Greek mythology isn't exactly G rated. The book's opening line is Poseidon saying, "Whaddup, bitches?" So it's not a family read or a goodnight story for little ones but if you want a quick, fun read about Minotaur then I'd recommend this.