Cupid: A Tale of Love and Desire by Julius Lester

Cupid: A Tale of Love and Desire Reviews

• 
  Michelle

  I think a lot of people will be familiar with this story. A mortal girl falls in love with a supernatural boy, relationship problems ensue, boy makes girl immortal too, and they live happily ever after. Familiar enough? Well, I'm not talking about the "Twilight" series, or any other teen paranormal romance novel, for that matter. I'm talking about the Greco-Roman myth of "Cupid and Psyche." I have been fascinated with this tale since I was 12 and it never grows old. There's love, mystery, betrayal, passion, danger, there's even a bit of "Beauty and the Beast" and "Cinderella" thrown in for good measure!
  
  In Julius Lester's retelling, the original plot is mostly intact, but interspersed with a self-conscious contemporary narrative that, to my irritation, keeps pulling me out of the story. There are lots of meandering paths through the meanings of love, lust, relationships, and bravery. It was like reading Bullfinch's version, but with commentaries. The tone is humorous, and I did laugh a couple of times, but this is not enough consolation to be subjected to the narrator's pontifications. There's just too much ego in this book!
  
  Lester has a gift for colorful descriptions though, and his writing could be quite enjoyable whenever he focuses more on the story itself. It was refreshing to look inside the mind of Cupid, especially when he falls in love with Psyche. The original tale is morally sketchy, and this retelling does not lie about this fact. Psyche may have betrayed Cupid, but he's just as guilty as she was. We are all equally stupid when it comes to love, divine or mortal. The motivations and the personalities of the main characters were reasonably explored. This book will be a good introduction for people unfamiliar with the traditional myth and could be useful in the classroom (classical mythology could be boring when it's a recommended reading), but those looking for an innovative retelling should look up Francesca Lia Block's "Psyche in a Dress" instead.
• 
  CeJayCe

  My God...this could've ruined mythology for me if I hadn't already read the tale of Cupid and Pysche.
  
  Apparently this author is very well acclaimed. But this book was atrocious. Lester makes the amateur mistake of assuming that the reader cares about his personal life. He constantly breaks the flow of the story by recounting his previous marriages and love interest. This isn't a biography, therefore, I'm not interested in the author's personal life. And a lot of times what he had to say wasn't all that relevant to the story.
  
  This would've been much better in third-person. But Lester obviously thought it was funny to play the role of a story-teller who, on occasion, consulted the "story" for its opinion.
  
  Not only that, but it's near impossible to tell what time-frame this story is set in. At times it seems like a very badly modernized version of the original myth. (Especially when the characters say things like "yo, listen up" and "she's such a bitch".) The dialogue was horrendous at times like these. But despite the dialogue, the setting seemed to suggest that the story took place in Ancient Rome.
  
  It more or less made me hate all my favorite gods and goddess. It was that bad.
  
  The ending was extremely rushed. One minute, Psyche is dying. The next minute, Cupid was kissing her awake, she was made immortal, they were married, and eight months later their kid was born. This all happened over the course of 3 pages. Seriously. I'm not joking at all. All of this happened between pages 189 and 192. Check for yourself if you don't believe me.
  
  So as much as my interest in Greek and Roman mythology wanted me to like this book...I couldn't. And I'm extremely upset that I wasted my time reading this. So I have to say to anyone reading this, don't make the same mistake.
• 
  Set

  
  Really enjoyed this book. Super fast read and leaves you with a happy feeling. It has the ever popular Greco-Roman mythology trial set by Venus to Psyche. Julius Lester gave this retelling of Psyche and Eros a teenage modern vibe that I very much enjoyed. We have the goddess trial that Venus gave Psyche and we see other figures throughout the story such as the moon, the sun, the four winds, etc. I remember taking a college course were we had to study all the fairy tales intensely with all their allegories and archetypes.
  Now let's see the similar figures of this ancient fairy tale in almost all of our beloved modern ones of today. Venus being jealous of Psyche and trying to kill her is like the evil queen in Snow White. Venus giving Psyche the impossible goddess test is like the story of Rumpelstiltskin. Cupid sequestering Psyche away from the land below is like the story of Rapunzel. Psyche's two evil sisters are like Cinderella's wicked step sisters; Beauty from Beauty and the Beast also has two evil sisters. Her wicked sisters convincing psyche that she was with a beast is like Beauty and the Beast. And her sister's giving her the dagger to kill Cupid is like the Little Mermaid. The Little Mermaid also has the help of the winds.
  I love this fairy tale and it will remain in my favorites forever.
  
• 
  Carrie Rolph

  This book thinks it's a hip and interesting retelling of Greek mythology, but it really only pays lip service to Cupid and Psyche still being relevant to teenagers today, without actually managing to *be* relevant. There were these little glimpses of what this could have been that kept me listening, but no. If I had anything else to listen to this week, I would have stopped.
  
  If the narrator's voice had stayed throughout the entire book, rather than disappearing for sections at a time. If the narrator was just a little bit better at reading female voices. If there hadn't been quite so many references to all women loving chocolate. If Psyche or Cupid or Venus had been just a little bit more three dimensional or likable.
  
  Really, I think it would have worked better if they took all the gods and goddesses and ancient Greeks and plopped them down into modern day archetypes. That has some potential.
• 
  Cecily Kyle

  I am not sure how I feel about this book to be quite honest. It was definitely a strange one, with how the story is told. Also, one of the biggest issues I had with it was the mix of Greek and Roman Mythology, I know quite a bit about Greek mythology, but not as much about Roman but it felt like there were things that were crossing.
  One of the things I love about mythologies are how the analogies of everyday things are explained by the myths, like the wind in the trees, etc..
  I didn't hate this story, it is definitely one that I will remember but the whole time I was like rolling my eyes.
  Mixed feelings
• 
  Amanda

  This young adult novel tells the love story of Cupid and Psyche from a modern perspective--the story remains the same, but the narrator has a decidedly modern voice. It's cute and, all in all, just okay.
• 
  Alyssa

  I read this for Valentine's Day and I thought it really fit the bill. I saw a TedxTalks short film about Cupid and Psyche and I thought it was very interesting.
  
  This book is basically a detailed and more background of the story of Cupid and Psyche, and also Venus. So if you already know the story of the couple, you're not missing much.
  
  The book can be considered in three parts. Part one is about Venus, and Psyche's background. Part two is Cupid and Psyche's relationship. And Part three is about Psyche going through stuff.
  
  Part one is not a well known part of the story of Cupid and Psyche. Which is mostly about Venus.
  
  This book will definitely give you a brush up on mythology
  
  
• 
  Kristen Fort

  This book is narrated as if there is a storyteller dispensing details to a group. It is relatable, as the narrator interjects with his experience, and at the end, the narrator says that at some times, he is Cupid, and at other times, he is Psyche. It does feel a lot like reading Percy Jackson's take - Rick Riordan's take, using Percy Jackson to tell the stories of the Greek heroes - with the moments of sarcasm and hipness, so if you enjoy that style, you'll like this one, too.
• 
  mahina

  This was really funny lmaooo
• 
  Danielle Satterfield

  I quite enjoyed it for the most part as this is my favorite Greek myth. Though I enjoyed it some of my favorite parts of the story I wish would have been more involved with details mostly at the end. I was hoping for more, but overall this is a good version of the story. ☺️
• 
  Jenna

  I loved every second of this book. I have always loved the myth of Cupid & Psyche, and I loved the narrator's flair for story-telling. He had a very understated poetic method of telling the story, that seemed like an old-fashioned trick to keep the listener enthralled. It was very effective and entertaining. I loved the way other myths were blended into Cupid and Psyche's story to explain the other gods. Both well-known myths as well as lesser-known gods were mentioned and given life in this story. Even the sun and moon and all four winds were given parts and personalities.
  
  If I were to make one complaint is that the title of the book is CUPID, and not CUPID AND PSYCHE. It's her story as much as his. Minor quibble, but I did feel like an injustice was done (however small it may be!)
  
  As the story progressed I noticed some parallels between elements of this story to some well-known (and more recent - compared to this ancient myth) fairy tales, which I thought was interesting. The goddess Venus's jealousy of Psyche's beauty parallels Snow White and the queen. Psyche being taken away and cut off from civilization is similar to Rapunzel's isolation. Psyche's two evil older sisters remind me of Cinderella's step-sisters. Psyche being beautiful and told that Cupid is a hideous monster (and the two of them falling in love anyway) has seeds of Beauty & the Beast. Psyche's sisters persuading her to stab her husband with a knife are reminiscent of The Little Mermaid's sisters convincing her to do the same with the prince she's in love with. Venus demanding that Psyche sort grains before the sun goes down is similar to the princess that was given the impossible task of spinning straw into gold like in Rumplestiltskin.
  
  Cupid and Psyche have the quintessential fairy tale, and I love it. Specific to this particular retelling, I loved the narrator's quirky personal anecdotes. Which, in my opinion, gave the story more flair and depth and made this an extremely enjoyable experience.
• 
  Sabrina

  Sabrina Smith
  Romance
  
  This rendition of Cupid and Psyche is told by a humorous narrator. Cupid falls in love with a mortal so beautiful that people mistake her for Venus, goddess of love, who is very displeased. He tricks Psyche into marrying him and visits her at night, never allowing her to know his name or see his face. Eventually she sneaks a look and he returns to his furious mother, who sets forth challenges to destroy Psyche, but Psyche receives help. In the end, it is Cupid who learns about love.
  Lester anthropomorphizes “the story,” which adds an original twist (sometimes the narrator is unsure of something and asks the story before proceeding). The narrator also breaks out of the story to explain things and discuss personal experiences of love, lust, and relationships. This may be distracting for some readers, but all in all this is an entertaining take on the tale.
  
• 
  Richie Partington

  14 August 2006 CUPID by Julius Lester, Harcourt, January 2007, ISBN: 0-15-202056-X
  
  "Every day around the time people's shadows snuck beneath their feet to get out of the sun, the tall wooden doors to the palace grounds swung open, and Psyche came out to take her daily walk. Men, women, children, and all the creatures stopped what they were doing to look at her. Birds flying by would see Psyche, stop flapping their wings, and fall to the ground. Ants would be toting crumbs which, to them, were as big as China. They could not see anything of Psyche except a sixteenth of an inch of her big toenail, but that was enough for them to be so overcome by her beauty that they dropped their crumbs and just stared."
  
  "Had it been another day
  I might have looked the other way
  And I'd have never been aware
  But as it is I'll dream of her tonight"
  -- Lennon and McCartney, I've Just Seen a Face
  
  Julius Lester's irreverent, storyteller's version of the tale of Cupid and Psyche for adolescents is a telling that is in equal parts thoroughly entertaining and exceptionally meaningful to readers young and old. As he states in his author note:
  
  "The experience of love is the most central and profound of our lives. Yet we are given no instruction in the ways of love. Popular music and movies are our primary sources for what we think love is and should be, and as entertaining as these media are, the views of love they present are more often expressions of sentimentality instead of representations of the very hard realities of what it means to be human and what the act of loving presents us with."
  
  "Love is careless in its choosing - sweeping over cross a baby
  Love descends on those defenseless
  Idiot love will spark the fusion
  Inspirations have I none - just to touch the flaming dove
  All I have is my love of love - and love is not loving"
  -- David Bowie, Soul Love
  
  In a version for today's readers, Psyche and Cupid are characters with whom we can relate. The first thing we hear out of Psyche's mouth is her telling her father that she doesn't appreciate his deciding what she can do and when she can do it. Meanwhile, Cupid, a hunk with wings, is totally under the thumb of his mom Venus. But that, of course, begins to change after jealous Mom sends Cupid to deal with the problem of Psyche's attracting all of that attention and, Cupid gets an eyeful of what has been making the birds fall out of the sky:
  
  "Cupid still could not move, which is not an uncommon response in the presence of beauty. Even gods and goddesses are not exempt from beauty's forbidding and terrifying power. Let there be no mistake: Cupid was afraid. Perhaps more than any of the deities on Olympus, he was the one always in control of himself. Let the other deities entrap themselves in human emotions, but he knew better. And so it was until he saw Psyche.
  
  "Now standing there, looking at her, for the first time in his eternal life Cupid faced a choice: maintain control and leave Psyche, or submit to his desire for her and never be wholly in control of his life ever again. (And for him, ever was not a figure of speech.)
  
  "There come moments in each of our journeys when we can no longer continue our lives as they are. But neither can we see what we will become. We either go forward, with no idea of where we are going or what we are doing, or we remain as we are -- and begin to die, though we do not realize that is the choice we have made. This is why love is such a fearful undertaking, and why, for so many women especially, the wedding day is fraught with terror and tears. Why do people voluntarily agree to relinquish a degree of control over their lives and pledge themselves to take into consideration the needs, desires, and shortcomings of another for the rest of their lives?"
  
  Julius Lester has spent much of his writing career taking on the responsibility for passing along stories that have been previously conveyed down through the generations. A couple of years ago, in his autobiographic, ON WRITING FOR CHILDREN & OTHER PEOPLE, he explained:
  
  "Traditional folktales taught the adults and children of a group how to live, what kinds of behavior to emulate, and what kinds to avoid so they could be reasonably assured of having a life approved by the deities. Folktales recorded the psychic history of a group by evoking the past, affirming the present, and showing the way to the future.
  
  "Such tales did not have individual authors. Though they may have been created by especially gifted people within the group, tales were only passed from one generation to the next because they fulfilled a need of the group. Today the oral tradition has been replaced by mass media and children's books have become the conservators of the oral tradition.
  
  "This is, of course, a paradox. Stories from the oral tradition cease to be oral once they are written down. When confined to the page they become literature, the product of a single mind, one person's skill with words and silence. Traditional stories, however, come from a community and are shaped and reshaped by all who tell them and hear them. Literature exists on the page where it cannot be changed. Stories are elastic and are created anew on the tongue of each teller.
  
  "The nature of our society is inimical to storytelling because we no longer live in cohesive communities. We no longer educate each other with stories in which our joys and sorrows are refashioned into an art that serves as a mirror for the entire community. The question becomes then: How can one fit the marvelous elasticity of a story onto the page without injuring the story? It is possible only if one refuses to regard the page as the story's final destination, an exalted end. The page is merely the means to return stories to the mouths and tongues of anyone who wishes to tell them."
  
  As he has previously done with other retellings, the author succeeds in differentiating between the story and the storyteller by creating a lively and memorable personality for his storytelling narrator. Through frequent asides, imagery, and allusions, the voice of the storyteller makes us aware as readers that there is someone from our own time telling us this traditional story, someone who is interjecting a lot of humor, relevance, and wisdom into that telling. Through his employing this voice, Julius Lester makes this a tale for today.
  
  Teens with attitudes about the irrelevance of Greek and Roman gods to their high-tech Twenty-first Century lives will find themselves doing a serious one-eighty in their thinking if and when they are fortunate enough to be turned on to this outstanding story and guide to the meaning of the verb 'to love.'
  
  Richie Partington, MLIS
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• 
  Airaseem Perdomo

  Didn’t know much about Cupid the god of love and Psyche. I enjoyed learning about Greek mythology and since it was a story about love even better. I’m a sucker for love and this book really told the story well. I enjoyed it. I did feel the ending was rushed and there was no revelation of forgiveness I wish there was. So yeah the ending was rushed and the issue was just swept under the rug. But interesting story.
• 
  Jasmine Burt

  I really enjoyed reading an in-depth look at the romance between Pcyche and Cupid that explained why he ran off instead of staying with her and how she felt at being compared to Venus.
  
  This is actually a story that is quiet new to me so reading this retelling was so great. It wasn’t a story like Ariadne or the Song of Achilles, it just told the story of Cupid and Psyche, it didn’t embellish or feel in anyway atmospheric.
• 
  Maggie

  I'm not a scholar of mythology but I enjoyed this story without really knowing how much was accurate and how much had creative liberties taken with it. Julius Lester has great voice in his writing, and some moments were laugh-out-loud funny. Psyche, though...she needs to learn to listen!
• 
  Seph

  Good intro to mythology/ to this particular story. Very poetic, some very beautiful ideas...LIKE THE TREES and HOW YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO WIND... read the audiobook, and I must say that the speaker did a great job bringing the narrator to life.
• 
  Angela

  A tongue-in-cheek retelling of the story of Cupid and Psyche (and Venus). At times it felt a little cheesy and the winking and nodding at the listener/reader seemed over the top. It was an accessible, okay way to learn the story.
• 
  Roxann

  if you can suspend your disbelief enough to accept the author's constant insistence on gender stereotypes, it's a really fun read
• 
  Jheelam Nodie

  Currently I am reading different version if this myth. This is a well written, but lacks depth in few places.
• 
  Ashley Marie

  Kind of a cute little story.
• 
  Yasser Maniram

  One of those tales with dramatic licenses and deeper meanings.
• 
  coolwhip

  never read this book. im never thinking of cupid the same.
• 
  Katherine

  Appeal terms: heart-warming, sweet, feel-good