Monica Brillhart wisely transforms the first few pages of her novel THE RAPE OF PERSEPHONE into an open-ended question regarding the nature of rape. By invoking its primary, and mostly archaic, definition, the author points–not to sexual violence–but to the act of Kore’s–known to her captors as Persephone–abduction. Naturally, this duality of interpretation builds intrigue, which makes for an electrifying descent into the squirming pith of the characters’ motives, which, through their sheer intensity, allow the story to sustain a momentum that feels both elaborate in its progression and wholly addictive.

THE RAPE OF PERSEPHONE stands out mostly for its complex political intrigue, which blends elements of spontaneous desire with the conceptual wills and wiles of the gods. And so, every element of the story appears as a mere sliver of a broader reflection, carrying the sway of the title’s duality into the narrative. The reader is faced with Demeter’s agonized search for her daughter, but the woman’s dread is weighed down by baser motives. Then there is Hades’ appetite for Kore, but it exists almost as an afterthought, the carry-over from a fizzling stratagem. Brillhart’s prose is both bewitching and ferocious as it embraces the appeal of this mythical setting. Moreover, it seems to draw life from the clash of the characters’ numerous ploys.

The author delights with a meaty, gritty, mostly aromatic, wanton and undeniably intoxicating portrayal of the times. When not entertaining thoughts of hedonism, the reader is confronted by the canines of the underworld, slinking deeper into its maze in an effort to outrun their panting shadows. The creatures not only inspire terror, but instigate several gory scenes that both shock and thrill with their ruthlessness. And yet, no element of the novel feels gratuitous. Physical violence feeds on the hostility and aggression of unvoiced thoughts, adding both gravity and realism to the actions of a humanized pantheon. Similarly, Kore’s emotional development, though tinged with a willful determination that breeds disastrous consequences, is nothing short of compelling, particularly when her beautiful, lustrous exterior is roughened by a darkness that she can’t seem to shake. As a result, the novel provides both moral and immoral sustenance, letting the reader’s imagination feast.

The most refreshing aspect of THE RAPE OF PERSEPHONE is probably its complete dismissal of the mawkishness one might expect from a retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone. Instead, the novel offers a keen meditation on the essence of living. It reflects both on power, with its distortion of innocence, and the disparaging nature of desire, which wields not only the body, but the lives that any self-righteous obsession inevitably touches. At its core, the novel offers a story of abduction and possession, but the complexity of the two elements stretches beyond the central pairing. The deeper the reader’s descent into the twisted narrative, the more separated and tangible the nature of its delicacy appears; much like the pomegranate, to which Kore’s mind turns repeatedly. And with the ending teasing a future sequel, the reader’s pleasure is extended beyond the book’s physical limitations.

In THE RAPE OF PERSEPHONE, Monica Brillhart erects an ancient Greek world that both bristles and seduces, much like the gods that roam its terrain. But it’s the marriage of purity and depravity, infused with violent sensuality, that leaves the reader ensnared.

~Neil Czeszejko for IndieReader