The Snake and the Lyre - Excerpts, Content Labels, Reviews & Discussion
by Annabeth Leong
EXCERPT:
Eurydice dipped a foot into the sun-warm spring. “Sweet ladies of the water,” she called. “Would you like to dance at my wedding? Silver-tongued Orpheus will play and sing for his esteemed guests.”
“Or-phe-us,” the water sighed, its surface rippling. The silt at the bottom bubbled. A pale arm emerged, as strong and slender as a young tree.
“Yes, Orpheus! He will be my husband!” Eurydice dove eagerly into the water and took hold of the hand, helping the Naiad out of the sucking sand.
The nymph clasped the offered hand and crawled up Eurydice, her skin cold and slippery. She darted between Eurydice’s legs, her moss-green hair tickling her thighs. She wrapped her arms around the young woman’s stomach and surged up to break the surface, her pebbled nipples scraping Eurydice’s.
Eurydice gasped, her lungs suddenly tight.
“The wife of Orpheus,” the Naiad purred. “We have heard him sing. Is his tongue worth the silver of its sound?” She winked. A clever hand darted between Eurydice’s legs, parted her folds.
Comments
#1 Remakes
Everyone has their own opinion on remakes - whether of films, songs or retelling of other stories. Myths are now part of our subconcious, little pieces of story that guide the way we think about things. Just the mention of a name and the whole tale tumbles through your mind. And over time they obviously get all muddled up.
So, when I read this, I thought I knew the ending. And then I realised that no, I was remembering someone elses twist on the tale and this one is so much closer to the original. When we weren't required to have a happy ending and stories dealt in truths, uncomfortable though they may be.
What did I think of this remake? It's good. Adding a darker, more visceral feel to a story that deals in loss through impatience and self-gratification. Now I'm off to reread it.
#2 Thanks so much for reading!
And there have been a lot of interesting Orpheus remakes. One that I looked at a lot while working up this story was Black Orpheus -- it inspired me to go ahead and make changes where it made sense to do so.