The Hymn to Dionysus

Reviews

A dazzling labyrinth of a book that pulls you in with both hands. Pulley’s wild, charismatic Dionysus is sure to win your heart, and Phaidros’s indefatigable spirit and wry humor will keep readers glued to the page. A fitting tribute to the god of divine madness. A brilliant reimagining . . . With a tormented hero, a captivating love story, and worldbuilding that will leave you breathless, this novel twists the ideas of duty and honor, exploring the depths of humanity and the power of connection in a world consumed by chaos. An absolute must-read. A rich psychological drama and a triumph of a queer narrative . . . Weaves together the desires of two very different men: soldier and witch; loyalist and iconoclast. With mastery of voice, Pulley gives her narrator dry wit and complex desires, creating a character so recognizably human that he makes the ancient world feel close-by. I was enthralled from the first page to the last. Pulley has given us more than an inputting stare into the clockwork violence we carry out numbly every day to prop up a collapsing world that's destroying us along with itself. This is more than a story of love and escape and broken chains. This is more than an exquisitely crafted tale. This book is a candle in a dark hour. While there's been an explosion in Greek myth retellings in recent years, you haven’t read one like Natasha Pulley’s newest . . . It’s a queer love story wrapped up in questions about the end of empire and the need for revelry—quite fitting for 2025. A bittersweet and magical historical fiction reimagining of the story of the Greek God of ecstasy and madness that feels as much like a fantasy as it does a strict mythological retelling. Thoroughly captivating in every way. A tightrope walk between madness and duty, creation and destruction . . . The Hymn to Dionysus revisits a classic to explore the idea that love conquers all in more divine terms. One of the best and most consistently stunning novelists of our time . . . Pulley’s ability to weave reality, history, and fantasy is unmatched. Pulley’s hallucinatory exploration of the god of wine . . . had me hooked from the first page . . . The Hymn to Dionysus probes the boundaries of mythos and love, leaving readers laughing through bittersweet tears. Fascinating and mythic, beautiful and deeply touching. Sagar immediately draws listeners into this riveting novel, set in ancient Thebes . . . Listeners won't want this lovely, moving story to end. Amid a plethora of retellings of ancient Greek and Roman tales, it's Pulley's utterly unique and outrageously candid and witty hero Phaidros that makes this captivating yarn and its beautiful love story a standout. Pulley brings out her favorite elements—palace intrigue, gallant lovers, masks, transformations, ambiguity, automata—and twists them into mesmerizing patterns . . . This love story is witty, bittersweet, surprising, and compellingly readable. [A] fresh and stylish reimagining . . . In her singular voice, Pulley crafts a nuanced story that enthralls the reader until the very last page. Fans of Greek myth retellings won’t want to miss this one. A completely original and bewitching adventure . . . These pages are brimming with life, and the chemistry between the career soldier and Dionysus crackles off the page. In trademark style, Pulley will make you laugh, think, and fall in love. Expand reviews