Myths, Verse, and the Minotaur (Review of Bull by David Elliot)

🌟 Bull by David Elliot- Read May 18th 🌟

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"Mommy has a little calf.

      Little calf.

      Little calf. 

Mommy has a little calf.

His nose is black as tar.

She calls her calf Asterion .

       Asterion.

       Asterion.

That's my name —  Asterion.

I'm Ruler of the Stars. " - This is just one example of the beautiful writing in this book. It is also on the image of the bull head on the cover. 

 I adored this book. This looks to be the month of Greek mythology (so far I have read three and am at least reading one more) and the month of favorites. One of the greatest aspects of this book is the fact that it was written in verse. I can not imagine how long this book would have taken to write let alone contemplate. I love the idea of writing in verse myself, since I love writing poetry and I love reading it. The author explains at the end the types of verse that he used throughout for each character. Everyone of the characters speaks differently and brings new layers to the story. 

Another aspect I loved about this book was the way David retold the myth of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth. For those that do not know the myth I'll give a quick synopsis. Minos the king of Crete gets Poseidon the sea god angry. So Poseidon takes out his anger by making Minos' wife interested in a bull and ultimately has a child, Asterion with the bull. This bull grows up and is eventually placed in a Labyrinth by his stepfather the king, to take revenge on the Athens. This is one good example of Greek mythology for you 

What I really liked about David's book was that, yes he stuck to the myth but he added character and motivations to the story that were not already there before. He explained at the end his process in writing this and I loved that he did this at the end. This is one of my all time favorite Greek myths and he added a layer to the story that made me love it so much more. Asterion, the Minotaur becomes a tragic character in this story that I loved. In the original myth he really never had much of a character but in this David makes the character have new dimensions. I felt bad for him. 

David also made the story so funny and tragic throughout which added a great mix to the plot. Overall this was a creative retelling that I thoroughly enjoyed. I also loved Poseidon's character in this. He is so darn funny. Definitely a favorite of the year. 

Also the cover is great.