From the award-winning author of Cantoras, a bold feminist retelling of the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros explores the power of queer joy and freedom.
“Infused with themes of gender fluidity, desire, restriction, and self-discovery, The Palace of Eros queers and revitalizes the original myth…This lyrical, evocative retelling is at once intimate and expansive in De Robertis’ masterful hands.”
—Jen St. Jude, The Chicago Review of Books
“A riveting, sublime, magical, and wildly subversive meditation on love, sex, mythology, and belonging…brilliant and beautiful and erotic and insightful and unlike anything I’ve ever read. I couldn’t ask for more.”
—Cristina García, author of Dreaming in Cuban and Vanishing Maps
“Bold and barrier-breaking…an intoxicating reimagining of myth like no other…a sublime excavation of passion, courage, and fate that is destined to become a classic.”
—Patricia Engel, author of Infinite Country
Young, headstrong Psyche has captured the eyes of every suitor in town and far beyond with her tempestuous beauty, which has made her irresistible as a woman yet undesirable as a wife. Secretly, she longs for a life away from the expectations and demands of men. When her father realizes that the future of his family and town will be forever cursed unless he appeases an enraged Aphrodite, he follows the orders of the Oracle, tying Psyche to a rock to be ravaged by a monstrous husband. And yet a monster never arrives.
When Eros, nonbinary deity of desire, sees Psyche, she cannot fulfill her promise to her mother Aphrodite to destroy the mortal young woman. Instead, Eros devises a plan to sweep Psyche away to an idyllic palace, hidden from the prying eyes of Aphrodite, Zeus, and the outside world. There, against the dire dictates of Olympus, Eros and Psyche fall in love. Each night, Eros visits Psyche under the cover of impenetrable darkness, where they both experience untold passion and love. But each morning, Eros flies away before light comes to break the spell of the palace that keeps them safe.
Before long, Psyche’s nights spent in pleasure turn to days filled with doubts, as she grapples with the cost of secrecy and the complexities of freedom and desire. Restless and spurred by her sisters to reveal Eros’s true nature, she breaks her trust and forces a reckoning that tests them both—and transforms the very heavens.
Told in bold and sparkling prose from “a brilliant and luminous writer” (Madeline Miller, New York Times bestselling author), The Palace of Eros transports us to a magical world imbued by divine forces as well as everyday realities, where palaces glitter with magic even as ordinary people fight for freedom in a society that fears the unknown.
“De Robertis’ prose is as sharp and beautiful as ever. Their meditations on gender, desire, and freedom soar off the page…a vulnerable, sensual, and joyous journey about living and loving in one’s truth.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Caro’s prose is magnificent, it incorporates language for a gender expansive body into a myth that is 2000 years old and makes it look easy. It is such a literary gift…[The Palace of Eros] builds on a long history of trans and queer people rewriting history to expand the notion of what’s possible…an incredible and beautiful ode to this history.”
—Julián Delgado Lopera, Electric Literature
“Poetic, kinetic prose adds to the epic feel of the novel and its refreshing sense of subversion.”
—Hannah Bae, San Francisco Chronicle
“Engrossing…admirers of Madeline Miller will be pleased.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Sexy, fiery, a nerdy Greek retelling written for ‘all of us.’ Propulsive and smart! Once again, Caro De Robertis delivers one of the best books I’ve read this year.”
—Angie Cruz, author of How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water
“Caro De Robertis is a force: prepare to be astonished.”
—R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries
“At once thought-provoking and deeply embodied, Caro De Robertis’s lush nonbinary take on Cupid and Psyche reveals what was always there–the sapphic heart of the old myths, an examination of intimacy’s many forms–while also offering all the pleasures of a gripping story. I couldn’t put it down!”
—Andrea Lawlor, author of Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl