The Hymn to Dionysus

Natasha Pulley’s retelling of a well-known Greek myth is one of the best things I’ve read in 2025! The novel has a unique way of dealing with heavy topics like loss and grief while at the same time questioning what it means to remain human and act humanely in the midst of a serious crisis. If you enjoyed Madeline Millers “The Song of Achilles“, this book will be another great read for you.

The Hymn of Dionysus is wild, strangling you in the ivy that grows through the pages and grips you by the throat. At the same time, the story burns your patience down and you feel like you’re getting mad, just like Phaidros, the main character. This story is about duty and honor, but also about the nature of divinity, identity, madness, trauma and healing. Phaidros is such a compelling character, I found myself drawn to him right from the start and his desperate loneliness and acerbic wit made him seem very real. Rather than mythology, for me it felt exactly like a crossover between a Greek tragedy and an epic Greek poem. It’s one of the books you can sink into and lose yourself for a while. The best! For everyone, who loved 'The song of Achilles'!