The Great God Pan

i have to admit, like all of Donna Jo Nappoli's books, she takes my breath away. on some of the latest comments i cannot agree. honestly, this is one of the top three (in my opinion the other two are Sirena and Beast) As someone who has had a passion for disney, fantasy, mythology and fairy tales, i am at a shortage of words to describe what this small book did to me. I am 17 yrs old; and i can honestly say if you are a fan of this authors work, this book must be read despite other comments. I find The Great God Pan entrancing, magical and absolutely incredible. I cried halfway through it and continued till hours afterward. I highly recommend it for those who like stories with plots and intelligent details with stomach butterflies. PLEASE READ IT!!!!

It is said that the gods and goddesses of Greek and Roman mythology mimic some of the best and worst faults of humans. Donna Jo Napoli liberally illustrates this idea in this riveting tale which takes us back to a time when gods and goddesses ruled the earth. Donna Jo Napoli has given a three dimensional quality to this charming story in which Pan, the god of the forest plays the central role. The story is written in first person and Napoli peppers her narrative with clever dialog and tirelessly records Pan's thoughts and emotions as she tells her story. The major stories of Pan from classical literature are incorporated into this book, although Napoli uses literary license to to weave those stories together to form the story of the life of Pan. The story of Pan's interaction with Psyche in Apuleius's The Golden Ass is here, as well as the story of King Midas and Pan, and Syrinx and Pan, both from Ovid's Metamorpheses. The stories are altered, however. For instance, we see Pan weep over Syrinx's transformation into a tree, and Napoli describes Pan's thoughts of Psyche in less than sympathetic terms. Napoli incorporates Pan into the story of Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon, who appears in Homer's Iliad as a sacrifice to Artemis at the beginning of the Trojan War. The incorporation is clever, but students of the classics may find fault with this rearrangement, as well as the startling final conclusion since it is not reflected in classical literature. Still, it's a fun book for anyone whether they're interested in classical mythology or not. The story is readable and the print is fairly large, but I would recommend this book for high school students and above since these stories reflect some mature situations that are inherent in the retelling of many classical myths.

If you have read anything by Donna Jo Napoli, you would already know how she takes old legends and faerie tales and makes them sparking with new life and love. This is definitely an example of her ability to do so, although not one of my most favorite works by her, it is a very absorbing tale, rich with detail, lust, and the suspicion of unrequited love. Here, the heart-breaking tale of the half-goat, half-god, Pan is brought to life. Pan has always been happy. He is loved by both the gods and the goddesses, satisfied with frolicking about with the myaids of the wood which he lives in. His father is Hermes, of the winged slippers, Hermes, who guides the dead to Hades, his mother, a nymph whom he has never met, who abandoned him with his father at birth. Pan is joy. Pan is playful. "Perfect Pan" say the maiyads. "Pan of panic" says his father. Pan is happy, yes. Until he meets Igphenia. Igphenia is daughter of a king and queen, only she is really the daughter of Helen, of Troy. Igphenia, who knows as much about herbs and plants, if not more, than Pan himself. Igphenia, who is a mortal. "Never fall in love with a mortal," the goddesses tell him. "There is too much pain." Yes, Pan's story is one of pain. He meets her in a field, where they talk about herbs, sharing new remedies with each other. And then she goes, back to her mother and father, and he cannot stop thinking about her. And later, after another accidental meeting, he is even more infuatuated with her. In his mind he denies that he is in love with her, in his mind and his mouth, yet he is. Pan of Pain. In the end, he proves his love, his deep love, more than a simple infuatuation, when he makes his ultimate sacrifice for her. This is a lovely book with a horribly sad ending, an ending that will stay with you long after you read the last words.