Today I’m delighted to be sharing my review of A Beautiful Evil by Bea Fitzgerald. I have thoroughly enjoyed Fitzgerald’s previous work, so was excited to delve into this latest retelling. Thank you to Nina Douglas and House of YA for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
This review originally appeared on The Nerd Daily.
When the Gods make the first human woman, Pandora, they impress on her just one certainty: that she has been made to love and be loved by her husband, the titan Epimetheos. And yet when Pandora arrives at his home on Colchis, she’s surprised to find that Matheos doesn’t feel the same. AT ALL. In fact, he wants nothing to do with her.
Hurt and confused, Pandora struggles to find purpose and meaning in her new life. What was she made for, if not this? And what does it have to do – if anything – with her husband’s brother Prometheus, doomed to eternal punishment by the King of the Gods? Soon she and Matheos find themselves thrown together more and more, as they try to uncover the real reason the Gods sent her to him – and what that might mean for the future of humanity.
Publication Date: 7th August
CW: death, violence, grief, misogyny, sexism, fatphobia, rape culture, sexual assault, war, gore, surgery, blood, ableism, emotional manipulation, abusive familial relationships, suicide
My Thoughts:
In A Beautiful Evil, Bea Fitzgerald delivers a heart-wrenching, tender and beautiful reexamination of a tale you may think you know.
Fitzgerald has such an interesting viewpoint within the collection of Greek mythological retellings because her takes have such strong characterisation and empowering messages for the readers of her tales. They are full of joy and heartache in equal measure, often finding love in unexpected places but keeping humour throughout. This time, we are treated to her take on the myth of Pandora.
Yet again, the characterisation is stellar and Pandora stole a space in my heart so quickly. She is hilarious and caring with a keen intellect and a huge capacity for love. Being literally born yesterday, she wants to fulfil the purpose the gods have created her for, with a slightly whimsical romantic dream. The reality she faces is remarkably different and cruel. Everything tries to beat her down but she adapts to try and face it all. Ultimately this is a story of her empowerment and carving out her place in the world. She is the beating heart of this book, accompanied by a fantastic cast of supporting characters that feel fleshed-out and believable. I would love several spin-offs. Pandora is also incredibly vulnerable in seeking that connection—she is a plaything of the gods, a tool for their amusement, as the rest of the humans are too. There is such a three-dimensionality to her that just makes you root for her.
Do not be fooled though, Fitzgerald also has a knack for twisting the knife. This is a story of profound heartbreak and existentialism—Pandora’s arc is centered around finding and understanding her purpose. It is an aching exploration of our place in the world and the narratives that are already inscribed upon us. She has been prophesied to break the world and that burden weighs heavily on her. I was reminded of the exploration of selfhood in Billie Eilish’s ‘What Was I Made For?’, particularly as a woman in a deeply patriarchal society. If she has been created as ‘the perfect woman’, what does that really mean? Fitzgerald delves into the male gaze and impossible standards of beauty that entrap women and pit them against one another. Pandora is named as a ‘beautiful evil’ by the gods themselves, so this then informs her self-perception and the way others view her too. That contradictory nature and that promise of a trap dehumanises and categorises her, effectively alienating her from those around her. The isolated setting adds to this, though things may change over the course of the book. I loved the author’s note at the back about the language Pandora wouldn’t be able to use but we may apply today around neurodivergence and how that manifests in this story. It is very much a story of navigating a world that you do not fully understand and has no interest in understanding you. Instead, there is a need to adapt and shapeshift and change almost every fibre of your being to fit in. It is aching and raw but there is also joy in finding spaces to be unequivocally yourself and have yourself be understood by those you love. With this, Fitzgerald is crafting such an impactful message and this must be commended.
I loved how Pandora used the perceptions others had of her to her benefit and that sense of taking back an iota of her power. It was a wonderful undermining of the established narrative that immediately lets you know that this won’t quite be the story that you’re used to. Fitzgerald has a gift for pulling you so completely into her story that you almost forget that you may know where it may lead and then you root for it to be different this time. Of course, sometimes it may indeed be different and Fitzgerald has plenty of wonderful twists and turns in store.
A Beautiful Evil continues Bea Fitzgerald’s reign in the sphere of achingly beautiful YA mythological retellings that delight, empower and destroy their audiences.
A Short Book Lover 
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