L'Esprit de L'Escalier

by Catherynne M. Valente

L’Esprit de L’Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente is a provocative retelling of the Greek myth, in which Orpheus, the musician son of Apollo and Calliope, successfully rescues his wife Eurydice--dead of a snake bite-- from Hades.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Mythology, Retellings, Horror, Fiction, Greek Mythology

47 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2021

About the author

Catherynne M. Valente was born on Cinco de Mayo, 1979 in Seattle, WA, but grew up in in the wheatgrass paradise of Northern California. She graduated from high school at age 15, going on to UC San Diego and Edinburgh University, receiving her B.A. in Classics with an emphasis in Ancient Greek Linguistics. She then drifted away from her M.A. program and into a long residence in the concrete and camphor wilds of Japan.

She currently lives in Maine with her partner, two dogs, and three cats, having drifted back to America and the mythic frontier of the Midwest.

Reviews

[Nataliya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valente is a wordsmith of lush and weird.

“Orpheus turns around on the staircase. For old time’s sake.”

This is her reworking of Orpheus and Eurydice, that cruel in that heartbreaking Ancient Greek tradition story of a man trying to get his deceased beloved out of the Underworld but failing to follow instructions, thus leaving her behind. Valente takes a look at what would happen had Orpheus not looked back, but adds extra layers of weird, transposing mythology onto present times and expounding on unhappy marriages and self-absorption and selfish resentment.

“On Thursdays they have couples’ counseling. They hunch together on the couch so they can both be seen in the little black eye of the webcam. Orpheus talks and talks. I just want you to be happy. Why can’t you be happy? After everything I’ve done for you. You’re so fucking cold.

Eurydice never says much. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

The therapist gives them worksheets about Love Languages. Eurydice fills them out. Orpheus does not. So she answers for him.

His says: Physical Touch.

Hers says: The Soul-Consuming Fires of the River Phlegethon.”

More than anything, it’s a story of a marriage under strain, a marriage that should have ended a long time ago, a marriage that’s more about resentments and anger and egoism than whatever love was supposed to be there. It’s a story of being in love with an idea rather than an actual individual. A story of unpleasant laser-focused self-absorption.

“She didn’t even thank him for making her breakfast. He doesn’t want that to annoy him the way it does, but he can’t shake it. She owes him. She owes him so much.”

It’s sad and at times a bit offputting in it’s graphic descriptions of life with a corpse-bride, and at other times filled with delightful nuggets such as Sisyphus wearing a shirt that says “Rock ’n’ Roll Forever” and emotional support dog Cerberus, Apollo as an aging rockstar and Prometheus lighting a cigarette.

“But Calliope doesn’t mind. She has enough energy for everyone. She lifts her daughter-in-law naked into the clawfoot tub and pours in bleach like bubble bath. She scrubs the little fractal spirals of mildew from Eurydice’s livid back, her hair, under her arms. The water is warm, but it doesn’t matter. She doesn’t feel it.”

And the thing that never ceases to amaze me is how tolerant I am of Valente’s prose with purplishness and adjective-laden overwriting when I’d have rolled my eyes at anyone else trying to pull that off. But Valente makes it work, and it’s not a small feat.

4 stars.

Read it here, on Tor.com: https://www.tor.com/2021/08/25/lespri...

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Also posted on my blog.

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My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2022

[carol. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goddamn, all the emotions. It's like she was there, if by there, you mean my own eight years with Orpheus.


https://www.tor.com/2021/08/25/lespir...

[mwana · Rating 5 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you took Neil Gaiman's imagination and fertilised it with Donna Tartt's prose? I think this story is what would happen. How has no one ever cottoned me onto Ms Valente's storytelling? I'm so mad at you all. Except you Nataliya, the only person who actually mentioned this story, within a different context.

The entrance to hell is always in your own house.

This is a well known tale of the myth of Orpheus, son of Calliope and Appollo. Unlike the retellings in the vein of Madeline Miller's Circe, this is more Gaimanesque in that it's set in the real world where gods exist within our realm. They are rockstars, pimps, deadbeats, hoes. Gods, titans, they're just like us.

The story begins with Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus is a musician (in the original myth he's a bard) and his wife Eurydice dies, rather inconveniently. That is, she dies before he could let learn to let go. If he was my friend, I would tell him to listen to the buffalo from Zootopia's DMV or Elsa's annoying ass number one hit single. But sometimes, needs must. And so Orpheus travels to the underworld to get his corpse bride so they can live happily ever after. Again.

Things aren't going particularly well. Eurydice isn't a warm body. She's a mushroom farm. Oozing black foul sludge where blood should be. As per Persephone's instructions, she can live on pig's or lamb's blood but Orpheus, desperate to recreate his reality, still serves them domestic little breakfasts. In his mind, what he did was selfless, noble, brave. But even as godlike creatures, men have never mastered the art of obtaining consent from women. It's even Sisyphus who has to bring Cerberus to Eurydice to help her just feel better.

For Orpheus, Eurydice is a means to an end.

He was something. And so was she. He was famous. She was beautiful. What else did anyone need? They were young and it was easy. Orpheus saw himself as he knew he could be reflected back at him in that heated, shimmering stare. He wanted it. He wanted that ease forever. He wanted himself as she saw him.

Ah men, can't live with them, can't die without them.

I already know the original story of Orpheus and Eurydice and considering what an absolute shit head of a husband O is, I'd expected a conclusion of rage and vengeance. Something gruesome and satisfying. Like that Sandman special episode, Calliope. Unfortunately, the story never goes there. Valente knows that we know how this story ends. And in that she pays me (not us, I don't care about y'all) a great disservice because it would have been marvellous to see a subversion. With all the people enabling Orpheus, including his mother who just writes this off as Marriage is hard Who will fight for Eurydice's agency? She has the right to rest in peace. Eurydice even says,

"I see my love for you as though it hands in a museum... Under glass. Environmentally controlled. It is a part of history. But I am not allowed to touch it. I am not allowed to add anything new to it. I am not even allowed to get close."

Just let her go, man. Since I couldn't get that, I have to settle for this hypnotic marvellous prose that had me feeling like I was in the mushroom ridden house with them.

At one point, Calliope's voice is described as a cake rising, a memory of goodness. She smells sharp and warm and welcoming, like a used bookstore. This story is about Orpheus getting his way and Eurydice getting shafted for a man's caprices. Tale as old as time, beauty is but a feast for men.

Read it here.

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A river of black, wet earth and pebbles and moss and tiny blind helpless worms erupts out of Eurydice’s smile, splattering so hard onto his mother’s perfect plate that it cracks down the middle, and dirt pools out across the table and the worms nose mutely at the crusts of the almost-burnt toast.

He clenches his teeth as he clears the dishes. Eurydice stares up at him, her eyes swimming with apologies.

“It’s fine,” he says, curt and flat. “It’s fine.”

this is a chillingly beautiful rework of the orpheus/eurydice myth. in the original, you will recall, orpheus' attempt to rescue his dearly departed bride from the underworld soured when he disobeyed the pretty straightforward instructions to not turn around and look at her until they were well out of hades, and when he did, she was swooshed back down to the land of the dead.

this is what happens when you don't look back. it is much, much worse.

valente's version unfolds in close third person, following orpheus' POV through his new life with his corpse-bride, her decaying body really putting a strain on their relationship.

it's a very modern adaptation—eurydice in a smiths t-shirt drinking lamb's blood microwaved by her rock star spouse, and it features a number of cameo appearances by familiar-but-tweaked characters—sisyphus in a t-shirt that says Rock ’n’ Roll Forever, cerberus as an emotional support dog, prometheus lighting everyone's cigarettes, etc.

some of these little easter eggs were great, some a little too on the nose, but i appreciate that she included so many in-jokes for those familiar with the story or those fluent in ancient greek (or fluent in googling ancient greek*) i'm sure i missed a bunch of references—what, pray tell, is the significance of all the vintage star wars glassware?

DIGRESSION: when i finished reading this story, i did a little refresher on the original myth, to see if i could catch any more of the references, and i discovered that orpheus' father is, in some versions, king oeagrus of thrace, but in others, it is apollo. which, yes, makes him eurydice's half-brother. i don't know if that matters when the d in the dna stands for 'deity,' and considering how free with the d those olde timey gods were, everyone's sharing some of the same god-genes, but it's an interesting detail new to me.



"ewwww, NO, eurydice! you're my sister! sometimes."

END OF DIGRESSION

anyway, if you aren't familiar with the source material, you can read this as a story about a relationship that should have ended a long time ago—after all, marriage is hard enough when both participants are alive and don't need to be scrubbed of persistent mold on a regular basis. true love never dies &yadda, but this is not a love story, and their relationship is more toxic than any of the stuff oozing out of poor eurydice. orpheus is a shitty husband—a golden boy whose music was so powerful that "the world opened itself up to him like a jewelry box," and he's an entitled and selfish man resentful of eurydice's lack of gratitude for bringing her back to the living world.

She didn’t even thank him for making her breakfast. He doesn’t want that to annoy him the way it does, but he can’t shake it. She owes him. She owes him so much.

his attitude is even more reprehensible when it becomes clear—to everyone but him—that he's holding on, not to who she was before she died, but to the idea of who she was before she died. to him, eurydice is "adoration in human form," and he doesn't care about how she feels, but how she made him feel. the very foundation of their love story is rotten:

He was famous. She was beautiful. What else did anyone need? They were young and it was easy. Orpheus saw himself as he knew he could be reflected back at him in that heated, shimmering stare. He wanted it. He wanted that ease forever. He wanted himself as she saw him.

Just because he went home with a maenad that night and had to be reminded of her name when they met again a month later doesn’t make it any less love at first sight.

Orpheus has repeatedly explained that to their therapist.

their new reality takes some getting used to, and although eurydice frequently comes across as passive and pliable, there are sharp moments where her bitterness pokes through.

She runs a couple of miles a night, hood drawn up, headphones in. It tenderizes the meat. Orpheus has tried to tell her it isn’t safe for her to be out alone. She laughed in his face.

one of the most intriguing things about the story is how little we know about "this" eurydice. because this is all told through the might-as-well-be-narcissus perspective of orpheus, we only get tantalizing glimpses of her life in their therapy sessions (bruises on her arm the night they met whose origins are undisclosed-but-hinted-at, her own abandoned musical aspirations he knows nothing about).

she doesn't get much of a voice, but she certainly has a presence, and the hair dryer scene'll rip your heart out.

she only gets one extended speech, delivered towards the end of this story, but it's a killer.

“Why didn’t you turn around?” Eurydice whispers.

Orpheus tells the truth. “I knew you were there, baby. I never doubted it for a minute.”

Children yell and play in the neighbors’ gardens, high-pitched giggles fizzing up into the streetlights. “You didn’t know. You assumed I was there. Behind you. Like I’d always been there. Behind you. You couldn’t even imagine that I might not do as I was told, that I might not be where you wanted me to be, the moment you wanted it. That was my place, and you assumed I would be in it. What in your life has ever gone any way other than as you wished it?”

oops, i accidentally wrote a long review for a short story.



read it for yourself here:

https://www.tor.com/2021/08/25/lespir...

* although eurydice's menin aiede qea sweater required an extra step; the phrase—according to some guy on the internet—is a conflation of two different translations of the iliad's opening line: menin aeide thea and MHNIN AIEDE QEA. why all-caps? i don't know; ask that guy on the internet.

come to my blog!

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Valente is a wordsmith as ever, but I feel like I prefer her original fiction rather than retellings, even though she is a master of retellings as well. I want less borrowing.

[Becks! · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully morbid take on a Greek myth

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'Esprit de L'Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente - 4.5/5★

Beautiful writing, as I was expecting from Valente, and a challenging take on Orpheus and Eurydice. A metaphor about abusive relationships: it's not love if you don't consider your partner's feelings and wishes, and you just do what you think he/she should want.
Beautiful cover also.

The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2021 Edition and can also be read on Tor.com.

[Fiona Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

He was so young then, young, stupid in love, unaware that there were certain things he simply could not have. Limitation was for other people. All he’d ever needed to do was sing and the world opened itself up to him like a jewelry box—and she was there when it did, the little pale dancer on the velvet of his ease, spinning inexorably round and round on one agonizingly perfect, frozen foot. If the world declined to open for others, that did not concern him.

Such a beautiful, emotionally devastating short story. Catherynne M. Valente has such a talent for managing to make a story that has impact, is insightful, and remains a beautiful joy to read even as it describes horrifying situations.

Free from Tor here: https://www.tor.com/2021/08/25/lespri...

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously, is there any story Valente writes that is NOT just wonderful?! I think not.

Here, we have a variation of a Greek myth. For those, who don't know, there once was a man called Orpheus and he was in love. And Eurydike loved him back. The couple was happy until she died, and Orpheus mourned her so much that he went to Hades (the Underworld) to get her back ... they almost made it but not quite.
In Valente's modern-day version, we get kinda the same premise, but with a twist of course. You see, Orpheus succeeded. A wonderful twist with multiple potential meanings and quite a deep examination fo everything from true love and marriage to selflessness and sacrifice.

It did remind me of countless relatives or family acquaintences, who had cancer or some other form of illness, but their loved ones just couldn't let them go - instead submitting them to one treatment after another and the sick bearing it for their loved ones despite it being a terrible and painful hell.

As for the message regarding marriage: chose your partner wisely is all I'll say. And that doesn't just apply to this story, of course.

You can read the story for free here: https://www.tor.com/2021/08/25/lespri...

P.S.: But that cover is GORGEOUS!

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well now. That might just be my new favorite of all of Valente's short stories.

And no, it's not just because it revolves around a modern retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice. Or not entirely.

It's the angle it comes from, from Eurydice, if Orpheus had not turned around at the fateful moment and had managed to bring her back. Of course, there is the rot, and it's not just the rot of the flesh, but of the spirit, too.

As a horror, it works well in the physical and the mental states, but not in the way that one might expect. A little common courtesy, kindness, understanding, is NOT always what people believe it is. Marriages fail for less. And this one? Well... even the extended family of the Greek Gods get it, and they're a bunch of wankers.

But in this case, Orpheus may still be able to sing the birds out of the sky, but he's rather ducking blind.

This one really hits hard.

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantasy modern retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, after. Or to be more precise, a story of a troubled relationship using the framework of a myth to tell that story. Character study if anything, projecting into mythology but not about the mythology. (There might be also a theme of Twelve Steps, AA, though I am not so sure how deep)

Quite a bit of gore. Prose is kind of lush, that is not usually my thing, but it worked for me. Clearly lots of symbology. Cerberus is a cutie..

Very very good.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Valente is hit-or-miss for me. This one sure isn't working for me, at about 1/3 in. Putting it aside for now. The undead, slowly-decaying reanimated corpse of Eurydice . . . Yuck. I don't do horror. I'm done.

Story link: https://www.tor.com/2021/08/25/lespri...
Lovely cover art! Totally not representing the actual story . . .

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. That’s a retelling that packed a punch. A reimagining of the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, if Orpheus had not turned around, with a modern day setting. Excellent prose and story telling.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Music is just the sound of time blowing across the lip of their nothingness.
Creative novelette which strums all the right chords. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice has been retold many times over the millennia, but none quite like Valente’s take. Thorough knowledge of Greek mythology required to appreciate, but not required to enjoy it.
Sunlight from the kitchen windows creeps in and sits guiltily at her feet like a neglected cat.
Forces the reader to think. Excellent word pictures. The length is just right. Gratuitous f-word cost her a star; do the math.
He wanted himself as she saw him.
(2022 Hugo Award Novelette finalist)

[Silvana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting tale and use of imageries but not for me.

[katayoun Masoodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

beautiful and too dark for me

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A modern retelling of a Greek myth in the incredible voice of Valente. This hits all the right notes for me. It is short, but packs a punch when it comes to characters, perspective, and overall tone.

[layla · Rating 5 out of 5]

“he was so young then, young, stupid in love, unaware that there were certain things he simply could not have. limitation was for other people. all he’d ever needed to do was sing and the world opened itself up to him like a jewelry box—and she was there when it did, the little pale dancer on the velvet of his ease, spinning inexorably round and round on one agonizingly perfect, frozen foot. if the world declined to open for others, that did not concern him.”

[Olive · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wonder how Madeline Miller feels knowing the best Greek myth retelling ever written is a 47 page short story from 2021 by Catherynne M Valente.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This reminded me of Rilke's take on this myth. Absolutely gorgeous, tragic and surprisingly funny on occasion. Sisyphus' shirt was the best pun I've read in a long time.

[Lis Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Greek myth, Orpheus, son of Apollo and Calliope, meets and falls in love with Eurydice. They marry and live very happily--for a short time, before Eurydice's untimely death. Orpheus descends into the underworld, and attempts to rescue Eurydice.

In this Hugo-finalist novelette, the story begins after Orpheus has succeeded, and he and Eurydice are living in the home where they were previously so happy.

Things have of course not worked out as Orpheus expected. The storytelling is delicate, sad, grim, merciless.

Recommended.

[CopaSribe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Catherynne Valente's writing. It sucks you in and always has layers of themes that, as the reader, you need to dig up on your own. It's deep and thought-provoking without being pretentious. Basically, it's a breath of fresh air among recent publications I've found lacking in storytelling, plot, and character. L'Espirit de L'Escalier tells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, if he'd never turned around in the Underworld...but it's also about marriage and mistakes and not communicating with your partner. It says a lot in its title and with minimal pages.

I read the short story at https://www.tor.com/2021/08/25/lespri...

[Naima · Rating 5 out of 5]

read here

“I see my love for you as though it hangs in a museum,” Eurydice says slowly. “Under glass. Environmentally controlled. It is a part of history. But I am not allowed to touch it. I am not allowed to add anything new to it. I am not even allowed to get close.” She puts a golden star into place without looking up. “Why didn’t you turn around?” Eurydice whispers.

Orpheus tells the truth. “I knew you were there, baby. I never doubted it for a minute.”

Children yell and play in the neighbors’ gardens, high-pitched giggles fizzing up into the streetlights. “You didn’t know. You assumed I was there. [...]"

this short story made me really think about how orpheus' turning around has always been about how dearly he loved eurydice, that he just couldn't help but make sure she was right behind him, that despite all of the work put into convincing death to let go of her, he threw it all out just to make sure she was alright and behind him (that she trips or he's struck with fear by her silent steps, etc etc). and that, no matter what, eurydice forgives him- she understands and loves him just as much as he does. that this is a story where he doesn't turn around says it all - he doesn't understand her and he doesn't check to make sure she is alright, and for that he can't be forgiven.

[John Rennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a re-examination of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. It isn't great literature, and I'm sure it isn't meant to be, but it is a fun and interesting take on the story. If you like the "re-examination of Greek myths" genre then I recommend this as an excellent way to spend the half hour or so it will take you to read it.

After reading the story I Googled for information about the Orpheus and Eurydice story, and to my surprise I found the story we all know is possibly bowdlerised from older stories in the way that the Grimm brothers' stories got toned down. While it isn't known for certain, it appears that the original stories might have been a criticism of Orpheus's arrogance in challenging death. If so Valente's interpretation fits right in with this idea. While I don't want to give any spoilers, Valente's Orpheus is not the virtuous lover the story we all know describes.

[Cristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before beginning to read the actual story I was already inclined to like it. I was intrigued by the title (I initially thought replacing "d'escalier" with "de L'Escalier" was intentional and it would be explained... I didn't get the explanation in case there was one...) and the short description advertised a Greek myth retelling "In this provocative and rich retelling of the Greek myth, Orpheus...". I probably should have been wary of the words "provocative" and "rich". The story is a modern-day setting (after 1984) of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in horror key. Interestingly written (mostly) (I dislike phrases like "Sunlight from the kitchen windows creeps in and sits guiltily at her feet like a neglected cat." and occasional overuse of adjectives), insightful, but raw, disturbing, and very sad.

[Flinx · Rating 2 out of 5]

Modern retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. He is narcissistic, got her back from Hades just to have someone to admire him, she is undead and unhappy. I gave it 2 stars for style, maybe a little overdone, but very morbidly descriptive (so much so that I was tempted to stop reading a few times). My greatest issue is that it could have been a made-up fictional couple, not a borrowed one from somewhere else. Sure, there wouldn't have been all the inside jokes with gods and titans and their specific traits, but it would have made the same point: be careful who you marry.

[K. G. Whitehurst · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope, sorry, not for me. I shouldn't even rate it b/c it was such an immediate turn-off to me. I don't know what did for me, whether it got too clever by half or the horror aspects. I dislike horror and don't read it. This one is definitely on me, not the author.

[Mirjam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fuck me, I'm actually tentatively interested in reading something Cat Valente wrote. What is this world coming to?

ETA: It didn't last.

[Lene Kretschz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Overwrought and underbaked, this is just dreadful.

[Marathon (shadow’s version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

so so good

how long until hadestown dies down and i can adapt this orpheus and eurydice into a musical