Title of the work
Country of the First Edition
Country/countries of popularity
Original Language
First Edition Date
First Edition Details
S. E. Anderson, Discovering Hope: A Pandora’s Box Novel. (Self-published), 2011, 198 pp.
ISBN
Genre
Alternative histories (Fiction)
Bildungsromans (Coming-of-age fiction)
Mythological fiction
Romance fiction
Target Audience
Young adults (Around 15 years)
Cover
We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.
Author of the Entry:
Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, mauril68@gmail.com
Elizabeth Hale, University of New England, ehale@une.edu.au
S. E. Anderson (Author)
S. E. Anderson is a self-published author.
Source:
Official website (accessed: July 4, 2018).
Bio prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com
Summary
In this tale we encounter a 15 year old modern Pandora, Pandora Katsaros, who is not a model for curiosity but a real girl. She is struggling with pains and challenges due to her parents’ sudden death. Pandora tells the story in her own voice, and states: “The meaning of my first name is ‘all-gifted and talented’, which doesn’t describe me in the slightest.” (pp. 24–25). Pandora is depressed, grieving over her parents, thinking about the boyfriend who dumped her and about her good friend’s brother who asked her out - typical teenage anxieties, heightened by the family trauma she experienced. Her mystical experience helps her cope with her life. She receives a box, a gift from a strange woman: “In this box, only the spirit of Hopelessness remains. This is why there is still Hope in the world.” (pp. 424–425).
Throughout the book, Pandora, as the guardian, received heighten senses of seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting, while being busy with her budding romance. There is no real connection between these supernatural senses and the Pandora myth.
We know that Pandora is the guardian of the box and there is not further development of the concept or any reference to why her senses are heightened. Since this is the first book in a series perhaps the answers would be revealed later on in the series.
Analysis
This is a semi-realist novel about teenage emotions, which uses the fantasy device of the mysterious box to draw on the Pandora myth. Anderson explores the power of hope for young readers through the story of a protagonist struggling with the aftermath of tragedy. With each new ability Pandora will experience pain as well as reward. Like the mythical heroine, she is gifted with many abilities that can cause her joy or grief and she must overcome obstacles in order to control them.
Addenda
The review refers to the Kindle edition (this is the only edition).
