Alcestis is best known (if known at all) for her sacrifice for her husband, who needed someone to consent to die in his place via a special dispensation granted to him by Apollo, who he was nice to while Apollo had to serve him (without him knowing Apollo's real identity) for making Zeus angry. Alcestis is also connected by family connection to various Greek heroes and was saved herself by her hubby's pal Hercules. She basically comes off as the symbol of a loyal wife.
But, Katherine Beutner chose to make her the heroine of her own story via Beutner's own first book. "Alcestis" does mean "valiant, courageous," from alke "protection, help, strength, power." Also, the voice from this poem (which she cites as an inspiration):
No other can be a substitute for him. I am.
I am his ransom. For no one else is finished,
as I am. What remains to me then of that
which I was, here? That is it, yes, that I’m dying.
Didn’t she tell you, Artemis, when she commanded this,
that the bed, that one which waits inside,
belongs to the other world below? I’m really taking leave.
Parting upon parting.
No one who dies takes more. I truly depart,
so that all this, buried beneath him
who is now my husband, melts and dissolves itself –
So take me there: I die indeed for him.
And, without the oratory, the book does have a form of the events in this poem, including the young players (the Greek play based on the story has them older, one she is no big fan of). The book tells her story, from her birth where her mother dies, her lonely youth, her marriage and trip into the Underworld. This all occurs by the time she is sixteen, so this can very well be a good book for the more mature teenager. It is good to keep in mind her age, a more mature woman perhaps would handle certain things differently.
The book provides a window into a different age and locale, including after all a vision of Hell. This it does well, all in the voice of the lead character (mostly; sometimes she sees and hears others discuss things), so a different perspective might tell us other things as well. For instance, we meet a few gods, a lot of sexual interaction going on among these people (Hercules/Heracles himself part god), and get a taste of how they view things differently, their otherworldly nature. Hades, a relatively minor character here, is of interest. We get an interesting taste of him.
I don't know how much the Admetus (her husband) / Apollo relationship was touched with a homoerotic flavor in myths and such, but she uses that here -- Admetus early on comes off as the weak-willed lover of Apollo though their relationship is only hinted at early on. The book makes a brief reference to why Apollo is loyal to him, but Alcestis never tells us if she knows the full story. But, given Greek practice, this sexual relationship fits. The author herself adds another one: Persephone, Hades consort, falls for Alcestis. Their relationship dominates the second half.
A half that somewhat rambles. The vision of the underworld is striking, but after awhile, it doesn't go anywhere. That is, it seems to be rambling on (I think thirty pages of the about three hundred page book could have been removed fairly easily), particularly her search for her sister (who died seven years earlier).* [spoiler] I guess the author wanted to be the one to give the story of her time in the Underworld, and do so in detail. Also, I guess there is a certain wandering nature to such things. Death does come off as dull.
Still, the book as a whole -- particularly the first half and parts of the second (the resolution works okay) -- is a good read. I was left wanting to know more about some of these characters. Of course, some can be found in the myths. But, I also wanted to learn more by the author's voice. Like, it was amusing to hear her young stepmother note how all men are really just boys, who like to drink and play games. Perhaps, some time.
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* Given her age and natural desires, her need to find her sister is understandable. But, we know early on how doomed it is, particularly when after only about a day, her recently arrived grandmother's memories greatly faded. So, after awhile it was like, oh come on, get it over with. Still, like someone who needs to see a body at a funeral, meeting the "shade" (spirit) of her sister, cleared of much form, was a necessary thing.
And, these things never come easy in myth, do they?