Greek mythology gets an almighty shake-up in Rosie Garland’s alternative, feminist retelling of The Fates legend. The first half is a slow burn but stick with it: once you’ve sorted out who’s who, this compelling tale is affecting and action-packed. We encounter The Fates, three sisters born before time began, long before the gods on Mount Olympus. They spin, measure and sever the thread of destiny for every mortal.

But witnessing the unpalatable consequences of this, they hatch a plan to surrender their immortal power and give humankind the gift of free will, in turn wiping out the gods’ ability to interfere in people’s lives (Zeus, Hera and co are hilariously awful in Garland’s world, a preening posse of power-mad narcissists revelling in the suffering of others). To achieve this, the sisters must curse a single man with an unjust fate and ensure he dodges the moment of death. Enter the legendary warrior Atalanta and the man in question, her lover Meleager.

The concept of being ‘other’ is woven through Garland’s lyrical prose (Atalanta’s rejection by birth parents and her refusal to bow to what is expected of a woman, for example). The author also powerfully questions the notion of family: the one you’re born into or the one you choose (your ‘logical family’, as Armistead Maupin so deftly described it). As the thrilling finale looms, with a couple of belting twists along the way, we’re left rooting for Atalanta and Meleager to get their happy-ever-after.

Rosie Garland: The Fates is published by Quercus on Tuesday 9 April; main picture: Carri Angel.