Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - The Penelopiad

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The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

14 reviews

cepbreed's review

dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I first fell in love with Penelope after reading Emily Wilson’s version of The Odyssey. I say this with a tad bit of shame but it’s the only play or epic I’ve read all the front matter for. I loved The Odyssey when I was a freshman in high school and I loved it even more after Wilson’s interpretation. I’m all for un-deifying Odysseus which is what attracted me to The Penelopiad. All of this build up and genuine interest in the character did me no good while reading this book. I just felt like Atwood’s interpretation fell flat for me. I loved the inclusion of the twelve maids’ voices and the theory of Penelope as “female-goddess cult leader,” but everything else was nothing new. Maybe it’s all the praise Atwood gets and the richer Penelope centered readings that have come out in the past few years. I still really enjoyed this though; I was reading another Penelope focused novel but I DNFd it because it was so boring. Finishing a book is the bare minimum but it says something.

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rachelmcg2004's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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lochnessvhs's review

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

I am always confused when I read mythological retellings to give voice to the (usually voiceless) women in myth and then that one woman whom the author has given voice to spends a great chunk of her time talking about how awful all the OTHER women in myths are. In a brief 199 pages, Atwood manages to throw nearly every other female player in the orbit of Odysseus under the bus for seemingly no reason.

Additionally this retelling somehow failed at giving Penelope any type of personality. She truly was like the water her mother told her to be - formless and pliant.

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hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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agw622's review

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This is a very heavy book. It is well written, but some of the sections weren't my favorite. One near the end exploring some symbolize that is speculated also gives the feel of as a way out of the horribleness the book covers. It handles sensitive subjects well. While it does give some voice to Penelope, it doesn't fully empower her. I thought it fitting, but keep that in mind. The maid sections were very well done and my favorite part.

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marthafern's review against another edition

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funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love a good myth retelling, especially when a voice is given to a woman who has been denied a voice. Margaret Atwood has always been good at giving voices to just such women. This was an emotional read. My heart goes out to Penelope. It's so easy to forget she suffered at home, alone, when you read about Odysseus traveling the world and having adventures. It's unfair to her, and this book reminds you of that and makes you feel what she felt. My only wish is that she had gotten a happy ending after all she went through.

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