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stighe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
_ivi_'s review against another edition
5.0
"I smiled because I knew that this would be the last episode of happiness I would know in my life, and that it was being played out by my husband, in all his weakness, for as long as possible."
What a beautiful and immensely brutal novel. I must confess I am a sucker for Greek retellings, but Colm Tóibín really did the myths justice. I remember despising the stories of the curse of the House of Atreus as a teen, imagining the Greek gods as too cruel, petty and vengeful. Yet the story here, though still as tragic, was presented so beautifully and tenderly that one imagines the sorrow and grief that set the chain of events.
nikolettaaa's review
3.0
I had a weird experience with this book. I feel like it needed a lot more explaining in some events and generally felt like there was a lot missing.
krobart's review against another edition
3.0
See my review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2017/05/25/day-1085-house-of-names/
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2017/05/25/day-1085-house-of-names/
lauragill's review
3.0
Today, Simon and Schuster released Colm Toibin's latest novel, House of Names, about Clytemnestra and the murder of Agamemnon. Anybody who knows me knows I've had this on pre-order since I heard about it months ago. Because I live on the West Coast, I received my copy at midnight Eastern Daylight Time, and managed to finish it around 3 a.m.
Did I enjoy it? I'm not sure. Toibin writes beautifully, but the story left me wanting. There's a cool detachment about the prose. Clytemnestra's sections are among the book's most effective. Who can't sympathize with a mother whose plan to save her daughter from being sacrificed fails, and then spends three whole days being held underground with no food, water, or room to move--basically, being buried alive? Who wouldn't want revenge? She allies herself with Aegisthus, a powerful political prisoner, whose web of connections and malice run deeper than even she knows.
Orestes and Electra each have sections of the book. Toibin starts to paint a vivid picture of Electra, but doesn't go far enough. And his Orestes. I enjoyed Orestes' first section, in which he's quickly forced to go from spoiled nine-year-old prince to prisoner to a five-year-stint in a remote place with his friends Mitros and Leander. Leander is the not-Pylades of the novel, in that he fulfills the Pylades role of older friend, mentor, and, briefly, lover, but ends up usurping Orestes' male authority. Perhaps that's what bothered me the most about the novel, aside from the abrupt and unsatisfying end. Orestes doesn't take the insane route, rather the Hamlet-esque role of male impotence. His motivation to kill Clytemnestra doesn't come from any innate rage but from some rather effortless and brief cajoling on Electra's part. I would have liked for once to see a larger-than-life, dominant, enraged Orestes taking revenge and his birthright. Yet since this is Clytemnestra's story, she gets the strongest emotions.
For a novel entitled House of Names, there are relatively few names in the text. Toibin names his main characters, but you have to know the story to know that the palace is in a place called Mycenae, or that "the war" is the Trojan War. We're not told where the old woman's house is, but from the geographical clues I would guess somewhere around the Isthmus of Corinth. The gods remain distant, nameless, invoked by some but not entirely believed in. It's a mythic world the characters inhabit, somewhere just outside time and place, and I wish there had been more.
Did I enjoy it? I'm not sure. Toibin writes beautifully, but the story left me wanting. There's a cool detachment about the prose. Clytemnestra's sections are among the book's most effective. Who can't sympathize with a mother whose plan to save her daughter from being sacrificed fails, and then spends three whole days being held underground with no food, water, or room to move--basically, being buried alive? Who wouldn't want revenge? She allies herself with Aegisthus, a powerful political prisoner, whose web of connections and malice run deeper than even she knows.
Orestes and Electra each have sections of the book. Toibin starts to paint a vivid picture of Electra, but doesn't go far enough. And his Orestes. I enjoyed Orestes' first section, in which he's quickly forced to go from spoiled nine-year-old prince to prisoner to a five-year-stint in a remote place with his friends Mitros and Leander. Leander is the not-Pylades of the novel, in that he fulfills the Pylades role of older friend, mentor, and, briefly, lover, but ends up usurping Orestes' male authority. Perhaps that's what bothered me the most about the novel, aside from the abrupt and unsatisfying end. Orestes doesn't take the insane route, rather the Hamlet-esque role of male impotence. His motivation to kill Clytemnestra doesn't come from any innate rage but from some rather effortless and brief cajoling on Electra's part. I would have liked for once to see a larger-than-life, dominant, enraged Orestes taking revenge and his birthright. Yet since this is Clytemnestra's story, she gets the strongest emotions.
For a novel entitled House of Names, there are relatively few names in the text. Toibin names his main characters, but you have to know the story to know that the palace is in a place called Mycenae, or that "the war" is the Trojan War. We're not told where the old woman's house is, but from the geographical clues I would guess somewhere around the Isthmus of Corinth. The gods remain distant, nameless, invoked by some but not entirely believed in. It's a mythic world the characters inhabit, somewhere just outside time and place, and I wish there had been more.
greybeard49's review
3.0
Found the style here very difficult to come to terms with. I really like Colm Toibin and have read many of his books. The storyline I knew but this was not an issue as he developed his plotline well and with some craft. Kept you connected from that point of view.
However as I got deeper into the book the melodramatic style got to me. I nearly abandoned it but persevered and eventually completed it.
However as I got deeper into the book the melodramatic style got to me. I nearly abandoned it but persevered and eventually completed it.
allyc82's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
brianthehuman's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
arielamandah's review
4.0
I’ve got a bug lately for these retellings of classic Greek tales. It’s fun to read a few close together, as they each color in a different part of the picture. House of Names was great - DARK, but great. I think we forget how cruel these times were. So much murder and bloodshed and revenge. Toibin does an excellent job digging into the motivations and psyches of the characters. Clymenestra is equally understandable and lamentable. Orestes is equal parts tragic and frustrating. This wasn’t a warm, feel-good story. Tragic, flawed characters faced with terrible odds. But it was still a thoroughly engaging book.