Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - A Thousand Ships

The book is quite slow, at least for me. The first half of the book is very entertaining, it make you want to read more and more. The last couple of chapters are a bit slower and i didn’t really fancy to read them. For example, I found Penelope’s chapters to be the most boring ones, especially at the end. The book is complex and it narrates the story of women during the Troy war (Greek/Troy women). It shows the two side of the coins, the privilege some of them had and/or how some of them got their privileges revoked. It’s a very good book, it screams female range and definitely worth a reading.

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alexiconic's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

I have loved mythology since I was a young, young child. Greek myths hold a special place in my heart and in particular the stories surrounding the Trojan War and its outfall, such that even my high school courses in Ancient Greek were a joy. I adore mythological retellings, but they are sometimes hard to perfect. So, I was apprehensive: I assumed I would love this book, be entertained, but definitely not blown away.

Natalie Haynes has perfected the art of proving me wrong. At every turn, this book positively surprised me. I don't know how much of my admiration and love for her work is due to me being familiar with the stories she is telling - I would love to experience them for the first time like this - and thus not being as overwhelmed with the various storylines, plots, and characters. But I don't really care. I thought this was a piece of pure brilliance, that takes familiar narratives and approaches them afresh, somehow without losing the essence of earlier renditions. Her imaginings of Athene, Penelope, Cassandra, Odysseus, and Calliope in particular blew me away.

A Thousand Ships weaves the stories of mortal and immortal women alike into one book, that covers both the Trojan War, its aftermath, and its origins. It is stunning and I truly cannot recommend it enough.

Oh, and would absolutely recommend the audiobook read by the author!

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withlivjones's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

“A war does not ignore half the people whose lives it touches. So why do we?”

THIS is how you do a retelling. Natalie Haynes expertly weaves together a tapestry of narratives to provide us with a detailed picture of the Trojan War from the perspective of the women who were affected by it. And it is commendable how many women she includes, from the well-known Cassandra to the more obscure Laodamia and Oenone. I would recommend prior knowledge of the Trojan Cycle in order to get the most out of this book, just because of the amount of detail Haynes has managed to pack in, but the novel still feels accessible enough that one would probably still understand it with minimal knowledge.

There are so many fantastic lines throughout that really pack a punch, and the novel discusses the different things that can define womanhood, what it means to be a hero (because the heroes of the Trojan War weren’t just the ones fighting), and the lasting effects of war. Haynes draws from a wide range of ancient sources, and I particularly enjoy the inspiration from Ovid’s Heroides in Penelope’s letters to Odysseus that gradually get more and more impatient and sarcastic. My favourite parts by far, though, are Calliope’s chapters that suddenly become rather meta, as if she is wrenching control of the story from the male poet who is entreating her in a display of feminine solidarity - in order to give her fellow women the spotlight. I sometimes feel like Haynes is speaking directly to female readers through these characters who are suffering at the hands of the patriarchy and saying ‘I see you, and you are not alone’. It’s enough to inspire a bit of female rage in all of us.

There are a few other perspectives I would have loved to see: Helen’s, for example, since I still believe she is grossly misrepresented in many interpretations of the Trojan Cycle. Haynes also expresses a wish that she could have included a chapter on Dido, which I also would have thoroughly enjoyed. But if anything, this is just a sign that I wish the book were longer!

Overall, this is definitely going to the top of my list of favourite Greek mythology retellings, and in the future I will be recommending it to anyone who expresses an interest in the Iliad. Why read the Catalogue of Ships when you can read a catalogue of reasons why men suck? (jk jk…)

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