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elleapple's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Suicide, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and War
alicerowano's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest, Rape, and Murder
annaonthepage's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
This book was an absolute, unmitigated joy. It is so well written, engaging, fun, funny, insightful and gratifying. There are mothers, wives, monsters, clay curses and warriors. Please go and read it so we can talk about it together excitedly over tea and biscuits.
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest, Misogyny, Rape, and Murder
solliereads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
Upon seeing this title in a bookstore, I was largely hesitant to buy it due to it's pricing but I've come to find, after finishing it in full, that the price is so worth it for the incredible skill involved in the undertaking of this project - Haynes takes great care to keep true to the original tones of these stories, shows off the amount of research that underpins her discussion, and adds insightful commentary to make her discussions of them interesting and explorative. Not only are we being given the details of the stories, we are also given comparisons between the many different versions of them told throughout their time and given some good points of criticism so we are never taking any of the stories she shares at face value, and this caused my enjoyment of this book to skyrocket. Her research and writing style manages to give complexity and depth to those many female figures in Greek Mythology that allows them to flourish, rather than remain perceived as stagnant and bland characters only existing in relation to the men in their lives.
My only "criticism", if even that (since requiring rudimentary knowledge of a topic to read a piece of work doesn't negate its value, IMO) is that I wouldn't present this as a piece of literature those with no knowledge of mythology would instantly understand, and I look forward to re-reading it after doing my research and reading the original texts that are referenced within.
I would strongly recommend this book to those who are interested in Greek Mythology and want a decently-paced and enjoyable read, with references to pop culture spread throughout to encourage our own relatability to these characters as well as encouragement throughout to be critical of the men portrayed in the stories and to give the women a chance to be their beautiful, complicated, and sometimes devious, selves.
My only "criticism", if even that (since requiring rudimentary knowledge of a topic to read a piece of work doesn't negate its value, IMO) is that I wouldn't present this as a piece of literature those with no knowledge of mythology would instantly understand, and I look forward to re-reading it after doing my research and reading the original texts that are referenced within.
I would strongly recommend this book to those who are interested in Greek Mythology and want a decently-paced and enjoyable read, with references to pop culture spread throughout to encourage our own relatability to these characters as well as encouragement throughout to be critical of the men portrayed in the stories and to give the women a chance to be their beautiful, complicated, and sometimes devious, selves.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Incest, Rape, Suicide, and Murder
wherethebooksgo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
ejbhammy's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Murder
olivianw's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Brilliant!
I feel as though anyone could enjoy this book, whether you know a little or a lot about greek mythology.
It’s a smart and funny deep-dive that somehow manages to stay accessible without sacrificing quality of writing or content. I thoroughly enjoyed every chapter!
I feel as though anyone could enjoy this book, whether you know a little or a lot about greek mythology.
It’s a smart and funny deep-dive that somehow manages to stay accessible without sacrificing quality of writing or content. I thoroughly enjoyed every chapter!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder
stormwise's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
medium-paced
5.0
This book was absolutely wonderful - Haynes is becoming one of my favourite authors!
In each chapter, named after the character it focuses on, Pandora's Jar examines the variations of the original myths, the codifiers that set the cultural standard and the modern interpretations that audiences are familiar with. It's fascinating to learn about some of the alternative versions of these classic stories - what could have been if those tales had been the ones to remain in the public consciousness! Haynes also considers the context of the stories and their classical audiences - Greek plays, for example, were written by, performed by and most likely watched by men. It's no wonder women were so often sidelined.
I LOVED the insights into language! I love linguistics, so it was extremely cool to look at the original Ancient Greek used and how it has been inaccurately translated in some instances. Word choice can convey so much - one of the biggest offenders that Haynes highlights is the frequent translation of Hippolyta's 'zōstēr' as 'girdle' when the word specifically means 'war belt'.
I thoroughly appreciated the wry humour and clever wordplay throughout the book, which also helps to alleviate the sometimes heavy subject matter. I found that each chapter was structured and paced really well. Overall this is just a fantastic book which I would DEFINITELY recommend to anyone interested in Greek mythology and feminism.
Oh, and I'm a Euripides stan now 🤷🏻♂️
In each chapter, named after the character it focuses on, Pandora's Jar examines the variations of the original myths, the codifiers that set the cultural standard and the modern interpretations that audiences are familiar with. It's fascinating to learn about some of the alternative versions of these classic stories - what could have been if those tales had been the ones to remain in the public consciousness! Haynes also considers the context of the stories and their classical audiences - Greek plays, for example, were written by, performed by and most likely watched by men. It's no wonder women were so often sidelined.
I LOVED the insights into language! I love linguistics, so it was extremely cool to look at the original Ancient Greek used and how it has been inaccurately translated in some instances. Word choice can convey so much - one of the biggest offenders that Haynes highlights is the frequent translation of Hippolyta's 'zōstēr' as 'girdle' when the word specifically means 'war belt'.
I thoroughly appreciated the wry humour and clever wordplay throughout the book, which also helps to alleviate the sometimes heavy subject matter. I found that each chapter was structured and paced really well. Overall this is just a fantastic book which I would DEFINITELY recommend to anyone interested in Greek mythology and feminism.
Oh, and I'm a Euripides stan now 🤷🏻♂️
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
ohwowbee's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I could read Natalie Haynes forever. She has nuanced, funny, and pointed insights into the messy contradictions of classical literature and history, and her breadth of knowledge is outmatched only by her sense of humour.
In the penultimate chapter, about Penelope, Haynes writes: “When the question arises - why retell Greek myths with women at their core? - it is loaded with a strange assumption.”
The assumption is that women are in the margins for a reason; that these aren’t their stories, or they are accessories or supporting characters for a reason. The assumption is that the original authors didn’t care about these women, and that those are the authoritative versions of the stories, obviously. Only, as Haynes has shown in her book, this is not the case at all. There is not one true authority on any myth.
In the chapters final lines, she replies to herself: “... the answer to this question should be: because she’s in the damn story. Why wouldn’t we want to hear from her?”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Rape, and Murder