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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
Natalie Haynes is a British classicist who is both insanely smart and very funny. She brings all her skills to this retelling of the central Greek myths: Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
The story is centered on the women involved: from Hera to Hecuba, from the Furies and the Fates.
The story works best when it’s centered the lives and the fates of the women of Troy. The wives and daughters of Greek soldiers also figure prominently.
It definitely helps to have read some Greek mythology. May I recommend Emily Wilson’s translations? They’re amazing.
The story is centered on the women involved: from Hera to Hecuba, from the Furies and the Fates.
The story works best when it’s centered the lives and the fates of the women of Troy. The wives and daughters of Greek soldiers also figure prominently.
It definitely helps to have read some Greek mythology. May I recommend Emily Wilson’s translations? They’re amazing.
Awesome storytelling! The story of the Trojan war never gets old to me, and this version focusing on the women (mortal and immortal) involved was great!
I loved the idea of this book and the retelling of the story through the women, but I struggled with who was who (had to keep referring back to the character list!) and keeping up with the story. I also found it quite heavy so only read it bits at a time.
From the synopsis, I thought this would be a retelling that really expanded upon the women’s stories. Instead, the details really don’t seem any different than the source material and still center the women’s stories around the men.
I tried to finish it but just didn’t feel interested without any unique additions.
I tried to finish it but just didn’t feel interested without any unique additions.
3.75 stars/5
Okay this was a good book! But I just wanted more. Especially more insight into the goddesses of this war. Like some straight chapters of Athena, etc. Maybe an unpopular opinion. But this lower rated review doesn't have me looking at the high reviews in disgust (like a lot of other books - Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, I'm looking at you). I honor those and can see how people would feel that way about this book. This is just my opinion.
Okay ima shoot you all straight I wish she put the Afterword as a Foreword because I was super unaware that this was her attempt as an epic and I think I would have appreciated it more knowing that ahead of time.
One thing I think was unique to this book (besides showing a woman's perspective on war and strife), is the underlining of grief that scored the whole thing. Let me explain: when there is a work that discusses or dives into war, grief is always an inevitable part of that. However, those works primarily focus on the violence. This movies being rated 'R' with a disclaimer of 'gore and violence', but there is never a warning about grief. To me, the grief is almost more impactful because you cannot explicitly see it. You can see someone getting torn to shreds, blood oozing on the battlefield but the only grief one can see is through a characters experience. Because of this, it is emotional. When we see grief, we are seeing an individual going through an experience and how that unique individual processes this. This is what Natalie Haynes does so incredibly well in this work. She works through countless women with many separate personalities, but writes as those personalities seeing through a veil of grief. This is constant through the whole novel.
I would say if you're looking for some high points as a respite from the feelings of loss and grief within this book, you are looking in the wrong place. It took me so long to get through it because I did not realize the emotional impact of subconsciously dealing with all that was like a buffering symbol on my head.
In other words: would highly recommend the works of Madeline Miller if this is your thing!
Okay this was a good book! But I just wanted more. Especially more insight into the goddesses of this war. Like some straight chapters of Athena, etc. Maybe an unpopular opinion. But this lower rated review doesn't have me looking at the high reviews in disgust (like a lot of other books - Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, I'm looking at you). I honor those and can see how people would feel that way about this book. This is just my opinion.
Okay ima shoot you all straight I wish she put the Afterword as a Foreword because I was super unaware that this was her attempt as an epic and I think I would have appreciated it more knowing that ahead of time.
One thing I think was unique to this book (besides showing a woman's perspective on war and strife), is the underlining of grief that scored the whole thing. Let me explain: when there is a work that discusses or dives into war, grief is always an inevitable part of that. However, those works primarily focus on the violence. This movies being rated 'R' with a disclaimer of 'gore and violence', but there is never a warning about grief. To me, the grief is almost more impactful because you cannot explicitly see it. You can see someone getting torn to shreds, blood oozing on the battlefield but the only grief one can see is through a characters experience. Because of this, it is emotional. When we see grief, we are seeing an individual going through an experience and how that unique individual processes this. This is what Natalie Haynes does so incredibly well in this work. She works through countless women with many separate personalities, but writes as those personalities seeing through a veil of grief. This is constant through the whole novel.
I would say if you're looking for some high points as a respite from the feelings of loss and grief within this book, you are looking in the wrong place. It took me so long to get through it because I did not realize the emotional impact of subconsciously dealing with all that was like a buffering symbol on my head.
In other words: would highly recommend the works of Madeline Miller if this is your thing!
Excellent first read of 2024. Looking forward to reading more from this author. Really enjoyed the female perspective of the Trojan war that the author brought to life.
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Five stars for Penelope’s letters. What a hoot. Four stars for the rest.