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franzi_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Gore, Death of parent, and Confinement
ozmarie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Miscarriage, Child death, Death, Self harm, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Pregnancy
berrybiaful's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
4 stars
I feel as if sometimes, Haynes can stray away from the myth she is reimagining until it feels like a new take completely. But really, in instances like these, I feel it is necessary. She has a real knack for bringing forth side-lined characters (mainly female) to really add more depth to the story.
This story did seem to have a slow pacing, but I think it's because of the dual POV, both of which are set in the past and present. But I enjoyed this narration style and it tied together quite nicely at the end. As always, Haynes explores the forgotten female characters, telling the tale from Jocasta's and her daughter's, Ismene's POV which lends a new perspective.
There was a definite sense of suspense, and I wasn't disappointed by the version of events Haynes chose to write into this novel. I just wish there had been more of the relationship between Jocasta and her children...
I think the audiobook performance was excellent and really helped me remain immersed in this book, but also I'm a sucker from Greek mythology lol
I feel as if sometimes, Haynes can stray away from the myth she is reimagining until it feels like a new take completely. But really, in instances like these, I feel it is necessary. She has a real knack for bringing forth side-lined characters (mainly female) to really add more depth to the story.
This story did seem to have a slow pacing, but I think it's because of the dual POV, both of which are set in the past and present. But I enjoyed this narration style and it tied together quite nicely at the end. As always, Haynes explores the forgotten female characters, telling the tale from Jocasta's and her daughter's, Ismene's POV which lends a new perspective.
There was a definite sense of suspense, and I wasn't disappointed by the version of events Haynes chose to write into this novel. I just wish there had been more of the relationship between Jocasta and her children...
I think the audiobook performance was excellent and really helped me remain immersed in this book, but also I'm a sucker from Greek mythology lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Death and Incest
mpeach's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Incest, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Pregnancy
bookaddictellagershon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, Pregnancy, Classism, and Child death
nila's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I love what I've read of Natalie Haynes' work so far, and I feel this was like reading a great first draft. The first third of the book was really slow, and it wasn't until the connection between the two timelines became clear (which could just me not seeing the obvious) that I became more invested in the story. I felt there was no depth to the characters, and a lot of telling, not showing. I'm just disappointed because there is absolutely great potential to the book, especially considering Haynes' other work, but it just didn't live up to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder and Child death
meg_elyse's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Self harm, Death, Grief, Incest, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Sexism
inkylabyrinth's review against another edition
It's not you, it's me. I love this but I am just not in the right headspace for this right now and I want to really enjoy it!!! Huge 5-star potential.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
frankieclc's review against another edition
4.5
you hear about greek myths and all the horrible things that happened and the shock value is so far removed at this point that we just brush them off but natalie haynes always manages to bring the stories so incredibly to life that the horror is absorbed so much more
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Violence, Death, and Incest
bookstorian's review against another edition
4.5
In my excitement to read 'Stone Blind' (Natalie Haynes' soon to be released book) I had forgotten that I had still not read 'The Children of Jocasta', I picked it up ready to step back into the world of Ancient Greece, what I didn't realise was that my visit would only last two days! For a historical fiction read - it was nothing short of engrossing.
Told from the perspective of Jocasta and her daughter Ismene this work weaves together the well known story of Oedipus and the tragedy that befalls their family - death, death and more death.
Plot: What I loved most about this story was how it shifted my understanding of the myth and what happened - it gave it colour and texture. It wasn't the predictable story that I expected and instead was told from the women who are the most silenced within the myth and invited me to consider other possibilities to the tragic events- ones that weren't reliant on the Chinese Whispers of an oracle. Even though the book was published in 2018, there were strong pandemic vibes - I love how works such as this remind us that plague and disease on a massive scale is not a new experience of humanity.
Characters: Obviously I'm here for not one but TWO female protagonists. I think the real tragic hero for me wasn't Oedipus, it was actually Creon, usually painted as the villain, he was so different between the narration of Jocasta and Ismene given that he was ravaged by greed and grief later in life, poor fella. The gender bending of Teiresias as a female house keeper and the inclusion of Sophon (a tribute to Sophocles) was also a delight!
Writing style: I furiously underlined many quotes throughout - I adore Haynes' writing. So much so I was even captivated by the author's notes at the end to the very last word (something I usually skim over).
The ending: Different than I expected, I did question moments of it and I'm actually not sure what happened to Haemon.. I know what was meant to happen to him but not sure what became of him in this version of events...
Needless to say I am SO EXCITED for the release of 'Stone Blind' and am eagerly awaiting to see what Haynes does with the myth of Medusa!
Told from the perspective of Jocasta and her daughter Ismene this work weaves together the well known story of Oedipus and the tragedy that befalls their family - death, death and more death.
Plot: What I loved most about this story was how it shifted my understanding of the myth and what happened - it gave it colour and texture. It wasn't the predictable story that I expected and instead was told from the women who are the most silenced within the myth and invited me to consider other possibilities to the tragic events- ones that weren't reliant on the Chinese Whispers of an oracle. Even though the book was published in 2018, there were strong pandemic vibes - I love how works such as this remind us that plague and disease on a massive scale is not a new experience of humanity.
Characters: Obviously I'm here for not one but TWO female protagonists. I think the real tragic hero for me wasn't Oedipus, it was actually Creon, usually painted as the villain, he was so different between the narration of Jocasta and Ismene given that he was ravaged by greed and grief later in life, poor fella. The gender bending of Teiresias as a female house keeper and the inclusion of Sophon (a tribute to Sophocles) was also a delight!
Writing style: I furiously underlined many quotes throughout - I adore Haynes' writing. So much so I was even captivated by the author's notes at the end to the very last word (something I usually skim over).
The ending: Different than I expected, I did question moments of it and I'm actually not sure what happened to Haemon.. I know what was meant to happen to him but not sure what became of him in this version of events...
Needless to say I am SO EXCITED for the release of 'Stone Blind' and am eagerly awaiting to see what Haynes does with the myth of Medusa!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Death