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higginla's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
lucysnowy's review against another edition
4.0
starting off the year with a bang, this was an excellent sequel to barker's silence of the girls.
i read the first in the series in september 2021, and have since developed a better knowledge of the time period and the characters mentioned, thanks to my tragedy module. so seeing cassandra's marriage to agamemnon, hearing hecuba's mourning wails for priam, and understanding the distaste with which everyone in the camp treats helen had much more impact for me.
i still enjoyed briseis' perspective on events. her understanding of camp politics and her empathy are her best traits. she refuses to let any of the women in the women's tent suffer if she can do anything about it.
im developing a big interest in these ancient greek retellings.... lets see what comes of that
i read the first in the series in september 2021, and have since developed a better knowledge of the time period and the characters mentioned, thanks to my tragedy module. so seeing cassandra's marriage to agamemnon, hearing hecuba's mourning wails for priam, and understanding the distaste with which everyone in the camp treats helen had much more impact for me.
i still enjoyed briseis' perspective on events. her understanding of camp politics and her empathy are her best traits. she refuses to let any of the women in the women's tent suffer if she can do anything about it.
im developing a big interest in these ancient greek retellings.... lets see what comes of that
rubycorrigan's review against another edition
read this but didn’t pay too much attention to rate just now- will revisit in the summer when i have more time for the many different subplots
feenfie's review against another edition
4.0
Briseis træder meget mere i karakter i denne bog, hvilket jeg godt kunne lide da mit problem med 1’eren var at hun lige så godt kunne havde været en flue på væggen. Hun skaber også nogle stærke relationer med de andre kvinder og det er utroligt interessant at læse om hvordan de forskellige kvinder lærer at leve med deres nye tilværelser.
Smukt skrevet, og jeg synes faktisk at Barker retter op på de ting der skuffede mig i den første bog. Glæder mig til 3’eren.
Smukt skrevet, og jeg synes faktisk at Barker retter op på de ting der skuffede mig i den første bog. Glæder mig til 3’eren.
laurenrocks1's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
dikshya's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jfindlay's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
can_of_spam's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-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
5.0
meganemilie's review against another edition
5.0
Very good. I thoroughly loved it, more so than its prequel The Silence of the Girls. Where they were indeed silent for most of the time, even the protagonist Briseis.
I sympathized with and related to her then but especially now. She may in fact be one of my favorite protagonists in books, period. She is flawed, spiteful, a bit direct but soft and kind hearted all the same. She doesn't show this in conventional book protagonist ways, though. Nor is she an angel. In this book I was surprised by how much rebellious she was, infinitely more than when she was with Achilles. But it was his story after all. Briseis' words.
Throughout the book you kind of grow accustomed to the amount of sexism that was present during these times, how women aren't even seen as humans, so much so that I really am a bit surprised when Briseis or other women in the story decide to talk back. Which isn't much by today's standards, by the way, but enough to get you seriously punished for stepping out of line back then as a woman. The men at one point suspect the Trojans of having committed a crime in the compound. But there were only two Trojans, they say. But there's dozens of Trojan women present. They're not even seen as people. 'A woman's loyalty is to her husband!' It does grant a woman a certain amount of invisibility. Phyrrus thought there were no witnesses to the sloppy and senseless slaughter of Priam. Women don't even count as witnesses. He later realizes his mistake and kills one of them in a rage. Yeah.
The women survive and conquer in their own ways. Limited ways, but ways nonetheless.
Overall, it's a beautiful piece of (feminist) literature. I loved the side plots, the fear and inner monologue of Briseis, the POVs of Calchas and Phyrrus, both misunderstood AND misunderstanding others. I can't wait for the sequel. Seriously.
I sympathized with and related to her then but especially now. She may in fact be one of my favorite protagonists in books, period. She is flawed, spiteful, a bit direct but soft and kind hearted all the same. She doesn't show this in conventional book protagonist ways, though. Nor is she an angel. In this book I was surprised by how much rebellious she was, infinitely more than when she was with Achilles. But it was his story after all. Briseis' words.
Throughout the book you kind of grow accustomed to the amount of sexism that was present during these times, how women aren't even seen as humans, so much so that I really am a bit surprised when Briseis or other women in the story decide to talk back. Which isn't much by today's standards, by the way, but enough to get you seriously punished for stepping out of line back then as a woman. The men at one point suspect the Trojans of having committed a crime in the compound. But there were only two Trojans, they say. But there's dozens of Trojan women present. They're not even seen as people. 'A woman's loyalty is to her husband!' It does grant a woman a certain amount of invisibility. Phyrrus thought there were no witnesses to the sloppy and senseless slaughter of Priam. Women don't even count as witnesses. He later realizes his mistake and kills one of them in a rage. Yeah.
The women survive and conquer in their own ways. Limited ways, but ways nonetheless.
Overall, it's a beautiful piece of (feminist) literature. I loved the side plots, the fear and inner monologue of Briseis, the POVs of Calchas and Phyrrus, both misunderstood AND misunderstanding others. I can't wait for the sequel. Seriously.