Scan barcode
nialiversuch's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Ableism, Blood, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, and War
alexisgarcia's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
i really enjoyed this. Clytemnestra's storyline and perspective was by far the best in my opinion. Elektra's storyline, while connecting the characters and giving us a new perspective, was a little lackluster at times. if not for that i would have enjoyed this even more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Blood, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, War, Grief, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, and Violence
maaikereadsbooks_'s review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-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
3.25
Many thanks to Headline Audio and Jennifer Saint for the advanced audio copy of Elektra via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.
Disclaimer: the negative slant on the audio perspective is largely due to my misophonia. I have an intense dislike for ‘mouth noises’. Audible swallowing, smacking noises, general un-edited auditory mouth *stuff* really gets to me and put me off this audiobook.
Elektra follows an interesting retelling of the Trojan war, from some of the key women’s point of view. Jennifer Saint has woven in figures of myth and legend along with those of flesh and blood with a matter-of-fact-ness, which isn’t seen as often in this type of retellings. Often in this type of story there is a veil of supernatural syrup, a ‘playing with the gods’ tale. But this story felt much more solid. This is told in a more ‘this is real life’ sort of way. And real life just happened to have the occasional god, or demi god, walking around in it. As you do.
I suspect that ‘Elektra’ was not Saint’s original title of choice, as she was not the protagonist of the book. But as Clytemnestra was already taken this season, it would have to do. Perhaps a different title may have suited the story better, however.
The narrators suited the individual characters well. However, I found it extremely difficult to get into the story as, after the first three chapters, they did not announce the character at the beginning of the chapter, instead expecting the listener to have already memorised the narrator’s voice. Unfortunately I’m not that good and I was confused, and annoyed. And as my misophonia had me well and truly distracter, I almost stopped listening at this point. Eventually I got the hang of who was who, and got into the story. It definitely took me a while, though.
Overall, the story was interesting. It was perhaps a bit over-long for my taste. I hope there is a final edit to smooth out the ‘mouth noises’ for future listeners’ enjoyment!
Spice: 1/5
Trigger warnings: Animal death, Blood/Gore, Cheating, Death, Death of a family member, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical or mental abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self Harm, Sexism, Sexual abuse/assault/harassment, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, War
Rating
Story: 3.5/5
Audio: 3/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Slavery, and Murder
Moderate: Abandonment, Physical abuse, War, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Blood, Suicide, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Gore, Animal death, Sexism, Death of parent, and Self harm
persephonefoxx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I will always be a little biased when it comes to feminist retellings of Greek Mythology. I will always be a little biased when it comes to Greek Mythology in general.
But of all the things I enjoyed about this book, the titular character was not one of them. I ate through this book and delighted upon Saint’s prose and writing, but whenever I saw Elektra’s name heading a chapter I knew I was in for frustration. And I know, I know, not all characters need to be likeable. But I had a hard time finding much redeemable about our dear Elektra. I couldn’t even attribute her (irksome) unwaving loyalty to her father with a silver lining.
But I gave this book four stars?! Yes, I did. Because two other characters share the POV spotlight in this retelling and I found them much more enjoyable. Although, it wasn’t that hard.
As Clytemnestra’s story evolved I found her more and more intriguing, looking forward to her voice. Some of, no, all of my favourite quotes in this book came from her chapters. The parts I had to stop to read out loud to my wife always in her voice. I began to love the savagery that lie in wait beneath the motherly archetype.
But even Clytemnestra wasn’t the highlight of this book for me. Cassandra. Desperate, tragic, Cassandra. I loved the far too few chapters from Cassandra’s POV. Truly my favourite parts of the story, probably because I am a sucker for tragedy and pain. Where Elektra dared to drag my rating of this novel down, Cassandra pulled it back up. There isn’t much more I can say, other than she was truly the highlight of this novel for me.
If you are happy to go into a book titled Elektra and not like Elektra at all, enjoyed Ariadne, love this surge of feminist Greek retellings, or are just a fan of Greek Mythology who doesn’t get too caught up on factual consistencies, you’ll likely like this book as much as me.
Anyway, I have to go listen to Cassandra by Florence + The Machine for the hundredth time since finishing this novel.
But of all the things I enjoyed about this book, the titular character was not one of them. I ate through this book and delighted upon Saint’s prose and writing, but whenever I saw Elektra’s name heading a chapter I knew I was in for frustration. And I know, I know, not all characters need to be likeable. But I had a hard time finding much redeemable about our dear Elektra. I couldn’t even attribute her (irksome) unwaving loyalty to her father with a silver lining.
But I gave this book four stars?! Yes, I did. Because two other characters share the POV spotlight in this retelling and I found them much more enjoyable. Although, it wasn’t that hard.
As Clytemnestra’s story evolved I found her more and more intriguing, looking forward to her voice. Some of, no, all of my favourite quotes in this book came from her chapters. The parts I had to stop to read out loud to my wife always in her voice. I began to love the savagery that lie in wait beneath the motherly archetype.
But even Clytemnestra wasn’t the highlight of this book for me. Cassandra. Desperate, tragic, Cassandra. I loved the far too few chapters from Cassandra’s POV. Truly my favourite parts of the story, probably because I am a sucker for tragedy and pain. Where Elektra dared to drag my rating of this novel down, Cassandra pulled it back up. There isn’t much more I can say, other than she was truly the highlight of this novel for me.
If you are happy to go into a book titled Elektra and not like Elektra at all, enjoyed Ariadne, love this surge of feminist Greek retellings, or are just a fan of Greek Mythology who doesn’t get too caught up on factual consistencies, you’ll likely like this book as much as me.
Anyway, I have to go listen to Cassandra by Florence + The Machine for the hundredth time since finishing this novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: War, Slavery, and Rape
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
lindseyhall44's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Clytemnestra’s story is one which has always intrigued me; therefore, I was beyond excited to read another retelling of it. What I had expected to be a portrayal of feminine rage quickly transformed into a moving work on motherhood and loss, relevant today while staying true to its historic orgins.
Elektra follows the titular character Elektra as well as her mother Clytemnestra and the Trojan priestess Casandra as their lives intersect in unimaginable ways.
Saint humanizes these characters in a unique yet tasteful manner, resulting in a a complex narrative. The continuous metaphor of a curse/circular pattern connects all three women deeper than surface level.
One aspect to know prior to reading is that Elektra is not the sole narrator, and many times is given less of a speaking role than the other women. It is particularly short read (though pretty dense) and I would have loved to read a bit more in certain areas.
Overall, I would recommend to any fans of Greek Mythology from a feminist perspective, though definitely check trigger warnings before reading.
Elektra follows the titular character Elektra as well as her mother Clytemnestra and the Trojan priestess Casandra as their lives intersect in unimaginable ways.
Saint humanizes these characters in a unique yet tasteful manner, resulting in a a complex narrative. The continuous metaphor of a curse/circular pattern connects all three women deeper than surface level.
One aspect to know prior to reading is that Elektra is not the sole narrator, and many times is given less of a speaking role than the other women. It is particularly short read (though pretty dense) and I would have loved to read a bit more in certain areas.
Overall, I would recommend to any fans of Greek Mythology from a feminist perspective, though definitely check trigger warnings before reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Gore, Slavery, Rape, War, Incest, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Suicide
amelianotthepilot's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
A retelling of the greek myth of the Trojan War focusing on Cassandra (seer and daughter of the king of Troy), Clytemnestra (Queen of Sparta, wife of Agamemmnon), and Elektra (daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemmnon). However the characters voices were all very similar which made it confusing between chapters.
Yet again I'm unimpressed with these retellings. I love greek mythology so much that I will read anything involving it but these retellings are really lacking for me. It's something with how the author depicts women.
It was a feminist retelling, highlighting the struggles the women had to endure and the unfairness of society but it also seemed like a dated feminist view. The women were powerless and trapped in their gender roles but it seemed like the author was content with that. I think a gender essay could definitely be written about the representation in this story which at least highlights the women's stories who were often overlooked but it really fell flat for me. There also could have been a lot more queer representation, especially since ancient Rome and Greece were known for having lots of queer relationships.
Yet again I'm unimpressed with these retellings. I love greek mythology so much that I will read anything involving it but these retellings are really lacking for me. It's something with how the author depicts women.
It was a feminist retelling, highlighting the struggles the women had to endure and the unfairness of society but it also seemed like a dated feminist view. The women were powerless and trapped in their gender roles but it seemed like the author was content with that. I think a gender essay could definitely be written about the representation in this story which at least highlights the women's stories who were often overlooked but it really fell flat for me. There also could have been a lot more queer representation, especially since ancient Rome and Greece were known for having lots of queer relationships.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Rape, Pregnancy, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Grief, Violence, Sexism, Medical trauma, Suicide, Sexual assault, Death, and Child death
More...