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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Natalie Haynes’ Pandora's Jar is an in-depth examination of ten female figures from ancient myth, looking at the culturally dominant depictions of these women that have persisted throughout the centuries, highlighting the other stories that have faded into the background and questioning what drove the popularity of certain versions more than others (spoiler alert: misogyny plays a big role). Although there is no ‘true’ version of any myth, we often take certain versions to be more true than others simply because they are more established and it’s refreshing to see Haynes treat lesser known versions of popular myths with the rigour and seriousness they deserve. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Medea, but that was inevitable. The sections on Eurydice, the Amazons and Penelope were also brilliant. What Haynes is truly excellent at is looking at how these ancient myths have influenced modern popular culture and how the cycle of erasing and emphasising certain versions of history creates a self-perpetuating cycle in which female figures are erased and continue to be erased because ‘that’s the way it has always been’. Her cultural references range from Beyoncé to Wonder Woman to Hadestown and beyond. This is a great book for those who don’t know much about the classics or mythology but even if, like me, you’ve done a lot of reading around this topic already there’s still plenty in this collection that will surprise you. If you read and enjoyed Haynes’ earlier novel about the women of the Trojan War, A Thousand Ships, then reading this is a must.
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This book was fantastic. Haynes artfully tells the story of famous women in Greek mythos, showing the often overlooked complexity of their characters and the incredible variety in which they are described throughout history. Her command of the subject matter is impressive, as is her ability to weave such a cohesive (and often witty!) narrative. Despite having little previous knowledge, I found her discussion of multiple BCE plays and writings engaging and easy to follow.
This was a very interesting deeper dive into some key women in greek mythology. I learned more about characters I thought I already knew, and for others -- while I knew parts of their story because of the men involved, I didn't even know the women's names.
I highly recommend the audio, narrated by the author. Her cheeky, but dry delivery was a delight, and if I had read the print version, I would be pronouncing a lot of those names very differently.
I highly recommend the audio, narrated by the author. Her cheeky, but dry delivery was a delight, and if I had read the print version, I would be pronouncing a lot of those names very differently.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, War
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Slavery, Death of parent, Alcohol
informative
reflective
medium-paced
dark
funny
informative
slow-paced