You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It was a beautifully written book about the tragedies of women across different parts of the Trojan War. I did have to listen along with an audiobook to help it flow better for my own processing but it was a good read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There are a lot of these books out at the moment, retellings of the greek myths from women's perspectives. Since this hasn't really been done much before I have enjoyed all the versions I have read. There is definitely more to be told around these myths and telling them from the women adds further dimensions. This particular book is short-stories throughout the trojan war, flipping back and forward between different characters. It expands a lot on what we already know, and certainly gives greater colour to the war.
I listened to the audiobook version which Natalie reads and it's amazing! As they are her own characters she knows precisely how they should sound which makes the listening easy! Highly recommend both the book and the audio version.
Rating: 5 stars
I have always loved the story of the Trojan War and this book took a beloved story and retold it from a different perspective, a female one. Well, not one, exactly. Quite a lot of women are called to the front to tell their story about their lives, their loves and their deaths. I absolutely adored it. Even if you're someone who isn't very familiar with Greek mythology, this book is understandable. There is even a handy-dandy list with people and their associated roles at the beginning of the book.
The writing style varied widely sometimes, depending on the perspective you were reading from. Most chapters are written in third-person, as if Calliope (the muse of epic poetry) is telling the poet what happened to the women. Calliope's own chapters are therefore written in first-person. Penelope's chapters are once again very different as they are written in the form of letters to her husband. First I thought it a strange choice to have so much variation in perspective, but as I continued reading I found that it worked splendidly. I can see that it was a choice made consciously and a choice made well.
Basically, I'd recommend this to anyone. Do you love a good retelling of mythological stories? This one's for you. Do you like a book that was purposefully written from the female perspective and makes their stories the centre of attention? You've got it. You like an amazing book that's really well written? Tada!
"[...] this was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of all of them. A war does not ignore half the people whose lives it touches. So why do we?"
I have always loved the story of the Trojan War and this book took a beloved story and retold it from a different perspective, a female one. Well, not one, exactly. Quite a lot of women are called to the front to tell their story about their lives, their loves and their deaths. I absolutely adored it. Even if you're someone who isn't very familiar with Greek mythology, this book is understandable. There is even a handy-dandy list with people and their associated roles at the beginning of the book.
The writing style varied widely sometimes, depending on the perspective you were reading from. Most chapters are written in third-person, as if Calliope (the muse of epic poetry) is telling the poet what happened to the women. Calliope's own chapters are therefore written in first-person. Penelope's chapters are once again very different as they are written in the form of letters to her husband. First I thought it a strange choice to have so much variation in perspective, but as I continued reading I found that it worked splendidly. I can see that it was a choice made consciously and a choice made well.
Basically, I'd recommend this to anyone. Do you love a good retelling of mythological stories? This one's for you. Do you like a book that was purposefully written from the female perspective and makes their stories the centre of attention? You've got it. You like an amazing book that's really well written? Tada!
Another great listen as Natalie Haynes is not only a great author but also a great performer. I could listen to her all day long. Thank you for letting us finally see, hear and feel the great epics through the female perspective. My favorite part were the letters of Penelope to Odysseus. I chuckled some and felt for her a lot.
An interesting take on the war over Helen of Troy told from the viewpoint of the women involved - wives, daughters, etc. It was a bit hard to follow (unless you're deeply knowledgeable of Greek mythology), but definitely a change in the normal point of view.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It was good but heavy
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes