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gnomereader 's review for:
Daughters of Sparta
by Claire Heywood
medium-paced
Another one added to my roster of Greek mythology retellings and I loved it. I’ve read several iterations of Helen and Clytemnestra at this point and I love how each version is a little bit the same and a little bit unique. This was no exception. I felt like the portrayal of both women was very relatable. I was able to picture myself in each of their shoes and I think that gave weight to their stories. Life for Greek women was hard and this book did a great job painting that picture.
As with any retelling, some liberties were taken with the story, but one that I really liked in this book was the way Agamemnon’s seer was incorporated. This element gave a lot more depth to Clytemnestra’s pain, as well as to her empathy. I really loved that it made the story more approachable to a modern reader while still holding true to the original myth.
I also liked Helen’s internal dialogue throughout this book. I saw another review that said this book made her seem wishy-washy and passive but I don’t agree with that. I thought that the way Helen was written illustrated how young (and yes, naive) she was, but also how different her life was from Clytemnestra’s, despite the fact that they grew up together. She became more real to me with this book, even if I didn’t agree with her or like her all the time.
I really enjoyed Daughters of Sparta and would absolutely recommend this for other mythology lovers.
As with any retelling, some liberties were taken with the story, but one that I really liked in this book was the way Agamemnon’s seer was incorporated. This element gave a lot more depth to Clytemnestra’s pain, as well as to her empathy. I really loved that it made the story more approachable to a modern reader while still holding true to the original myth.
I also liked Helen’s internal dialogue throughout this book. I saw another review that said this book made her seem wishy-washy and passive but I don’t agree with that. I thought that the way Helen was written illustrated how young (and yes, naive) she was, but also how different her life was from Clytemnestra’s, despite the fact that they grew up together. She became more real to me with this book, even if I didn’t agree with her or like her all the time.
I really enjoyed Daughters of Sparta and would absolutely recommend this for other mythology lovers.