A review by poorlywordedbookreviews
The Women of Troy by Pat Barker

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵… 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵; 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.

   

Following on from The Silence Of The Girls, Troy has fallen, but the gods are not happy. A hot, fierce wind blows in off the sea, not allowing the Greeks to return home with their spoils of war. Trapped in the shadow of their deeds, with no grand purpose to rally around, the Greeks hunt for a politically palatable way to appease the gods. The women of Troy? They must find a way to navigate their new world, and place within it, all whilst managing their grief, anger and terror. 

   

I enjoyed this just as much as the first instalment. Barker’s writing, style and dialogue is brilliant. I think the balance between focusing on Briseis/the other enslaved women, and Pyrrhus (son of Achilles, aka Neoptolemus) was done well - a female refocusing of a story so heavily shaped by the action of men would feel false without it.

   

This duology is definitely worth your time if you want a less militaristic retelling of the tale of Troy, with complex characters of both genders. It’s not big and showy, and feels like true feminist retelling rather than a cynical or wish fulfilment ‘girl power’ tale. My only note is that Briseis’s as a narrator is very restrained, and whilst it worked for me, allowing her moments of greater honest to really hit, I suspect many will find her ‘dull’.