Scan barcode
A review by libbysbookshelf
The Women of Troy by Pat Barker
THE WOMEN OF TROY by PAT BARKER
[ad - PR] thanks to @penguin for the advanced reader copy.
This is the sequel to The Silence of the Girls, which I read 2 years ago, almost to the day.
If you know me, then you’ll know I love anything Greek myth, especially the feminist retellings that have been popular in recent years. The Women of Troy is no exception. It takes us back to the battlefields of Troy, only this time we are dealing with the aftermath. The novel follows the points of view of Briseis, Pyrrhus (Achilles’ son) and Calchas (the Trojan priest) in order to give a well-rounded account of the events.
Briseis definitely felt more three dimensional in this novel - even though I’d really loved her in the previous book, she had definitely grown and changed as she experienced new things.
This book is very consistent in energy levels, which is both good and bad. It’s good because it focuses on the storytelling and the characters. Bad because it did have much tension and almost no surprises. I know that not every book needs to be twisty, especially retellings, but I was expecting something unexpected.
The writer used the word ‘r@tarded’, which I know a lot of Bookstagrammers have been angry about in other books, so I wanted to ask your thoughts on this? My slight issue with it in this book was that the language is very modern, with a lot of 21st century idioms in use, so it did feel a bit out of place. It might have been a bit more forgiveable had the language been archaic.
So I didn’t love it as much as I expected to, but I am eternally grateful to have received an advanced copy as this is one of my most anticipated books of the year. I recommend that you place your preorders and get ready to go back to Troy.
[ad - PR] thanks to @penguin for the advanced reader copy.
This is the sequel to The Silence of the Girls, which I read 2 years ago, almost to the day.
If you know me, then you’ll know I love anything Greek myth, especially the feminist retellings that have been popular in recent years. The Women of Troy is no exception. It takes us back to the battlefields of Troy, only this time we are dealing with the aftermath. The novel follows the points of view of Briseis, Pyrrhus (Achilles’ son) and Calchas (the Trojan priest) in order to give a well-rounded account of the events.
Briseis definitely felt more three dimensional in this novel - even though I’d really loved her in the previous book, she had definitely grown and changed as she experienced new things.
This book is very consistent in energy levels, which is both good and bad. It’s good because it focuses on the storytelling and the characters. Bad because it did have much tension and almost no surprises. I know that not every book needs to be twisty, especially retellings, but I was expecting something unexpected.
The writer used the word ‘r@tarded’, which I know a lot of Bookstagrammers have been angry about in other books, so I wanted to ask your thoughts on this? My slight issue with it in this book was that the language is very modern, with a lot of 21st century idioms in use, so it did feel a bit out of place. It might have been a bit more forgiveable had the language been archaic.
So I didn’t love it as much as I expected to, but I am eternally grateful to have received an advanced copy as this is one of my most anticipated books of the year. I recommend that you place your preorders and get ready to go back to Troy.