A review by motherbooker
Elektra by Jennifer Saint

3.5

Another book in the long list of Greek mythology retellings that focuses on an underrepresented female figure. Or in this case three female figures. It tells the story of Elektra, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. We also get to see the perspectives of her mother and Cassandra, a Trojan princess who will become entangled in their lives. Having just read Clytemnestra, I was interested to experience more of the story from Elektra's point of view. I was also happy to see Cassandra having a bigger part because I've always thought she was a fascinating figure. Apollo gave her the gift of prophecy but cursed her so nobody would believe her. Meaning she was the only one who saw the fall of Troy coming but couldn't do anything to prevent it. Ignored by her father, Cassandra could only sit and watch as Paris brought about the destruction of her family and her city. Women everywhere can relate.

Jennifer Saint brings together the perspectives of these three women to tell the story of Agamemnon beyond the Trojan War. Elektra is a devoted daughter who has fallen for the trap of the patriarchy. She sees his actions as righteous and wants him to come home to her. Unlike her mother, Elektra believes that the death of her older sister was an honour and a necessary deed to help the war effort. Her mother, Clytemnestra, doesn't see it like that. Instead, she goes against her husband and starts plotting against him. She also wants him to come home but for very different reasons. Reasons that Cassandra has already foreseen. She knows what will happen to Agamemnon and what will happen to her. Unfortunately, she can't stop it and can only watch it unfold.

Ariadne didn't blow me away, so I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book. It started well and I liked the switch between perspectives. Partly because I didn't really engage with Elektra's character. Cassandra and Clytemnestra are the more interesting characters, so the end of the book really slowed for me. We were just stuck in Elektra's revenge story and I didn't care about it. I get that she was the loyal daughter in a patriarchal society. However, she just seemed cold. I think there could have been room to give more to the character. Yes, it plays up the Electra complex but I still don't think it goes far enough. There are a couple of references to wanting her father's arms around her and being jealous of Cassandra but it felt like an afterthought. There wasn't even any insight into the consequences of the patriarchy. We don't see Elektra respond to her own sister's death. I just wanted more from her.

It was a similar way that I felt about Ariadne. It wasn't a bad book but it didn't feel very ambitious. It didn't really try and do anything new or different. There are so many retellings of Greek mythology these days; some of them do really refreshing things. This just felt too traditional in scope. It didn't want to deviate from the original myths but then why bother rewriting it? If you're tackling this material then you need to add something new. Help a modern audience understand these characters. Elektra is just too outdated to be engaging. Either take her much further or make your readers sympathetic to her situation. Instead, she's just an annoying young woman who doesn't really try to understand anything. Just because she's not a typically good character doesn't mean you can't make her sympathetic.

When I first started reading this, I was sure it was an improvement on the last Jennifer Saint book I read but it just didn't happen. There are so many other examples of this story that this just falls a bit short. This is always going to happen when the market is so oversaturated and, unfortunately, Jennifer Saint isn't offering anything that unique. It's a massive shame considering how good her writing is. If this had just been a full story about Cassandra or Clytemnestra then I'd be all over it. Hell, I think there's something to be said about writing a book from Agamemnon's perspective. However, Elektra just wasn't a character I was that bothered about.