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A review by ljrinaldi
The Two Lives of Penelope by Judith Vanistendael
3.0
Penelope compares herself with Odysseus, who sailed off to Troy, for 10 years, and then tried to sail home again, but spent 10 years trying to get home. He was gone for 20 years, while his wife, Penelope, waiting for him.
But, as Penelope, the surgeon, who is working with Doctors without Borders says, she has been trying to sail home all these years. She is not waiting at home, weaving.
But, instead, she is trying to save people's lives in Syria, in a mission that goes on and on, and never ends. And even when she comes home to "visit" she is still back on her mission, carrying ghosts with her.
It is a strange story, set in one of those points where she has gone home, but life has continued without her, moved on. She loves her husband and child, but she is obsessed with a job that never ends, that never goes away.
I wonder if there is something lost in the translation, as the ending was odd.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
But, as Penelope, the surgeon, who is working with Doctors without Borders says, she has been trying to sail home all these years. She is not waiting at home, weaving.
But, instead, she is trying to save people's lives in Syria, in a mission that goes on and on, and never ends. And even when she comes home to "visit" she is still back on her mission, carrying ghosts with her.
It is a strange story, set in one of those points where she has gone home, but life has continued without her, moved on. She loves her husband and child, but she is obsessed with a job that never ends, that never goes away.
I wonder if there is something lost in the translation, as the ending was odd.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.