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A review by millysreads
Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I knew going into this book that it would leave me in a weird way afterwards. What can I say, I'm a massive history and mythology nerd and when that's combined with women in mythology who aren't focused on as much as their male counterparts, I go pretty effing insane.
This book took me on a real journey, not just through the Greek Myths, but also in the way I evaluate and look at history and mythology. How, due to obvious reasons, when I think about greek myth, I don't think first of the countless women that feature in the stories too.
This amazing, amazing book was an overview of a handful of women from Greek myth; from Medea and Medusa, to Pandora and Penelope. It was non-fiction and kind of a whistle-stop-tour of all the different versions of myth that feature these women as well as a discussion of their character portrayal and why they had been portrayed in a certain way in each version.
It was poignant and moving and incredibly topical, in a time when women's stories have only been suggested to be as important as men's for such a short number of decades. Even now, it cannot be argued that women's stories are viewed as equally as men's. Especially not from someone who reads a variety of different genres and yet it belittled and reduced just because I also happen to read romance novels mixed in with fantasy, sci-fi, mystery and more classic novels.
I saved so many of the quotes from this book - it almost had me punching the air in glee at certain points - and it is something that will stick with me for a long time.
Absolutely deserving of 5/5 stars.
This book took me on a real journey, not just through the Greek Myths, but also in the way I evaluate and look at history and mythology. How, due to obvious reasons, when I think about greek myth, I don't think first of the countless women that feature in the stories too.
This amazing, amazing book was an overview of a handful of women from Greek myth; from Medea and Medusa, to Pandora and Penelope. It was non-fiction and kind of a whistle-stop-tour of all the different versions of myth that feature these women as well as a discussion of their character portrayal and why they had been portrayed in a certain way in each version.
It was poignant and moving and incredibly topical, in a time when women's stories have only been suggested to be as important as men's for such a short number of decades. Even now, it cannot be argued that women's stories are viewed as equally as men's. Especially not from someone who reads a variety of different genres and yet it belittled and reduced just because I also happen to read romance novels mixed in with fantasy, sci-fi, mystery and more classic novels.
I saved so many of the quotes from this book - it almost had me punching the air in glee at certain points - and it is something that will stick with me for a long time.
Absolutely deserving of 5/5 stars.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Rape, Violence, and War