A review by unfiltered_fiction
Elektra by Jennifer Saint

dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This is an easy-read retelling, in that the prose is very clean and the story doesn't require much work to follow. Unfortunately I found the character work (arguably the most important aspect of retellings, as this is where something truly new can be offered) quite weak. Cassandra felt somewhat diluted and Elektra was two dimensional, with no real depth added by the bizarre touches of Oedipal thinking in her envy of the women her father abducted and abused. Helen had some interesting moments between her sympathy for Cassandra, touches of witchcraft, and the description of her serenity as consolidating her supernatural beauty was effective, but this was all kept relatively surface-level. Clytemnestra's character was definitely the most developed, but still didn't feel strong enough to hold the book up on its own. Overall, a readable story but not one that gripped me - perhaps because Greek myth retellings are such a flooded sub-genre, and so I tend to feel that a writer needs to really offer something breathtakingly brilliant in order to hold their ground.
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