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vej_bou 's review for:
Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths
by Natalie Haynes
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
An interesting collection of the ways select women from Greek myths are presented both in ancient Greek texts and modern depictions. Possibly my biggest gripe was that at times if felt like Haynes was simply narrating the stories and providing very little evaluation/analysis of them.
I especially enjoyed the Jocasta, Clytemnestra and Penelope chapters - these felt like really strong choices for the book and were presented especially well.
The Eurydice chapter was my least favourite, as there was very little mention of the titular character compared to the story of Orpheus & Eurydice as a whole (though maybe that was the point? Though I don't think this was made clear, and therefore felt like Haynes failed to find enough to say about Eurydice alone), and - while interesting and somewhat relevant - I thought the myth of Alcestis and Admetus took up a bit too much of the chapter.
I DNF this book when I first bought it a few years ago, and sadly it would not be at the top of my list for Greek mythology books.
I especially enjoyed the Jocasta, Clytemnestra and Penelope chapters - these felt like really strong choices for the book and were presented especially well.
The Eurydice chapter was my least favourite, as there was very little mention of the titular character compared to the story of Orpheus & Eurydice as a whole (though maybe that was the point? Though I don't think this was made clear, and therefore felt like Haynes failed to find enough to say about Eurydice alone), and - while interesting and somewhat relevant - I thought the myth of Alcestis and Admetus took up a bit too much of the chapter.
I DNF this book when I first bought it a few years ago, and sadly it would not be at the top of my list for Greek mythology books.