A review by cepbreed
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I first fell in love with Penelope after reading Emily Wilson’s version of The Odyssey. I say this with a bit of shame but it’s the only play or epic I’ve read all the front matter for. I loved The Odyssey when I was a freshman in high school and I loved it even more after Wilson’s interpretation. I’m all for un-deifying Odysseus which is what attracted me to The Penelopiad. All of this build up and genuine interest in the character did me no good while reading this book. I just felt like Atwood’s interpretation fell flat for me. I loved the inclusion of the twelve maids’ voices and the theory of Penelope as “female-goddess cult leader,” but everything else was nothing new. Maybe it’s all the praise Atwood gets and the richer Penelope centered readings that have come out in the past few years. I still really enjoyed this though; I was reading another Penelope focused novel but I DNFd it because it was so boring. Finishing a book is the bare minimum but it says something. 
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