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A review by lilureads
Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
This was my first try at nonfiction and honestly I had a great time
As a Percy Jackson fan who is really into mythology I really loved the concept of getting to know mythology more in depth. I knew most of the myths and characters and I have been yearning for an actual analysis of them rather than a retelling and this book did that perfectly. I learned so much about these women and their condition in the ancient world which was surprisingly (though it shouldn’t have been a surprise) misogynistic.
The author clearly knows her stuff and goes beyond the classical references. She draws her examples not only from ancient literature but from all art forms across all of history since the first versions of the myths.
The modern examples and references to contemporary events made this book more accessible for readers, and I particularly enjoyed Haynes’ humorous and sometimes ironic tone (She roasts Freud at one point and I was there for it). While I think the author did a great job at making the reading experience much less dense than it could have been (textbook style) some chapters felt really heavy to me, particularly Clytemnestra’s and Phaedra’s. This could be very well be a subjective experience since this is my first non fiction book and I’m used to fiction books.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this though it took me some time to get through it. It was really an eye opener on the masculine bias that seems to be ever present in every myth and most retellings. Would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.
As a Percy Jackson fan who is really into mythology I really loved the concept of getting to know mythology more in depth. I knew most of the myths and characters and I have been yearning for an actual analysis of them rather than a retelling and this book did that perfectly. I learned so much about these women and their condition in the ancient world which was surprisingly (though it shouldn’t have been a surprise) misogynistic.
The author clearly knows her stuff and goes beyond the classical references. She draws her examples not only from ancient literature but from all art forms across all of history since the first versions of the myths.
The modern examples and references to contemporary events made this book more accessible for readers, and I particularly enjoyed Haynes’ humorous and sometimes ironic tone (She roasts Freud at one point and I was there for it). While I think the author did a great job at making the reading experience much less dense than it could have been (textbook style) some chapters felt really heavy to me, particularly Clytemnestra’s and Phaedra’s. This could be very well be a subjective experience since this is my first non fiction book and I’m used to fiction books.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this though it took me some time to get through it. It was really an eye opener on the masculine bias that seems to be ever present in every myth and most retellings. Would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.