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A review by lilifane
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The Iliad is one of my favorite stories. Has been since I was a teenager. And one of my favorite ways to experience it is from a female point of view. Actually, the first time I read about Troy was in a retelling of the Iliad focusing on the women 30 years ago. Since then, I've read lots of books and plays on the topic, so this one didn't offer me many new insights.
I liked the framing device of Calliope having enough of inspiring heroic war stories. And it was nice to have all the different female perspectives in one book, the women of Troy as well as Greek women and all the goddesses and immortals involved. But if I hadn't known these characters and their stories as well as I did before, I would have been very confused. The story is not told in chronological order, you rather get glimpses of the different women's parts at random points in time. Some from before the war, some during the war, some at the end. Several times I didn't even know at which point of the plot we were. Plus, the characters are never really introduced. It's expected that you know who is who already. Which is a weird take for a book about the hidden women in the epic tale. I had an emotional connection to them because I already knew them, not because of how they were portrayed in this book.
However, I enjoyed the book, it was a quick read. And I LOVED Penelope's part. Her letters to Odysseus got hilarious the longer she had to wait for him. I literally couldn't stop laughing at one point. A much-needed break from all the sad tragedies in the book. I also appreciate that Haynes went all the way back to the very beginning to find out what exactly started the conflict. I liked that a lot. And the writing is stunning!
I liked the framing device of Calliope having enough of inspiring heroic war stories. And it was nice to have all the different female perspectives in one book, the women of Troy as well as Greek women and all the goddesses and immortals involved. But if I hadn't known these characters and their stories as well as I did before, I would have been very confused. The story is not told in chronological order, you rather get glimpses of the different women's parts at random points in time. Some from before the war, some during the war, some at the end. Several times I didn't even know at which point of the plot we were. Plus, the characters are never really introduced. It's expected that you know who is who already. Which is a weird take for a book about the hidden women in the epic tale. I had an emotional connection to them because I already knew them, not because of how they were portrayed in this book.
However, I enjoyed the book, it was a quick read. And I LOVED Penelope's part. Her letters to Odysseus got hilarious the longer she had to wait for him. I literally couldn't stop laughing at one point. A much-needed break from all the sad tragedies in the book. I also appreciate that Haynes went all the way back to the very beginning to find out what exactly started the conflict. I liked that a lot. And the writing is stunning!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, War, Suicide attempt, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Genocide