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A review by booksonawednesday
The Women of Troy by Pat Barker
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
After I read Silence of the Girls earlier this year, I knew that I had to follow it up with the sequel.
The Greek (or rather, Trojan) retelling continues to follow Briseis, the former Trojan princess turned Greek slave turned Greek wife. Now pregnant with Achilles’s child, she is the wife of the soldier Alcimus and tries her best to help the Trojan women (slave or not) in the camp.
I just love Pat Barker’s writing: the language is modernised and yet still beautiful and relatable. Briseis’s perspective is insightful and painful, as she toes the line between staying faithful to her past and protecting her future.
The only thing I found lacking was the plot itself. Greek mythology is never devoid of drama, but ultimately not a lot happened within this book. However, I enjoyed the odd chapter focused on Pyrrhus (Achilles’s sociopathic son) and Calchas (disgraced soothsayer).
I’m certain that I will read on with the series.
The Greek (or rather, Trojan) retelling continues to follow Briseis, the former Trojan princess turned Greek slave turned Greek wife. Now pregnant with Achilles’s child, she is the wife of the soldier Alcimus and tries her best to help the Trojan women (slave or not) in the camp.
I just love Pat Barker’s writing: the language is modernised and yet still beautiful and relatable. Briseis’s perspective is insightful and painful, as she toes the line between staying faithful to her past and protecting her future.
The only thing I found lacking was the plot itself. Greek mythology is never devoid of drama, but ultimately not a lot happened within this book. However, I enjoyed the odd chapter focused on Pyrrhus (Achilles’s sociopathic son) and Calchas (disgraced soothsayer).
I’m certain that I will read on with the series.