Scan barcode
A review by seyoban
The Women of Troy by Pat Barker
medium-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
1.5
Despite its title and the general intention of this book, I’d go as far as saying that it leans towards being anti-feminist. We have Briseis as a narrator and we’re told of the horrors that women experience at the hands of men during war, but that’s about as deep as the feminism goes. Otherwise, the book places a large focus on the narrative of the men and the very sparse plot that we’re given is centred around the conflicts between the male characters.
We’re introduced to Helen who could perhaps have been the MOST interesting perspective to explore considering she was at the centre of the Trojan war and was almost universally hated and vilified as a result, but she only makes occasional appearances which don’t particularly move things along. There are friendships between the women but other than maybe Ritsa, Briseis seems to find them annoying/uncomfortable/weird in some way and so they’re not the most heartwarming examples of female friendship.
What made me lose all patience with it was the fatphobia relating to Maire - at one point she was literally referred to as a “lump”, Briseis wondered how on earth she’d been selected as a slave (because I suppose fat women weren’t even good enough for that?) and Briseis marvelled at the fact that Maire had befriended Helle, who was described as “slim, strong, firm, graceful, glowing with health”. These were presented as traits which made Maire and Helle completely different from one another, discounting the fact that their friendship could perhaps have been built on the basis of personality? There’s a throwaway sentence where Briseis acknowledges that she has come to view Maire through the perspective of the men and at no point is there a challenge to this - again, for a novel supposedly championing women, I find it a tough pill to swallow that the only female narrator views her fellow women from the perspective of their abusive captors.
This book has not done these women the justice they deserve. 1.5 stars purely on the basis that it wasn’t awful enough to DNF.
We’re introduced to Helen who could perhaps have been the MOST interesting perspective to explore considering she was at the centre of the Trojan war and was almost universally hated and vilified as a result, but she only makes occasional appearances which don’t particularly move things along. There are friendships between the women but other than maybe Ritsa, Briseis seems to find them annoying/uncomfortable/weird in some way and so they’re not the most heartwarming examples of female friendship.
What made me lose all patience with it was the fatphobia relating to Maire - at one point she was literally referred to as a “lump”, Briseis wondered how on earth she’d been selected as a slave (because I suppose fat women weren’t even good enough for that?) and Briseis marvelled at the fact that Maire had befriended Helle, who was described as “slim, strong, firm, graceful, glowing with health”. These were presented as traits which made Maire and Helle completely different from one another, discounting the fact that their friendship could perhaps have been built on the basis of personality? There’s a throwaway sentence where Briseis acknowledges that she has come to view Maire through the perspective of the men and at no point is there a challenge to this - again, for a novel supposedly championing women, I find it a tough pill to swallow that the only female narrator views her fellow women from the perspective of their abusive captors.
This book has not done these women the justice they deserve. 1.5 stars purely on the basis that it wasn’t awful enough to DNF.