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A review by rcroteau
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
challenging
dark
emotional
5.0
An excellent book. I would say that it is predicated on the assumption that the reader is already pretty familiar with the major events of the Trojan War. And not just what is covered in the Iiliad, but events in the Oresteia, the Aenied, etc. Most of the more obscure characters and events are explained pretty well, but the book really only works if you go into it knowing who Cassandra and Hecabe and Penelope and Hellen and Clytemnestra at least vaguely.
Its phenomenal though. While centering the stories of these women certainly isnt unheard of (and not just modern texts like the Penelopiad. The Trojan Women by Euripedes is from 415BC is the source for the chapters that share its name) The way they are handled here does such an excellent job at breathing life and courage and tragedy into these stories.
Its phenomenal though. While centering the stories of these women certainly isnt unheard of (and not just modern texts like the Penelopiad. The Trojan Women by Euripedes is from 415BC is the source for the chapters that share its name) The way they are handled here does such an excellent job at breathing life and courage and tragedy into these stories.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, War, and Murder