A review by ehmannky
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.75

I love a good mythology retelling and this one is excellent. I thought I would find it jarring, jumping back and forth between so many different characters with so little time between them, but it works so well. And Haynes just renders each part of the war so heartbreaking. The strong points definitely revolve around the human women, with the parts about the goddesses being interesting and fun to read, but not nearly as compelling. I loved how the solemn nature of the book is broken with Penelope's wry humor in her letters to Odysseus. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Violence, Slavery, Xenophobia, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, and Genocide

Moderate: Suicide and Blood