Reviews tagging 'War'

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

145 reviews

starstrays's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War

livcashmere's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed reading this but I think it’s my least favourite in the ‘mythology from a female perspective’ genre. It started off really slow, but began to pick up its pacing about a third of the way in. I loved the way Clytemnstra and Helen’s relationship was depicted. I think the relationships between the female characters throughout this novel is it’s most redeeming quality. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, Murder, and War

boujiebihhh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Incest

libbyys16's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, and War

sassacass11's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is incredible! A tale of Ancient Greece from the eyes of a revered and powerful Queen - the wife of Agamemnon, and not by choice. 

She is powerful, delightfully complex and relentlessly lives by her moral compass. It is a wonder to behold such a woman at the center of a story. Usually, women are eclipsed by men, always in the shadows - but Clytemnestra shines and burns too brightly to ever be in the shadows. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and War

claireisagrisha's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5/5 stars

Everyone thank one of my bookstagram besties for convincing me to move it up and read it sooner rather than later teehee 

If there’s one thing I love, it’s Greek Mythology retellings. Percy Jackson, The Song of Achilles, and Circe are all amazing ones that I love so much. This makes me want to read more of them so leave your recommendations in the comments … 

I went into this only knowing a little about Clytemnestra, however there was a family tree included and a list of characters in the beginning so that helped! I loved seeing new sides to different prominent people in Greek Mythology like Helen of Troy and Odysseus. 

Clytemnestra’s life may have been riddled with grief and other trials that were testing her character, however, she persevered and ultimately she was a Queen… of Mycenae and just a Queen. 

Costanza Casati, I love your writing and your book, I truly enjoyed your imagery and how you made the characters come to life. I truly loved Clytemnestra and her story.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Incest, and Murder

Moderate: Slavery, Death of parent, and War

julialk's review against another edition

adventurous reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, and War

lizzy_library's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Amazing story telling. This book felt similar to the way Madeleine Miller’s Circe story was told and I loved it. The story of Clytemnestra is devastating and full of violence and heartbreak but through all that she endures, she never breaks. I loved the relationship she shares with her siblings and even her children. She is a queen to be reckoned with and one that demands respect. Very refreshing and easy to follow. Great book overall. Trigger warning that there are themes of violence, sexual assault and abuse. Please take care reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, and War

tenderdispatches's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and War

audreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

All my homies hate Agamemnon!

Book is beautifully written. It’s a challenge to write this time period in a way that’s still easy to consume but this book definitely accomplishes that. It’s also super difficult for me to keep up with a lot of characters, but the descriptions and callbacks were so good that I rarely had to look back at the character list (which is also helpful)! I do feel like some scenes and details could be cut. While the book wasn’t especially long, it took me longer to get through than I expected. Overall I would recommend this to anyone interested in Greek mythology and/or female rage, with the caveat that you should definitely read the content warnings first.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, and War

Minor: Bullying, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Classism

I listed a ton of content warnings, yes, but most of them overlap for the same scenes and passages. The book is pretty honest about the treatment of people in this time, particularly women, so there are a lot of traumatic topics. I struggled with the amount of SA occurrences, but not so much that the book wasn’t worth it. Much of the book is dark, but moves on quickly and the end leaves you with some spark of retribution.