Reviews

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

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sarahlord0110's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

karebearzz's review against another edition

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3.0

DNF - The girls are silenced so Achilles can tell his story.

cfabb's review against another edition

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4.25

Did enjoy- loved getting Briseis POV for most of it and liked how when things got controversial that Briseis talked directly to the reader. Only notes: why was Patroclus an Essex/london geezer, Ajax a scouser, and the old Trojan women Welsh and geordie????

solseit's review against another edition

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5.0

It is a story of revenge. Ultimately it is so much more than that: a reflection on the condition of women (especially the ones who end up slaves) and their silence; it is a story that focuses on grief (and there are plenty of great angles explored in this story); it is a story that gives the losers a face and describes their condition.

I also loved who faithful - and different / the dialogues of Agamemnon and Achilles are. I ended up digging out my copy of the Iliad to check. One additional thing this book does is to paint a few people ugly, even if in the original they are not supposed to be ugly, they are the paragons of Greek masculine virtues!