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joanabrt's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
incredible!
I started the book with a different idea of what it would be. I was, not really sure why, expecting something else, so at first I felt a bit bored and as if nothing was really happening. Thankfully I soon enough realized that I already knew the story and that I wasn’t there for it, per se… I was there for who was telling it, for the perspective in which the story was being told and for all the characters, the girls and women that had been left out before. This changed the way I read the book and allowed me to understand and appreciate it as it deserved.
It’s a violent, tragic and brilliant story, where the silence, the suffering and the courage of the girlsare the main focus, the story. Where the heroes and victims are no longer the men in combat, as the stories have always made us believe, but the women who continue to live, who find ways to carry on after being taken from their homes and families, after being abused, raped and stripped of all their rights and their humanity. And it's a painful read, because it's not just fantasy and it's not just set in the past or in distant places, it's the present, the now, the world we live in.
A retelling of Greek mythology like never before. Incredible.
I started the book with a different idea of what it would be. I was, not really sure why, expecting something else, so at first I felt a bit bored and as if nothing was really happening. Thankfully I soon enough realized that I already knew the story and that I wasn’t there for it, per se… I was there for who was telling it, for the perspective in which the story was being told and for all the characters, the girls and women that had been left out before. This changed the way I read the book and allowed me to understand and appreciate it as it deserved.
It’s a violent, tragic and brilliant story, where the silence, the suffering and the courage of the girlsare the main focus, the story. Where the heroes and victims are no longer the men in combat, as the stories have always made us believe, but the women who continue to live, who find ways to carry on after being taken from their homes and families, after being abused, raped and stripped of all their rights and their humanity. And it's a painful read, because it's not just fantasy and it's not just set in the past or in distant places, it's the present, the now, the world we live in.
A retelling of Greek mythology like never before. Incredible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and War
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide
ewwa18's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Grief, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
rbadz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and War
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy
helen's review against another edition
4.0
Great companion to Emily Wilson's translation of The Iliad.
Wilson, through her choice of words, reminds us that the women taken as "prizes" and living as "concubines" during the Trojan War are in fact slaves subject to rape. Barker gives voice to one of these women, Briseis.
There are quite a few anachronisms (battlefield hospitals in the mythical bronze age?) and modern idioms ("gagging for it"), but I liked this because this is not historical fiction, it's a myth. Barker is retelling The Iliad for our age and reminding us that the treatment of women in war zones is still very much relevant in our world.
Four stars not five because a) although important, it's a pretty unrelentingly grim read and b) I really wished the whole book was from the women's point of view. I really wasn't interested in the chapters told from Achilles' point of view. But then that's actually quite meta because at one point Briseis comments: "...make no mistake, this was his story - his anger, his grief, his story. I was angry, I was grieving, but somehow that didn't matter."
Speaking of meta - Barker's twist on Homer's tendency to make lists of the dead was very effective.
I listened to the audiobook: Kristin Atherton was excellent. Michael Fox wasn't as good, but my opinion was probably clouded by my dislike of those Achilles' focused chapters
Wilson, through her choice of words, reminds us that the women taken as "prizes" and living as "concubines" during the Trojan War are in fact slaves subject to rape. Barker gives voice to one of these women, Briseis.
There are quite a few anachronisms (battlefield hospitals in the mythical bronze age?) and modern idioms ("gagging for it"), but I liked this because this is not historical fiction, it's a myth. Barker is retelling The Iliad for our age and reminding us that the treatment of women in war zones is still very much relevant in our world.
Four stars not five because a) although important, it's a pretty unrelentingly grim read and b) I really wished the whole book was from the women's point of view. I really wasn't interested in the chapters told from Achilles' point of view. But then that's actually quite meta because at one point Briseis comments: "...make no mistake, this was his story - his anger, his grief, his story. I was angry, I was grieving, but somehow that didn't matter."
Speaking of meta - Barker's twist on Homer's tendency to make lists of the dead was very effective.
I listened to the audiobook: Kristin Atherton was excellent. Michael Fox wasn't as good, but my opinion was probably clouded by my dislike of those Achilles' focused chapters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Rape, Slavery, Violence, and War
Moderate: Suicide
baconbit95's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
thalassaio's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty
halthemonarch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The most impactful and Briseis-centric narrative is told in the beginning. After a certain point, this becomes a story about Achilles and Patroclus, and to a lesser extent Agamemnon and all the men around a helpless Briseis.
We begin at the sacking of her town. Achilles’ war cry grew closer and closer until his army was at their gates. He felled them easily and Briseis watches him kill her brother. She had a husband, parents and siblings, but in one fell swoop, she and all the women not brave enough to jump from their chambers become sex slaves for Achilles’ army. Briseis is highborn and thus is designated to Achilles himself, who is mostly uninterested in her until Briseis begins to bathe regularly in the ocean. Achilles’ mother is a sea nymph, so anything that reminds him of her stokes him. For a while that is their way until Agamemnon disrespects a priest by denying his daughter, his sex slave, to be returned to him. The camp falls ill, no longer under Apollo’s protection and the girl is returned. Agamemnon demands Briseis in return.
Later, when making the final efforts to fell Troy, Agamemnon and the rest of the main forces need Achilles, but he refuses to go for the disrespect shown to him. Patroclus, his more-than-a-bestie bestie suggests he go in Achilles’ stead and fight in his armor to inspire the men. Achilles sees the sense in this plan but Briseis (silently and to herself) predicts this will be the end of Patroclus. Indeed Hector kills him and Achilles falls apart, avenges him, and falls apart again. The king pleads with him for his son’s body, to which Achilles relents. Then Achilles is slain in battle, something he was yearning for after losing Patroclus. His son vows to avenge him, and Briseis meditates on how the story of Troy would live on in the sons these women had; that their lives weren’t glamorous or pretty, but history would remember the silent girls.
Like in The Wolf Den, I found the constant “you wouldn’t get it, you’re not a slave” aside to be condescending. A reader should be able to empathize with a protagonist who has no agency over what horrible things happen to them. Like Amara, Briseis is pushed around her story and the only agency and defiance we see of her is her introspection. When that introspection stops and begins to split off into other characters, she becomes weaker in comparison. The other characters are doing things, or their active refusal to do things is part of the narrative-- Briseis gets raped repeatedly, disrespected by Agamemmnon, and then disregarded by the story up until her final cry-- a flickering match in a dark room-- “the children at our breasts now will remember the women of Troy” type shi. I enjoyed the bit where she attempted to run away because of course she would (although the result frustrated me)
As always, books from this period in time captivate me. The literary voice is nice, and I do appreciate the intention of illuminating mostly anonymous women from mythology. I believe Briseis in Homer’s source poem is simply a woman from Lyrnessus who was given to Achilles and then later given to Agamemnon. In this book she still felt like that to me, she just had far more speaking lines. Barker wasn’t altering the story, but expanding it within the mythology. I don’t like that a book that promised to be about the girls became mostly about the boys, Achilles, Patroclus, and Agamemnon, and to a lesser extent the war system all around them all. I'm giving this the good ol' three star special.
We begin at the sacking of her town. Achilles’ war cry grew closer and closer until his army was at their gates. He felled them easily and Briseis watches him kill her brother. She had a husband, parents and siblings, but in one fell swoop, she and all the women not brave enough to jump from their chambers become sex slaves for Achilles’ army. Briseis is highborn and thus is designated to Achilles himself, who is mostly uninterested in her until Briseis begins to bathe regularly in the ocean. Achilles’ mother is a sea nymph, so anything that reminds him of her stokes him. For a while that is their way until Agamemnon disrespects a priest by denying his daughter, his sex slave, to be returned to him. The camp falls ill, no longer under Apollo’s protection and the girl is returned. Agamemnon demands Briseis in return.
Later, when making the final efforts to fell Troy, Agamemnon and the rest of the main forces need Achilles, but he refuses to go for the disrespect shown to him. Patroclus, his more-than-a-bestie bestie suggests he go in Achilles’ stead and fight in his armor to inspire the men. Achilles sees the sense in this plan but Briseis (silently and to herself) predicts this will be the end of Patroclus. Indeed Hector kills him and Achilles falls apart, avenges him, and falls apart again. The king pleads with him for his son’s body, to which Achilles relents. Then Achilles is slain in battle, something he was yearning for after losing Patroclus. His son vows to avenge him, and Briseis meditates on how the story of Troy would live on in the sons these women had; that their lives weren’t glamorous or pretty, but history would remember the silent girls.
Like in The Wolf Den, I found the constant “you wouldn’t get it, you’re not a slave” aside to be condescending. A reader should be able to empathize with a protagonist who has no agency over what horrible things happen to them. Like Amara, Briseis is pushed around her story and the only agency and defiance we see of her is her introspection. When that introspection stops and begins to split off into other characters, she becomes weaker in comparison. The other characters are doing things, or their active refusal to do things is part of the narrative-- Briseis gets raped repeatedly, disrespected by Agamemmnon, and then disregarded by the story up until her final cry-- a flickering match in a dark room-- “the children at our breasts now will remember the women of Troy” type shi. I enjoyed the bit where she attempted to run away because of course she would (although the result frustrated me)
As always, books from this period in time captivate me. The literary voice is nice, and I do appreciate the intention of illuminating mostly anonymous women from mythology. I believe Briseis in Homer’s source poem is simply a woman from Lyrnessus who was given to Achilles and then later given to Agamemnon. In this book she still felt like that to me, she just had far more speaking lines. Barker wasn’t altering the story, but expanding it within the mythology. I don’t like that a book that promised to be about the girls became mostly about the boys, Achilles, Patroclus, and Agamemnon, and to a lesser extent the war system all around them all. I'm giving this the good ol' three star special.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery, Violence, and War
Minor: Physical abuse and Rape
whatmckennareads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Rape, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Child death, Xenophobia, and Vomit
naoml's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-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
5.0
This is masterful. This is a beautiful critic of what voices are deemed important. How are people remembered? Who gets to tell the stories? Is it even possible to know a full truth?
The story follows the myth of Achilles but for once not through his eyes or the eyes of someone who adores him. We see that "heroism" is sometimes simply violence, depending on the lens you are viewing it through. However, this also gives us the nuance of sometimes evil doesn't always look that way, and even worse: not everything and evil person does is bad. Humanity is more complex than that, and you own no one forgiveness based on a single action or moment.
I can't fully put into words my thoughts and feelings on it, but I do know that it is incredible. The story will keep permeating my thoughts for a long time to come.
**please read the trigger warnings
The story follows the myth of Achilles but for once not through his eyes or the eyes of someone who adores him. We see that "heroism" is sometimes simply violence, depending on the lens you are viewing it through. However, this also gives us the nuance of sometimes evil doesn't always look that way, and even worse: not everything and evil person does is bad. Humanity is more complex than that, and you own no one forgiveness based on a single action or moment.
I can't fully put into words my thoughts and feelings on it, but I do know that it is incredible. The story will keep permeating my thoughts for a long time to come.
**please read the trigger warnings
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
savage_book_review's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The voices of Achilles, Patroclus, Agamemnon, Odysseyus, Ajax and all of the other heroes (or villains depending on your allegiances) of the Trojan War have echoed down the millenia into myth and legend. But what about those silent women, orphaned and widowed by a war they had no part in starting and forced into serving the men who took the lives of their loved ones? Briseis' name is well known, but her story? Well, for once, let the tale not be told by the victor, but the victim.
One day I'll find a Greek myth retelling I don't like. But today is not that day. This is beautifully written; lyrical, heartfelt, epic prose that runs over with emotion and buries its way into your consciousness. It's not poetry, but it is definitely poetic and so feels like it has almost perfect tone to complement the source material. There is something about the best authors writing these retellings (Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint to name but two); they all have their own style, but they all embody this same tone in their work. So as soon as I 'felt' it, I knew I was in for a good read!
The only caveat to this praise is that there are moments where speech sounds almost too modern. I understand that it's meant to be soldiers talking in their own rough and ready way, but there was something about certain turns of phrase that jolted me out of the serene state the rest of the writing put me in. I'm all for a good round of turning the air blue, but even the cursing felt out of place in certain moments. It all still works and doesn't ruin the story or the flow, but I think the rest of the story feels so authentic the modern parlance sticks out like a sore thumb.
Each character is wonderfully rendered; Briseis herself comes across as a strong, capable woman, utterly defeated by circumstances, resigned to her fate and yet still with an independent streak that means while she might bend, she won't break. Her interactions with Achilles manage to find that sweet spot, where he is neither slave master that sees her as nothing but chattel, nor the dashing romantic hero that she can't help but fall in love with. It's a fabulous rendering of their relationship. Patroclus does come across a little more as the sweet, shy boy who befriends the slaves rather than beats them, but it's a great contrast to the rest of the Greek warriors. While the nature of Achilles and Patroclus' relationship is never explicitly stated, the small illustrations of their love for one another, whether platonic or romantic, are just gorgeous. Once again, I found myself hoping that the author might just flip the myth on its head... and this in a book that's not meant to be as sympathetic to them!
The book also conveys the harsh realities of 10 years living in a war camp and the bloodiness of battle, without being overly graphic or sensationalist. It's atmospheric and not pleasant at times, but it's never difficult to read.
There is a dual POV set up, alternating chapters between Briseis in the first person, and Achilles in the third. Switching between first and third person is one of the writing devices I struggle with, and yet it STILL manages to flow and keep me engaged.
This book deserves its accolades and is one I would definitely recommend. Book two is on order at the library, so I'll look forward to continuing this series soon!
One day I'll find a Greek myth retelling I don't like. But today is not that day. This is beautifully written; lyrical, heartfelt, epic prose that runs over with emotion and buries its way into your consciousness. It's not poetry, but it is definitely poetic and so feels like it has almost perfect tone to complement the source material. There is something about the best authors writing these retellings (Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint to name but two); they all have their own style, but they all embody this same tone in their work. So as soon as I 'felt' it, I knew I was in for a good read!
The only caveat to this praise is that there are moments where speech sounds almost too modern. I understand that it's meant to be soldiers talking in their own rough and ready way, but there was something about certain turns of phrase that jolted me out of the serene state the rest of the writing put me in. I'm all for a good round of turning the air blue, but even the cursing felt out of place in certain moments. It all still works and doesn't ruin the story or the flow, but I think the rest of the story feels so authentic the modern parlance sticks out like a sore thumb.
Each character is wonderfully rendered; Briseis herself comes across as a strong, capable woman, utterly defeated by circumstances, resigned to her fate and yet still with an independent streak that means while she might bend, she won't break. Her interactions with Achilles manage to find that sweet spot, where he is neither slave master that sees her as nothing but chattel, nor the dashing romantic hero that she can't help but fall in love with. It's a fabulous rendering of their relationship. Patroclus does come across a little more as the sweet, shy boy who befriends the slaves rather than beats them, but it's a great contrast to the rest of the Greek warriors. While the nature of Achilles and Patroclus' relationship is never explicitly stated, the small illustrations of their love for one another, whether platonic or romantic, are just gorgeous. Once again, I found myself hoping that the author might just flip the myth on its head... and this in a book that's not meant to be as sympathetic to them!
The book also conveys the harsh realities of 10 years living in a war camp and the bloodiness of battle, without being overly graphic or sensationalist. It's atmospheric and not pleasant at times, but it's never difficult to read.
There is a dual POV set up, alternating chapters between Briseis in the first person, and Achilles in the third. Switching between first and third person is one of the writing devices I struggle with, and yet it STILL manages to flow and keep me engaged.
This book deserves its accolades and is one I would definitely recommend. Book two is on order at the library, so I'll look forward to continuing this series soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Classism