Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Dochters van Sparta

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Dochters van Sparta by Claire Heywood

12 reviews

reka111's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Sometimes we must be led by duty, and sometimes by what is right....The trick is to know when these things are the same, and when they are not

Okay, now how do i put into words a whole life feeling? I mean, really. I liked this book incredibly, oh my goodness, every minute of it.

I loved the characters, but especially Clytemnestra's passionate and well-developed soul, she is my favorite for sure. Helen, though likable, had actions i couldn't agree with, and what surprised me the most was that Menelaus was quite lovable on my part.

The plot was okay, it covered quite well what was supposed to happen but with minor changes. The time jumps were not distracting and the pace was adequate. The ending got a nice closure, I have no reason to complain about it. Overall, it brought the level I expected.

I recommend it to those who love warrior women who raise their voices and attack back. For those who love Greek mythology and are able to read anything to get closer to these legends.

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hayleemarie's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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abhss's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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withlivjones's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-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

3.75

This is a fantastic retelling of the stories of two of the most vilified women in Greek mythology. This book focuses heavily on Helen and Klytemnestra’s childhood experiences and how the small differences in them result in drastic differences to their behaviour as adults. The author provides us with a level of depth to their characters that isn’t provided in the source material, making them so much more sympathetic than many other interpretations have. Of course they have their flaws and make their mistakes, but since we clearly understand their motivations we have no choice but to root for them regardless. The prose is excellently written and gives a clear voice to both women’s feelings. And the men? We love to hate most of them, as it should be.

My one gripe with this book is that the pacing is rather inconsistent. The start is somewhat slow, and I am grateful for the time skips to ensure that the narrative doesn’t get boring. However, Helen’s “abduction” occurs over halfway through the book and the actual war doesn’t start until three quarters of the way through. From there, the pacing is almost breakneck as the author attempts to fit the nine-year Trojan war, as well as its aftermath, into under one hundred pages. I appreciate that retellings of the Trojan War, especially the events covered in the Iliad, have been done to death in other adaptations, but I feel that Helen’s perspective of more parts of the war, or even Klytemnestra’s reception of the news of certain events, could have enhanced the story. I was half expecting Kalchas to somehow make a return, either during the plague (which isn’t mentioned) or when the Trojan Horse arrives (which is alluded to in a single sentence), since he plays a significant role in the first half of the novel and then completely disappears after Iphigenia’s death. The book barely touches on the events of the Iliad and the Agamemnon and doesn’t even cover the Libation Bearers (leaving both Klytemnestra’s and Elektra’s arcs feeling somewhat unfinished), and I think that the author really could have taken advantage of the opportunity to discuss the motivations of Helen and Klytemnestra in these stories where their actions are so significant.

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mothman19's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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icarusandthesun's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative slow-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

3.5

a greatly informative book with freshly interesting new perspectives. i really enjoyed reading about helen and klytemnestra, especially their childhoods, and the life at court for a woman and (house)wife as well.
still, i thought the characters were pretty... vanilla? like especially the men. you hear stories about the men's rage and bitterness, about the sexism and misogyny, but the men in this book were kind of ... alright i guess?
they were abusive sometimes and assholes of course, but when it came down to it, all they did was scream, mostly. and menelaos was like a puppy idk
i also thought the book was too slow and long in the wrong places. helen's and klytemnestra's childhoods were interesting, but you could keep it shorter. for the first half of the book not a lot really happened. i had wished for more infos and stories beyond the trojan war, explore the lives after, but it just cut off there, after the war had ended.

really addictive writing tho, would still definitely recommend. an informative, lyrical gem—with flaws:)

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