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hannahcstocks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
nehaanna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Homophobia, Incest, Sexism, and Alcohol
alice_underland's review against another edition
- 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
Whether you’ve read the play and read a retelling or simply wanted to read about a complex and strong women character, look no further. Casanti does an amazing job of expanding on Clytenmstra’s life and of her family.
I looked forward to what books this amazing author had to bring.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War
adayania's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
fragrant_stars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Homophobia, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Incest, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Colonisation
celery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
missgarceau's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.25
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
ashhearddwrites's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Sexism, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, Slavery, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Incest, and Sexual content
indyjg's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Casati paints her in such a unique light as a terrifying, cunning, brutal, yet powerful woman who does not forget what Agamemnon has taken from her. A mother who, at times, is not present for her surviving children. A Queen who does not hesitate to eliminate her enemies. But on the other side of the coin, her suffering evokes deep emotion that draws you in while fleshing out her motivations and desires. She is a mother grieving her child. She is a murderess <i>and</i> a widow, the Queen of Mycenae. Clytemnestra personifies vengeance, grief and tragedy. She is many things all at once. The beauty of Clytemnestra is her complexity, her duality as the morally grey Queen of Mycenae who does not forgive <i>or</i> forget.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the first segment, which explored Clytemnestra's childhood and how Casati frames both Helen and Clytemnestra's lifepaths running parallel to each other. Both daughters of Sparta are tied to the House of Atreus, their lives stricken by tragedy and death. I wish there was more resolution for Helen and her story, as yes, this is Clytemnestra's story, but Casati establishes Helen's own story parallel to her sister's. It is clear that Helen harbours a similar rage to her sister, and it pains me that there's no payoff. She endures similar hardships as her sister, at the hands of Theseus and later Menelaus.
The latter is 'chosen' to be her husband (or rather, an illusion of choice is given), and he becomes the King of Sparta, ruling over the polis she grew up in. The city-state that she, the daughter of King Tyndareus, has more claim to. He is distant from their daughter, Hermione, and their resentment builds. In her letter, never sent but written after a certain event involving wind, we learn of her hatred towards Paris and how the sole fault of the war settles on her shoulders, Paris seemingly unconcerned about his responsibilities. And then there is no resolution!!! (The three exclamation marks are to describe my sadness.)
Now, don't lose me here. But. I had hoped that just as Clytemnestra's complexities and dualities were explored and elaborated upon to understand her character better, I wished the same had been done for Agamemnon. Now he is by no means my favourite character in the Iliad or Odyssey, but I had hoped he would be given the same respect to flesh out his actions and motivations, his grief. Even if through Clytemnestra's perspective, but alas. In not doing so, Agamemnon has been rendered a rather one-dimensional villain when in reality, his character is just as rich and complex as Clytemnestra. And there was room to flesh out his motivations in this book and explore his moral greyness. Those are the only two things I'm a bit sad about.
All in all, even though it took me just under a month to read (life happens), I adored this book even with despite its slight imperfections. So it gets 4.5 stars from me, rounded down to 4 for Goodreads.
Graphic: Child death, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Slavery
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
madelinequinne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This story is incredible, filled with female rage and agony, told in such a beautiful way! I couldn’t stop reading, I just needed to not what happened next. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in ancient greece and the queens of that time
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail