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dedere'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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, and Violence
audreading's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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.bookdragonkatie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Incest
likhatera's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺, 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘺𝘦𝘴.
𝘉𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦; 𝘠𝘦𝘴. 𝘠𝘦𝘴.”
— 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘳
In this epic retelling of the Greek myth, rage becomes the fascinatingly complex woman that is Clytemnestra, sister of the beguiling Helen, daughter of Leda, wife of Agamemnon. In an ocean of female rage and ambition, the fierce princess of Sparta grows up to become the powerful, feared queen of Mycenae. Her story is not an easy one to digest, as it takes us through utterly dark tragedies full of betrayal and violence that make her the queen she eventually becomes. I think what’s unforgettable about her is exactly what drew the author to her story in the first place: she is a woman who refuses to know her place and, because of this, is hated and vilified by the men around her. It is inevitable that the book raises important questions on our perceptions and judgments of women’s pain, power and sexuality.
The bloodshed is disturbingly epic, as expected in any retelling of Greek mythology; however, what I found interesting is the way Casati uses the raw and twisted details to reveal a morally ambiguous heroine that is capable of both love and ruthlessness. She is written with a vulnerability that opens us up to the experiences of a woman simply trying to survive the brutalities she undergoes at the hands of manipulative, violent men. A flawed character motivated by the need to make right all the wrongdoings done to her. She pulls herself out of the horrible things she has had to live through and, because of that, we have no choice but to wholly empathise with the vengeance that consumes her.
For the better part of this year, anger is something I’ve tried to embrace as part of the human experience. Rather than shying away from the emotions that come with it, I’ve tried to acknowledge and honour, not suppress and shrink like we are conditioned to do. Female rage always seems to be intellectually entertained as a concept, but very rarely recognised or respected IRL, which is why it’s so exciting to read in fiction in the first place.
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War
soos14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Rape
sarah_speaks's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal death, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Incest, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and War
chattingmyth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment
artcish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and War
Minor: Child death, Death, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
marynograce827's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
elizcorgi's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual harassment, and War