Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Elektra

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

113 reviews

emilie_anine's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

Even months after reading it, I still don’t understand what purpose any of the characters served.

The most interesting character, in my opinion, died somewhat pointlessly and it just felt like it didn’t make sense for her to have been in the book at all

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tourmaline1703's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

I have been reading many mythological or historical retellings recently because I adoe these influences on literature, and this was another great mythological retelling. Blending the stories of the Trojan War and Orestes whilst recentering the story onto Clytemnestra, Cassandraand Elektra, Jennifer Saint creates an emotional exploration of grief, family and revenge in 'Elektra.' The worldbuilding is great, and accessible to anyone, whether or not you have previous knowledge of Greek myth.

The writing is descriptive and engaging, allowing you to truly feel the characters' emotions as their lives are turned upside down. The story is told from the three women's point of view, and each character's personality and feelings are distinguishable from the way Saint writes in each of their chapters. The contrast between mourning in sadness, in Cassandra's case, tothe vengeful grieving of Elektra and Clytemnestra is beautifully shown.

I found the plot to be well paced and intriguing, urging you to turn the page and see how everything unfolded. I thought the multiple perspectives were very effective and allowed the timeline to be clear, whilst building suspense for when the stories finally intertwined. I liked the characters as they were well developed and their relationships to each other were interesting.

Whilst this was a great book, I couldn't fully invest myself in it and I felt like I wasn't completely hooked. It is undoubtedly an emotional story, but perhaps due to my prior knowledge, the tension wasn't as tense for me and I didn't feel as upset or shocked at certain actions.

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irinalast's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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mdal26's review

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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_vicreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was such a beautiful and moving read. The haunting curse of the House of Atreus, and of Cassandra, weaves through the pages and the actions of these women. From Helen and Clytemnestra to Cassandra and Elektra, these mothers, sisters, daughters, both control the story and are helpless to watch as it unfolds. My heart broke for both Elektra and Clytemnestra in their grief but then worried as I watched them pursue vengeance above all else. Poor, unheard Cassandra, woven into this story by Agamemnon and his pride, to find peace in death at last. I found the scene between Clytemnestra and Cassandra so moving, as well as the epilogue as Elektra reflects on all that’s unfollowed. Jennifer Saint writes so beautifully!

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