wimzie's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.5


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savage_book_review's review against another edition

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dark informative slow-paced

3.0

As can easily be gleaned from my reading history, I do love me some Greek myth retellings. I've heard Natalie Haynes speak and be interviewed on several history podcasts I listen to, and she's always come across as bright, bubbly, funny and extremely knowledgeable about her specialist subject, so I thought I'd give this book a go, simply to get me a little more up to speed with the women of the Greek myths and to obtain a more female-centric view of them.

From very early on, the phrase that stuck in my head was 'stream of consciousness'. The writing is interesting and thought-provoking, but it makes for breathless reading - it came across to me as if the author simply couldn't type the words out quickly enough to keep up with her thought process. One line of examination flowed seamlessly into another; while in general that's a good thing, it made it very difficult to discern the point she was making.

The language used clearly puts this book well within reach of a general audience, but at the same time this is not a book to pick up if you only have a passing knowledge of the women and the myths studied. I class myself in that category - I could place most of the women in the right 'place' in the myths, but aside from that my awareness is in fact relatively limited. As a result, once again it became very hard to keep track of exactly what the author was trying to say - it was only with the last couple of women studied that a clearer recap of their 'standard' stories was included. Otherwise, it felt very much like being thrown in at the deep end, and therefore perhaps more appropriate for those with more expertise. I though this was a shame, as if matters were drawn out a little more I think it would have made a truly fascinating read.

Because of both these elements, I found it a harder going read than expected; for a fairly short book, it was quite heavy-going. I could only digest it for about 20 minutes at a time before the weight became too much and my attention started to drift. I think this would be an incredibly useful reference book if you were studying a particular myth or work such as the Iliad, as it would counter the male gaze of the main story and allow you to consider an alternative perspective. Likewise, if you were focused on one particular female from the pantheon, you might find her chapter in here a great source of information. But otherwise it's just not got that hook to make it a 'must read'.

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gaysian's review against another edition

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informative reflective fast-paced

4.5


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tashtasher's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0


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a_violentfemme's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I have a physical copy of this book but I'm so glad I listened to the audiobook. It was like listening to an extended episode of 'stand up for the classics' and I am a huge fan of the podcast. Haynes' writing is informative without be ng pretentious, is sometimes funny but always engaging and relevant. She is quickly becoming a "will always read" author for me.

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cozy_gh0st's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny informative fast-paced

5.0


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withlivjones's review against another edition

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informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

A really insightful and witty book about some of the most misunderstood women in Classical mythology. The level of detail in the analysis is insane and the amount of sources Haynes includes, from ancient writings to contemporary receptions, is so wide. And yet the tone is just about conversational enough for the book not to be preachy. I did find it a little dense in places and there were a few slightly unnecessary tangents, but overall I really enjoyed it and any book that describes Jason as “oily” is an automatic slay for me. 

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sunday_evening's review against another edition

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funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Overall I really liked this!!!!! I learned so much. Euripidies is my main bitch. There were sometimes I thought Haynes went on a tangent for a bit too long, especially in Phaedra’s chapter. I don’t feel like I learned as much about her as the others. But for the most part I found the tangents and anecdotes informative and interesting!!

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ajoyr's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.25


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sydapel's review against another edition

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informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

I really appreciated the in depth look at many different women in Greek myths, examining not just their portrayals in plays of the time, but their complex histories and trauma. Even with the most "evil" of them, Hayes gently reminds us of the context of their decisions and challenges our notions of their characters. There's also a reminder of the subtle power plays they employed, which I appreciated in contrast the to abject suffering. 

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