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withlivjones's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Period-typical attitudes towards women