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pedanther'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
4.25
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
woolgathering_jane'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
„Love is for fools and children.“
„And yet we live, Leaneira. We live.“
What a masterpiece of a book, wow. The prose was excellent, it reminded me of the Bridgerton narrator, but like hundred times better. It's witty, engaging and easy to read. The story was unfolding at a slower, but nevertheless enjoyable pace, and I loved how the narrator didn't tell us everything, how we were invited to think about the story and its characters and come to our own conclusions about some things. I adored the wide cast of woman characters, who were all masterfully written - complex, sometimes unlikeable and messy, driven, and so real. The only issue I had that there - ironically - too many male characters for me to keep track of, I kept forgetting who was who, lol. It also felt like just a glimpse into the lives of the gods and the mortals alike, like there is so much more to come - you can imagine my delight when I found out that this is the start of a series.
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Death, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
zemightyenby'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Sexism, and Blood
Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence
sirenricobooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism
Moderate: Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Pregnancy
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The story of the women of Ithaca awaiting the return of Odysseus from the Trojan War, narrated by Hera.
This was the inaugural pick for my new book club Myth of the Month and it was fun way to kick off the year! I thought the narration was hilarious and really enjoyed Hera as a storyteller. That said, I found the plot a bit slow-moving, and felt like not very much happened…by the time things started to pick up towards the end, the book was over, and I felt like the entire story was more of a set-up for a sequel than a standalone novel.
Still, if you enjoy feminist mythology retellings, this one was beautifully written, and I would still recommend it overall, particularly if you like a more character-driven narrative!
CW: Murder/blood; death of parent; sexual violence; slavery
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and War
maddlecat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: Slavery
sauvageloup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pros:
- the characters all have distinct personalities and dialogue, which is written well. Penelope is focused, hera is snippy, telemachus is foolish, etc. but they're all complex too. there were some nice additions to the canon, kenamon and teodora (or I didnt remember them anyway), and it was nice having some decent characters.
- there is dry humor, especially in here's perspective
- I like the concept on focusing on outwardly quieter female power, and looking at hera and penelope, and the other women from a different angle than the mythology does.
cons:
- it did feel too slow a lot of the time, with a lot of meandering and introspection.
- it was frustrating seeing telemachus ignore his mother repeatedly, and aspects of the myths play out, but that's not a book criticism, just that inevitable tragedy isnt rly my genre.
so overall, I appreciated the writing quality and definitely enjoyed meeting Claire North and hearing her discuss her work, but this wasnt quite my type of book, a bit too slow.
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Xenophobia
cathy_alice's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, and War
Moderate: Slavery
booksthatburn'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? It's complicated
5.0
One of the difficulties in embarking upon retellings of Greek myths for a modern reader is that merely trying to lay out the relevant backstory involves listing several people Zeus assaulted, and a great deal of other violence, just to say the origins of a particular hero or the parentage of a demigod. ITHACA has a refreshing and circumspect approach to this and other similar difficulties which come from delving into stories where women were generally not considered to be full persons. ITHACA aims to tells the stories of the people the poets ignored, the women and slaves who were excised from their own stories (unless relegated to paragons of virtue or warnings of catastrophe). Hera is the narrator, telling what happened while Odysseus was on Calypso's Island, indulging in passion, and Penelope is at home in Ithaca, keeping dozens of suitors at bay. She keeps them just hopeful enough to refrain from war against Ithaca to claim her hand and her husband's responsibilities. In this retelling, there’s a cleverness and frustration to Hera. She, who was the goddess of queens, made small by Zeus and the imaginations of mortal men. Squeezed into the role of the goddess of wives, stifled by the implication that wives and mothers are less than men and distinct from warriors. Instead, ITHACA slowly disrupts that status quo as Penelope shows how she is a queen in fact and in name.
Because everything is from Hera's perspective, she doesn’t know exactly what Penelope is thinking. Hera's most frequent interactions are with Athena and Artemis, as she is deliberately hiding her activities from Zeus, and any god who might carry tales to him. There’s a loneliness and a hunger in Hera, as the way she can only accomplish things while beneath Zeus's notice mirrors the way that the wives, mothers, and queens, who pray to her must conceal their cleverness. When they produce something that men like, their ingenuity is misunderstood, or assumed to have another cause. When their cleverness threatens the men, either truly or only in their minds, then the women must be stopped through social pressure or violence.
The suitors cannot believe that Penelope continues to feed so many without gold, refusing to accept that she is a shrewd tradeswoman who manages her household well. Those who press her on the matter seem to think that hidden gold is a readier explanation than competent husbandry of goats. As if feasts are made of metal and gems, the men refuse to understand that barter and bargain can produce feasts with the resources of the farms and fields.
I’m very pleased with the worldbuilding, the narrative style, the focus as shaped through Hera, and many small moments in the story. I’m very excited to read more, and I’m glad this is a series instead of a standalone book.
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
theblerdnewsletter'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? No
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and War