A review by doctorknitter
The Penelopiad: The Play by Margaret Atwood

3.0

I've read a few retelling of Greek mythology from a female perspective, and this was the worst one despite being from a popular author I recognized. If I hadn't know this was written by a woman, I'd have been sure it was a man's misguided way of trying to make a female character and failing. From constantly bashing Helen of Troy to making penelope a sad weeping pathetic wife, I was really shocked at how this was done. It's still an interesting story, and it is very well written, and it may have been a conscious choice to depict the characters in this way, but I didn't enjoy reading it becsuse of that. I've come to expect retellings of stories from a female perspective to have complex and strong females learning and growing and having identities outside their husband's and fathers and sons-and this didn't feel like it did that at all. If you got the same feeling and want the mythology and to feel good about the women in it getting a fair portrayal try this list in order of how well written I felt they were: Circe, Ariadne, A Spartans sorrow, Athenas child