A review by stuff4bd
Phaedra by Laura Shepperson

dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0 

I am so happy to read another retelling of Greek mythology from a female point of view. While Phaedra has an easier time than many of the females in the book she is still treated as an object. She has no value as a person but is something to be bartered or used as a broodmare.  The  atrocities committed against the female servants are so commonplace that they are ignored by all, except Phaedra. While I liked this book and the story of Phaedra, there were a few things that were off the mark in this retelling. First was the night chorus, These sections felt out of place and i thought the message and information could have been woven into the story in a better way.  Second there were too many change of point of view.  At first I liked the thought of servant voices being part of the story as they are generally excluded from literature, but to have a point of view that only has one or two short chapters. Also including chapters of the king’s advisor in a woman’s retelling  unnecessarily diluted the strength of Phaedra’s voice. Finally the compression of the timeline was overreaching   In the book Phaedra had no happiness. Her time with her two other children would have made her final choices all the more poignant.

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