A review by lcgerstmann
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

3.0

This is my first book to read in "The Myths" series. It's hard to rate this book considering that I am probably biased, being a Margaret Atwood fan already and the fact that it was along time ago when I was in the 10th grade that I read the Iliad. I find amusement in Atwood's choice of myth to retell; what else should a feminist writer tackle expect for one of the biggest and most masculine heroes in all of literature...you go girl!!!. I did not recall the part of Homer's Odyssey where the 12 maids were hung but I can appreciate how the disturbing nature of their deaths haunted the author and why it became a part of this tale. I also can appreciate that the 12 maids chorus dispersed throughout the chapters of the book was in homage to the ways of the greek theatre and at times I found them darkly funny but also unnecessary. The storytelling and prose was surprisingly fluid and easy, a different style than other Atwood books. I am most of all inspired to reread Homer.