A review by _rowantree_
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

dark emotional slow-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 perspective that is definitely missing from most of our stories, and it was written in a very nuanced way. That said, for some reason I felt a bit detached from the characters. For me, this book works better as a prompt for discussion rather than to take the reader into the experiences the characters are going through. This book very deliberately tells the story of the Iliad through a female narrator, but I think I would have got more out of it if it had been her story rather than Achilles’.

This book is unsurprisingly very violent and sexual violence plays a big role, but I did appreciate that it never felt like a gratuitous portrayal of rape
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