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A review by mercibeauk
The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes
3.5
I definitely went through a mythology obsession as a teen and it has been fun to get back into it as an adult. This book focuses on the female characters who are often set aside in the traditional stories. This book tells the story of Jocasta, the mother of Oedipus, and Ismene, Jocasta's youngest daughter. I think it helpful to have a foundational knowledge of Oedipus and the story of Antigone for this book.
I loved how the author gave depth to Jocasta and Ismene's characters and fleshed out the story. I actually really appreciated the changes to the storyline and the tension created by the different timelines of the story.
Something I struggled with in this book was that the author often "told" us what was happening instead of "depicting" in the story what was occurring. This might be a preference of mine, but I found myself skipping through some paragraphs when it was just the "telling" of events because it felt tedious to read. I overall enjoyed the story and feel like this is a really great retelling and reframing of a classing Greek tragedy.
3.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this ARC.
I loved how the author gave depth to Jocasta and Ismene's characters and fleshed out the story. I actually really appreciated the changes to the storyline and the tension created by the different timelines of the story.
Something I struggled with in this book was that the author often "told" us what was happening instead of "depicting" in the story what was occurring. This might be a preference of mine, but I found myself skipping through some paragraphs when it was just the "telling" of events because it felt tedious to read. I overall enjoyed the story and feel like this is a really great retelling and reframing of a classing Greek tragedy.
3.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this ARC.