A review by larade
Daughters of Sparta by Claire Heywood

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

3.5

In her novel, Heywood builds on the well-known myths surrounding Helen and Klytemnestra by adding historically authentic details and giving the two women room to reclaim their respective narratives. 

For a while, I was sure this would be a five star read! I loved hearing about the sisters' different approaches to the fates they were handed and thoroughly enjoyed the way the narrative was built up. The pacing was great up until the beginning of the Trojan War when it, unfortunately, changed drastically. 

I understand why the author did not want to linger too much on this timespan, given how many other novels are already covering it extensively. Nonetheless, the frequent time jumps made the story suddenly feel unnecessarily rushed and made me lose grasp on the characters. Helen, who had been so promising before, suddenly became incredibly shallow - to a point where I felt as though I was reading about an entirely different person. While I still enjoyed Klytemnestra's chapters, the way her storyline was cut off did not work for me at all and made me wonder whether there would be a sequel. (There isn't. You'll have to go back to the Greek tragedies for that.) 

All in all, this book had a lot of potential. The writing is great! About two thirds of the story are incredibly reflective and emotional! I just wish it hadn't steered off track as much as it did towards the end.




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