Scan barcode
A review by likhatera
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ, ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ.
๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ณ๐บ, ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด.
๐๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ; ๐ ๐ฆ๐ด. ๐ ๐ฆ๐ด.โ
โ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ณ
In this epic retelling of the Greek myth, rage becomes the fascinatingly complex woman that is Clytemnestra, sister of the beguiling Helen, daughter of Leda, wife of Agamemnon. In an ocean of female rage and ambition, the fierce princess of Sparta grows up to become the powerful, feared queen of Mycenae. Her story is not an easy one to digest, as it takes us through utterly dark tragedies full of betrayal and violence that make her the queen she eventually becomes. I think whatโs unforgettable about her is exactly what drew the author to her story in the first place: she is a woman who refuses to know her place and, because of this, is hated and vilified by the men around her. It is inevitable that the book raises important questions on our perceptions and judgments of womenโs pain, power and sexuality.
The bloodshed is disturbingly epic, as expected in any retelling of Greek mythology; however, what I found interesting is the way Casati uses the raw and twisted details to reveal a morally ambiguous heroine that is capable of both love and ruthlessness. She is written with a vulnerability that opens us up to the experiences of a woman simply trying to survive the brutalities she undergoes at the hands of manipulative, violent men. A flawed character motivated by the need to make right all the wrongdoings done to her. She pulls herself out of the horrible things she has had to live through and, because of that, we have no choice but to wholly empathise with the vengeance that consumes her.
For the better part of this year, anger is something Iโve tried to embrace as part of the human experience. Rather than shying away from the emotions that come with it, Iโve tried to acknowledge and honour, not suppress and shrink like we are conditioned to do. Female rage always seems to be intellectually entertained as a concept, but very rarely recognised or respected IRL, which is why itโs so exciting to read in fiction in the first place.
๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ณ๐บ, ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด.
๐๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ; ๐ ๐ฆ๐ด. ๐ ๐ฆ๐ด.โ
โ ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ณ
In this epic retelling of the Greek myth, rage becomes the fascinatingly complex woman that is Clytemnestra, sister of the beguiling Helen, daughter of Leda, wife of Agamemnon. In an ocean of female rage and ambition, the fierce princess of Sparta grows up to become the powerful, feared queen of Mycenae. Her story is not an easy one to digest, as it takes us through utterly dark tragedies full of betrayal and violence that make her the queen she eventually becomes. I think whatโs unforgettable about her is exactly what drew the author to her story in the first place: she is a woman who refuses to know her place and, because of this, is hated and vilified by the men around her. It is inevitable that the book raises important questions on our perceptions and judgments of womenโs pain, power and sexuality.
The bloodshed is disturbingly epic, as expected in any retelling of Greek mythology; however, what I found interesting is the way Casati uses the raw and twisted details to reveal a morally ambiguous heroine that is capable of both love and ruthlessness. She is written with a vulnerability that opens us up to the experiences of a woman simply trying to survive the brutalities she undergoes at the hands of manipulative, violent men. A flawed character motivated by the need to make right all the wrongdoings done to her. She pulls herself out of the horrible things she has had to live through and, because of that, we have no choice but to wholly empathise with the vengeance that consumes her.
For the better part of this year, anger is something Iโve tried to embrace as part of the human experience. Rather than shying away from the emotions that come with it, Iโve tried to acknowledge and honour, not suppress and shrink like we are conditioned to do. Female rage always seems to be intellectually entertained as a concept, but very rarely recognised or respected IRL, which is why itโs so exciting to read in fiction in the first place.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War