Scan barcode
A review by vbzshenanigans
The Voyage Home by Pat Barker
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There are so many parts of Greek Mythology that we know, or we think we know - but the glorious part of retellings and adaptations (especially ones as incredible as this!) is the ability to continue adding to that pantheon.
The end of Cassandra's story is retold, this time mostly from the perspective of her enslaved maid/confidente Ritsa, who serves as an incredible reminder of the consequences of war on the 'common people'. Agamemnon is still just as awful and boorish, Clytemnestra is still a formidable force that is underestimated at people's peril and Cassandra is still a young woman that was stolen from her homeland and forced into a fatal situation.
I loved reading this story as much as I did Barker's other retellings that don't shy away from the brutality of women's experiences of war. These are not perfect characters to pity - nothing's that simple. But they are encapsulations of human experience; survival, love, grief...all of those remarkable things that unite us all.
The end of Cassandra's story is retold, this time mostly from the perspective of her enslaved maid/confidente Ritsa, who serves as an incredible reminder of the consequences of war on the 'common people'. Agamemnon is still just as awful and boorish, Clytemnestra is still a formidable force that is underestimated at people's peril and Cassandra is still a young woman that was stolen from her homeland and forced into a fatal situation.
I loved reading this story as much as I did Barker's other retellings that don't shy away from the brutality of women's experiences of war. These are not perfect characters to pity - nothing's that simple. But they are encapsulations of human experience; survival, love, grief...all of those remarkable things that unite us all.