Though there were parts I didn't like this was, overall, a good reading experience.
Any retelling of mythology that centers on the female experience is sure to be a hit with me. And that was precisely the reason why I wanted to read this book. Here is the story not of a single woman but of all the women affected by the Trojan War. That really caught my interest and while this wasn't a 5 star read for me, it was still a good reading experience.
👍 What I Liked 👍
Experience: How many women were affected by the Trojan War? A ten year long war between two ancient super powers would suggest that it would be a fair amount of women. How many of them are actually named in the Homeric epos The Iliad? A smal handful. How many of those few are actually given a voice? Only a couple. This book is a valiant and admirable attempt to give these women their voices and their identities back. I liked how it aimed at showing the experience of all the women affected by the war, both high and low, Trojan and Greek.
Emotions: These women went through so much. A lot of the story follows the women after the war, as they wait to be taken away as slaves and playthings for the Greeks. The emotions of these experiences, were so raw and heart rendering that I actually cried. It's a powerful book and a powerful narrative, that can make you cry like that. And I appreciate it greatly.
👎 What I Disliked 👎
Timeline: I have read The Iliad several times and am very well acquainted with the story of the Trojan War. But for people who do not know the story, this book is not going to make a lot of sense I'm afraid. The timeline is broken up, flashes back and forth between past and present without establishing any sort of sequence for these flashes. I imagine it would be nearly impossible to make sense of these things without knowing the original story.
Penelope/Odysseus: The story of Penelope, the loyal and steadfast wife of the clever Odysseus, was handled quite badly in this book. Because the story was never about Penelope. It was always about Odysseus. And I didn't understand it! Haynes sets out to show the experience of the women affected by the war, but then she shortchanges Penelope in this way? It felt like a massive betrayal. Penelope's "story" is told through a series of letters that she writes to her missing husband, telling him the things she had heard of his voyage. Essentially, none of Penelope's story is actually about her. It's all about Odysseus only in her words. It didn't make any sense to me and it made me so angre that I ended up skipping all of these parts.
