Elektra: No.1 Sunday Times Bestseller from the Author of ARIADNE

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Jennifer Saint, thanks to a lifelong fascination with Ancient Greek mythology, read Classical Studies at King’s College, London. Five stars from me, but if you don’t love the Iliad, or Greek Mythology, it may not reach that level for you. The author does an excellent job of showing all the steps that led to the path this mother and daughter took and to the consequences that you know are inevitable.

Where women being shrugged off as crazy or emotional by men leads to the downfall of an entire city. I have always wanted to grow up to be the woman he thought I would become, the woman I could have been, if only he had been able to stay.This manages to recontextualize events and choices in terms of family relationships, motherhood, and trauma. She chooses not to see things from Clytemnestra’s POV where her father, Agamemnon (Clytemnestra’s husband) purposely murders and sacrifices Iphigenia for a wind to take the army to Troy. Clytemnestra’s hopes of averting the curse are dashed when her sister, Helen, is taken to Troy by the feckless Paris. For lovers of Greek Mythology, it is wonderful to see the world from the eyes and perspective of these women. Especially considering that this was a (feminist) retelling, it was aggravating to read that the girl first didn't acknowledge that her mother was using a man / boy to get revenge for Agamemnon's crime (as if only men could do that), while making excuses for her father despite him having killed her older sister, only to then turn on her mother for not seeing that everyone must be doing everything to please the gods (effectively not caring about her supposedly beloved sister) and plotting to murder Clytemnestra to avenge Agamemnon.

If he did it to indeed help his brother or because Troy was so rich and he wanted the spoils as well as the fame, we'll also never know for sure. A Greek mythology retelling, when done right, takes us into the hearts and minds of seemingly remote characters and makes them come alive.The author is brilliant in her portrayal of the strong emotions and complexities in these women- Clytemnestra’s rage and agony, Cassandra’s innocence, despair and frustration and Elektra’s loyalty, anger and desire for revenge. How could it be possible to rise every morning to that same grim, relentless slaughter, and then drink and sleep and wake to do it all again? She spent the next thirteen years as an English teacher, sharing a love of literature and creative writing with her students. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.