Elektra: A Novel of the House of Atreus by Jennifer SaintMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was provided an audio arc via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.
I loved this! I've always loved Greek mythology and I'm really enjoying the retellings from the female perspective. If you enjoyed Ariadne or Circe, you are going to love this! I really enjoyed Ariadne by the same author, and was really excited to see she had another retelling coming out. This follows Elektra, Cassandra, and Clytemnestra who are all tied to the house of Atreus in some way. They were all mentioned in the mythology I've read over the years, but not in great detail. Most of what we know about the Trojan war focuses on the men Achilles, Paris, Hector, etc. with Helen being the main woman involved in the conflict. This spans the years before, during and after the war. While Helen is mentioned, Clytemnestra, Helen's twin is one of our main narrator's and she gives us alot of commentary leading up to the events that take place throughout the story. I really enjoyed Saint's poetic writing style and it works really well in the format of a retelling of Greek myths.
Each of the women give us a very different perspective of the events that are taking place throughout their lives. Each one of them has suffered great betrayals and has a very different view on the Trojan war. Clytemnestra is wants to save her sister, but is filled with rage by the acts of her husband. Cassandra is cursed by Apollo and is forced to watch her beloved city fall and can do nothing to stop it. Elektra, daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, is saddened by what her father has done, but like many Greeks accepts that it was necessary to please the gods. She cannot accept her mothers behavior and feels she has dishonored their family. In the end all three women end up in very similar situations and their lives are filled with violence and sadness. Some of the tragedy that befell them was of their own making, while some of it was at the hands of those they kept company with.
I very much enjoyed the audio narration. Each character is voiced by a different narrator so you can tell the different women apart while listening. I do think it would have been nice had they announced which perspective each chapter was from, which may be resolved in the final audiobook. I understand that the print book has the name listed in the chapter heading.
View all my reviews
I loved this! I've always loved Greek mythology and I'm really enjoying the retellings from the female perspective. If you enjoyed Ariadne or Circe, you are going to love this! I really enjoyed Ariadne by the same author, and was really excited to see she had another retelling coming out. This follows Elektra, Cassandra, and Clytemnestra who are all tied to the house of Atreus in some way. They were all mentioned in the mythology I've read over the years, but not in great detail. Most of what we know about the Trojan war focuses on the men Achilles, Paris, Hector, etc. with Helen being the main woman involved in the conflict. This spans the years before, during and after the war. While Helen is mentioned, Clytemnestra, Helen's twin is one of our main narrator's and she gives us alot of commentary leading up to the events that take place throughout the story. I really enjoyed Saint's poetic writing style and it works really well in the format of a retelling of Greek myths.
Each of the women give us a very different perspective of the events that are taking place throughout their lives. Each one of them has suffered great betrayals and has a very different view on the Trojan war. Clytemnestra is wants to save her sister, but is filled with rage by the acts of her husband. Cassandra is cursed by Apollo and is forced to watch her beloved city fall and can do nothing to stop it. Elektra, daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, is saddened by what her father has done, but like many Greeks accepts that it was necessary to please the gods. She cannot accept her mothers behavior and feels she has dishonored their family. In the end all three women end up in very similar situations and their lives are filled with violence and sadness. Some of the tragedy that befell them was of their own making, while some of it was at the hands of those they kept company with.
I very much enjoyed the audio narration. Each character is voiced by a different narrator so you can tell the different women apart while listening. I do think it would have been nice had they announced which perspective each chapter was from, which may be resolved in the final audiobook. I understand that the print book has the name listed in the chapter heading.
