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Absolutely loved it possibly the only book which has made me want to read Homer and Iliad ! Superb , In fact loved it so much I raced out to buy stone blind and have ordered her other books from the library - a new fav author and how talented this lady is when you look at her career makes one feel rather dull !

After not enjoying mythology retellings but loving Stone Blind, I thought I‘d give another Haynes book a try. I did find this a little flat in places and sometimes a little hard to get into with such a large cast of characters, but parts were fabulous, like Penelope‘s letters to Odysseus. A low pick for me.

eleventh book of summer

#julybookspinbingo here we go !

It's great that all these women are finally given voices, their stories are finally told, their experiences are finally put into focus.
Calliope's chapters felt a bit didactic, a bit overexplaining to me, but I enjoyed everything else. Each voice was distinct and authentic. Penelope's letters and her sarcasm especially grew on me.

This was great - the feelings and passion and ANGER of the Greek and Trojan women was fascinating and fantastic. I liked learning about lesser known Greek characters

Finished this a bit ago, but life's been busy (not for the dog lol) and I think the reviews are pretty unanimous!
My faves were Penelope and well, the muse.

"But you could abandon someone and still miss them."

The Trojan War, as told by the women - this book was amazing! I think my favorite chapters were the letters from Penelope to Odysseus, as she got more and more frustrated with his long absense

Off to bed with my Christmas gift from @LittleMouse5708 - it is sooooooo good so far!!

I could'nt read read this book as fast as I usually do. It was a bit hard because is about how women lose everything during a war.

My October reads. Some reading time is still being taken up by studying 😩. I‘ve been on a bit of a Natalie Haynes binge after seeing her at this year‘s Cheltenham Literature Festival.

#OctoberReads

1. Yes, and yes, I would. 2. I really liked A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes and The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (the audiobook is great!). Last week, I found a hardcover copy of Circe by Madeline Miller at our local library book sale for $2. I was very excited about that! #Two4Tuesday

This book begs to be compared to Circe and Song of Achilles, but its carefully interwoven narrative, diverse array of POV characters, and absolutely stunning writing helps it stand out from Miller‘s excellent offerings. Loved it.

“But this is a women's war, just as much as it is the men's, and the poet will look upon their pain - the pain of the women who have always been relegated to the edges of the story, victims of men, survivors of men, slaves of men - and he will tell it, or he will tell nothing at all. They have waited long enough for their turn”

I loved this retelling as much as Circe and Song of Achilles. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Today‘s #bookmail has a very small bit for me (tagged, and maybe the Blyton set) and a great deal for the kiddo.

Pulling from every corner of the Trojan War, this offers overdue depth &dimension to the female cast of Homer‘s epics. I appreciate that it gives voice to Penelope‘s frustration & fatigue, something I‘ve wanted since reading The Odyssey. (I prefer a woman to a symbol. Let her be more than her fidelity.) I also came to know & feel for characters like Iphigenia, Creusa, Andromache - typically footnoted names I‘d long forgotten or maybe never knew.

Really enjoyed this alternative telling of the Trojan War, through the eyes of the many affected women. The classicist in me had a total nerd out and nice to revisit some great myths! Makes me want to re-read some of the old tragedies 👀

And my #bookspinbingo board!

Although the book for me came nowhere near Circe or Song of Achilles, it was still an amusing read. To consider the Trojan war from the point of view of a chorus of women and goddesses was original and cool! A light pick.

Thanks Cindy for sending me this one. It makes the challenges so much easier 😉🤣😘

#Booked2022 #ThinkGreek #FoodAndLit

I‘m loving these female centered retellings!

Next up -
I‘ve heard Natalie Haynes on BBC and can‘t wait to read all of her books.

I read this over a day, unable to put it down. The format reminds me of Homegoing where each chapter is a different tiny glimpse of life. The author did an amazing job of having me care about these characters and be invested in the when some you only saw for a couple pages.

"I hope that at the end of this book ... readers might feel that heroism is something that can reside in all of us, particularly if circumstances push it to the fore. It doesn't belong to men anymore than the tragic consequences of war belong to women. Survivors, victims, perpitrators, these roles are not always separate. People can be wounded and wounding at the same time or at different times in the same life."

I am in stunned awe.

?????

Full review to come.

This is an impulse read for #WinterGames2021 #TeamGameSleighers @StayCurious

#WrapItUpReadathon @keys_on_fire

This was an interesting take on the Trojan war and moved women into the spotlight. It was well done but I thought it would be better with multiple narrators for the Audiobook. But I did love the back and forth between all the different women who were experiencing the fall of Troy and how the gods play with the humans who worshipped them.

#WinterGames #RandomRead 10 pts + 1 for participation.

#WeekendReads

1.) Current Reads: Audiobook: Tagged Book Physical Book: The Valcourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories Vol 5 Edited By: Christopher Philippo

2.) Fav Thing about Winter: Watching the Snow Fall Outside my Window.

3.) In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren, it was by first book by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope to read more by those two in the upcoming year.

@rachelsbrittain

Tag Your It @Bookgoil

So December is looking a lot different then what I originally thought with regards to setting up my #BookBingo Card. The tagged book is my next book. I am two books away from finishing reading a 125 books for 2021.

I loved this mix of stories about the women of the Trojan War. The premises reminded me of The Red Tent, a long time favorite. It‘s always refreshing to hear the women‘s stories. I suck at Greek Mythology and who‘s who which put me at a disadvantage but still a fun read. *disclaimer: Wikipedia was my friend during this read

"And revenge, when it came, came from another quarter altogether, and it rolled out onto the ground, gleaming and golden."

#Apples #GratefulHarvest
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

#Netgalley #ARC #ThousandShips

One word review - Epic

Great retelling of the Greek myths from the woman‘s point of view.

Interesting use of different narrative techniques, my favourite being Penelope‘s letters to Odysseus. The whole story of the Odyssey told as the story of one man who will do anything to avoid coming home to his loyal and faithful wife.

This book was very well written!! I think I just had the same issue with it that I had with Circe - I remember too much from high school classics that the book doesn‘t keep me totally gripped. A very cool female perspective of a well known story!!!

Not a big secret that I‘m a fan of Greek mythology, and the Trojan War has always been of particular interest to me (I‘m an Achilles fangirl from way back)… I was so excited to read this retelling of the fall of Troy from the perspective of the (usually marginalized) women, and Haynes did not disappoint.

Beautiful writing and heartbreaking voices, but not really told in chronological order, so some basic knowledge would help going in.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎸🎸🎸 Let‘s go girls

I am glad to have read some tellings and retellings of Greek mythology before reading this because I was able to appreciate the different perspectives from these women of stories I was familiar with that I wouldn‘t understand as well without having some groundwork.

I love retellings and enjoyed this one of the Trojan year, told from the perspective of the women. I think I like Madeline Miller‘s Circe more though! Starting The Song of Achilles next month as well as a reread of The Iliad, Caroline Alexander‘s translation.

Long day and not over. But grabbing a glass of wine and diving into this. I love Greek mythology and classics and love retelling. This is right up my alley. Planning to begin a reread of The Iliad next month—the new translation!—and willl be reading Song of Achilles for September book club.

I really enjoyed this book. It was refreshing to hear from the women who normally are sidelined (if they‘re lucky enough to be mentioned in there in the first place) in the original epic - to know how they feel, hear their intimate thoughts & explore their personalities.

The only person I found annoying was Penelope, who was very whiny.

Apart from the book itself, the afterword was really enjoyable and a delight to read. 100% pick!

Not a bad telling of the fall of Troy from the women's perspective. The horrors inflicted are hard to get through, so go in prepared. The bravery and absolute dedication to vengeance is impressive. My least favorite was Penelope pining over Odysseus, I skipped a chapter or two when she came up.

I am posting one book per day from my to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new - don‘t judge me I have a lot of books.
Join the fun if you want. This is day 213.
#bookstoread
#tbrpile
#bookstagram

I listened to the audiobook read by the author, I loved this book. It is important to pay close attention to chapter titles to make sure you know where you are in the book, but once I got used to that the flow was easier. I also highly recommend listening to the afterward, the author‘s obvious and genuine joy in her subject shines brightly.

I was a little hesitant when I first started this book. It changes between many perspectives, so the flow was a bit off for me. However, once I got 60-70 pages in, I couldn‘t put it down.

This is a retelling of the Trojan war told from the women‘s perspectives. It was interesting to read this version since I‘ve read Song of Achilles and Circe and those characters obviously show up in this book. I really liked this book.

#LMPBC

“A war does not ignore half the people whose lives it touches, so why do we?”
The epic of the Trojan War told by the women. The Amazon who fought in it. The woman the war was started over. The woman left at home while her husband fought. The woman whose home and town was destroyed. Etc. I‘m absolutely loving this period of Greek stories written from the women‘s perspective.

#MidYearFaves #Day7 of 10

Beautifully written and feminist AF, this novel gives a voice to the silenced women of the Trojan war myths. As time goes back and forth, this novel tells stories from the perspective of goddesses and wives, daughters and warriors, showing the affects of these mythical events and the consequences of vengeful wars waged by men. These women come alive in these stories, strong and brave and feisty. I absolutely loved it.

Just finished this beautiful book. As the cover quote states, this is a fiercely feminist book featuring the viewpoints of the many women of the Iliad. It is profoundly sad but definitely worth the read. Another #bookspinbingo read completed. #historicalfiction

This is my #bookspin for June & one I have seen often on Litsy. I loved it. I enjoyed it more than The Silence of the Girls because it was more focused on the women‘s stories. Loved the structure & number of women included. 4.5/5 stars Great book! @TheAromaofBooks

I want to start my book. Gatsby wants her dinner. Who will win this battle of wills?

Do you know how you feel like a book is an experience? Completely absorbing and beautiful? And an author absolutely has the talent and skill to pull you in to feel like a character is everything even when their arc is only a few pages long? That is this book for me. I will be buying it, recommending it and gifting it. @Lesanne I‘m just so glad you chose this for #lmpbc ❤️🥳🎉❤️

💔

I really enjoyed this new addition to the retelling/ reimagining of the Trojan War. Told entirely through the women‘s voices; we hear from wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, goddesses, Queens, princesses and nymphs as they weave in and out of the decades before, during and after the Trojan War. I switched from print to audio but enjoyed both.