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Ithaca: The exquisite, gripping tale that breathes life into ancient myth (The Songs of Penelope)

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She has a lot of vulnerability as well with her worries for her son Telemachus (who I personally did not gel with) and just all the things Odysseus has left her with.

Ithaca is an interesting addition to the wave of retellings and companion stories of classic tales from Greek mythology.In the classical mythos, she is often portrayed negatively, punishing ones whom her husband slept with. Having the goddess narrating it all has advantages, like a bird's eye view of the entirety of Ithaca and beyond, and that she can tell the inner doings as well as the behaviour of everyone on the island, noble and slave, which wouldn't be possible with a sole, human POV. Thus, I spent a surprising amount of time reading up on the archaeological evidence of the tin and amber trade and maritime traffic in that era, since there needed to be reasons why anyone would care about the western isles at all, and not much time worrying about the legacy of Hercules.

There are main characters too, of course, who do have more onpage time, but Hera is fickle and arbitrarily decides who gets her attention best, favouring a character that's not Penelope. But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women - and their goddesses - that will change the course of the world. We know, of course, that Penelope is holding down the palace in Ithaca, fending off suitors left and right. Complex and musing, this is a retelling that praises the wit and rage of women who are ready to leave the background, and lead with a force long repressed. In addition to tactfully handling the volatile situation with her suitors, she is also troubled by the presence of a queen being hunted by her vengeful children for murdering their father.

Only through cunning, wit, and her trusted circle of maids, can she maintain the tenuous peace needed for the kingdom to survive. Equally, given there is so much mythology, you’re inevitably forced to make decisions about which bits you’re just going to wiggle around, both for narrative effect and also because it raises such awkward questions as “wait, how old was Achilles’ son when he burned Troy to the ground? On the one hand, I love any chance to revisit these stories I love, especially if told in a way that gives me a new perspective. Ancient geopolitics, espionage, treachery, and games of power make it thrilling, and deeply personal stakes make it intimate and focused.

The author also used modern words and phrases scattered throughout the work which completely broke the little immersion there was with this book.Hera, as a narrator, does not mince her words –be it on her opinions about her husband’s amorous exploits or her true feeling about her stepchildren, her observations on Penelope’s suitors or her biased opinions of the Grecian queens among whom Clytemnestra is her favorite. But, this very style of POV has the disadvantage that for its very nature keeps you at arm's length and detached from the characters.

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