Medium – Book
About the Book – Natalie Haynes tells the story of Troy from the point of view of the women involved. She uses women, girls and goddesses to paint a picture of the campaign and its aftermath, from both the point of view of the Greeks and Trojans and other interested parties. Each chapter is told by a different woman who played a part in the conflict (in some way) and each has a completely different voice. The stories are told through letters, first and third person narratives, and there is relatively little spoken about the men – although they are present, we are encouraged to think more about how the women survived or what their ultimate fates were – how they fought and the alliances they made.
My Rating – 5/5
My Thoughts – At the moment, there seem to be a profusion of books which are feminist retellings of Greek myths – and I absolutely love it! I have always been a fan of Greek myths and really enjoyed the books produced by Stephen Fry as well. I’ve read his book about Troy last year too and was interested to see how it would compare. This book is really refreshing as a way of bringing the women into the story of Troy. As stated in the book – ‘when men die it is an epic, when women die it is a tragedy’. Haynes seeks to make the stories of the women as epic as the stories of the men, and she manages it beautifully. I have to say, I didn’t think that the beginning chapters was necessarily gripping, but by the end of Chapter 2, I was enthralled.
I really enjoyed the ‘chopping and changing’ nature of the story – I liked the fact that Haynes cut between the women, and had a list of the women at the front in case I forgot who they are – there are loads of them! Some of the women we only meet once, for one chapter. They come in and make an impact and then are never seen again. Others stay with us through the book. I really liked the character of Cassandra, the daughter of the King of Troy. She was seen as being ‘mad’, but really the God Apollo had tried to rape her and cursed her to never be listened to when she spoke the truth about the future. Her story is sad, but also inspiring. Being able to see the future, she knows exactly what is in store for her, and she accepts it, and even makes an alliance towards the end. I would heartily recommend this book, or indeed any by Natalie Haynes!
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