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Danielle Chaplin (81 KP) rated Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning, #2) in Books

Jun 7, 2019

Everything! (0 more)

Exceptional read

I could not put this book down once I had picked it up and I have re-read it so many times I've had to get a new copy! I loved the fresh take on the Persephone myth, it makes so much more sense in a way then the original story and is so well written that I felt everything that the main character was feeling and couldnt help but tear up at points.

If you love the Greek myths then you will not be able to forget this book! Not really suitable for younger readers but it isn't as graphic or sexual as other books I read when I was younger.

Kudos

The Midas Code (Tyler Locke #2)

Boyd Morrison

9.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Top army engineer Tyler Locke is given a mysterious ancient manuscript. Written in Greek, it...

Austerity Measures: The New Greek Poetry

Karen van Dyck

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

'I remember caresses, kisses, touching each other's hair. We had no sense that anything else...

The Golden Fleece

Robert Graves

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In order to reclaim his father's kingdom, Jason has been sent on an impossible mission - to take the...

ClareR (5841 KP) rated The Silence of the Girls in Books

Nov 14, 2018

The Silence of the Girls

Pat Barker | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry

8.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

A retelling from a different direction.

This isn't just a straightforward retelling of the Iliad. In fact it's not that at all. This is the story of Briseis (I even googled how to pronounce her name), the queen of one of Troy's neighbouring kingdoms. When her kingdom is sacked by Achilles, she is taken as a slave along with the women and girls who survive, whilst the remaining men and boys are killed. Briseis becomes Achilles concubine - a prize of a battle won.
The violence of war is so graphically described in this novel. Briseis, along with the other slave women, are supposed to care for these mens wounds and fulfil their every (sexual) wish - the very men who had murdered their husbands, fathers and sons.
I've never read a Greek myth from the point of view of the women - they were supposed to be silent. Their stories are forgotten, but Pat Barker brings them to life in this book. We hear their sadness, their worries, their opinions of their masters. I could almost smell the filth, smoke, food and sweat of the Greek camp (in reality, I would imagine that I'd walk in the other direction!).
I've always loved the Greek Myths: I read them as a child and a teenager, and I'm really enjoying the resurgence of these stories at the moment. This novel adds another dimension to these stories, which I really loved. I'd highly recommend this book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Hamish Hamilton for my copy of this book.