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ClareR (5849 KP) rated The Silence of the Girls in Books
Nov 14, 2018
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.
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.
The Greek Myths: The Complete and Definitive Edition
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Fantasy Romance Fairytale Retelling Brothers Grimm Welsh Mythology
Merissa (12674 KP) rated My Swan Prince in Books
Apr 1, 2025
MY SWAN PRINCE is a retelling of The Six Swans where one of the main characters (Max) is a descendant of the original swans and hates the story. The other MC (Lourde) is part of the witch's line, being brought up to know his destiny is to kill the last swan and rid the world of their influence.
Max is very wealthy but works hard. His only friend is his bodyguard, Fizz. He does a lot of work for charity and ends up getting roped into storytime at a library. That would be okay except he has to read The Six Swans. Lourde goes to Chicago from London, determined to find and kill the last swan shifter. These two have a history and bond that neither are aware of at first. The story unravels a complicated history and motives.
This is a fast-paced story with a lot of backstory/history to understand. I'll be honest, I didn't get it all as I kept having to go back and figure out just who was which name. Although Max and Lourde were protective over each other, I didn't feel much of a connection between them other than what I was told had happened.
It was a good retelling of an underrated Brothers Grimm story.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 1, 2025
Max is very wealthy but works hard. His only friend is his bodyguard, Fizz. He does a lot of work for charity and ends up getting roped into storytime at a library. That would be okay except he has to read The Six Swans. Lourde goes to Chicago from London, determined to find and kill the last swan shifter. These two have a history and bond that neither are aware of at first. The story unravels a complicated history and motives.
This is a fast-paced story with a lot of backstory/history to understand. I'll be honest, I didn't get it all as I kept having to go back and figure out just who was which name. Although Max and Lourde were protective over each other, I didn't feel much of a connection between them other than what I was told had happened.
It was a good retelling of an underrated Brothers Grimm story.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 1, 2025
BobbiesDustyPages (1259 KP) rated Maleficent (2014) in Movies
Dec 6, 2017
Great retelling but kind of ruined one of my favorite villains
All in all I did actually enjoy this movie I love that they gave all the characters really great and interesting backgrounds and played around with the whole whole really a villain theme.
The one thing that I really found that I wasn't a big fan of with how they changed one of my favorite villains of all time. Maleficent was always such a great villain because she literally cursed child because they simply didn't invite her to a party it was one of my favorite things about her and while I did enjoy this version of her I still miss the just flat-out evil that she was in the original cartoon version.
The one thing that I really found that I wasn't a big fan of with how they changed one of my favorite villains of all time. Maleficent was always such a great villain because she literally cursed child because they simply didn't invite her to a party it was one of my favorite things about her and while I did enjoy this version of her I still miss the just flat-out evil that she was in the original cartoon version.
AT (1676 KP) rated Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 1 in Books
Jan 17, 2020
The first volume of Snow White with the Red Hair was just okay. It wasn't awful, but it didn't exactly pull me in. It started getting slightly more interesting around halfway through the book. It had a few cute moments, but it seemed like it should have almost been a series targeted for the junior reading age group. However, the subject matter is geared toward the young adult audience. It's just one of those odd stories that hangs in limbo between reading audiences. Also, being a retelling of a classic tale, I must say that it only seemed that way for the first handful of pages, at most. Then it was like every other manga series with the theme that it follows.
A Guinea Pig Oliver Twist
Charles Dickens, Alex Goodwin and Tess Newall
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Fur and fiction combine in this retelling of Charles Dickens's most famous novel, adorably adapted...
Queen Guinevere: Other Stories from the Court of King Arthur
Mary Hoffman and Christina Balit
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"When the messenger rode across our narrow bridge, I was looking out of a window. My blood seemed to...
Charlotte (184 KP) rated Burn Baby Burn (Fairytales of the Myth #1) in Books
Mar 20, 2021
Possible triggers with child abuse being alluded to (no graphic descriptions but you are aware that it happens)
This is a dark, very different retelling of the classic Cinderella.
You won't find a nice Fairy Godmother or glass slippers here......death, slavery, abuse, yeah, that's here and you know what? I like it. I like the darkness, the fight that Ella has within her, the fire that she shows. I do feel sorry for her though, from the beginning the odds of a happy, fortunate life were stacked against her and people seemed to just take advantage......big mistake!
Definitely not a sweet fairytale for children. This is for adults with a glass of something strong in hand and a free evening.
This is a dark, very different retelling of the classic Cinderella.
You won't find a nice Fairy Godmother or glass slippers here......death, slavery, abuse, yeah, that's here and you know what? I like it. I like the darkness, the fight that Ella has within her, the fire that she shows. I do feel sorry for her though, from the beginning the odds of a happy, fortunate life were stacked against her and people seemed to just take advantage......big mistake!
Definitely not a sweet fairytale for children. This is for adults with a glass of something strong in hand and a free evening.
Of Thorns and Beauty
10.0
Rate It
Book
"You think you know the tale as old as time, but you’ve already got it wrong. There never was a...