Clytemnestra

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I also have a love for any book that takes a misunderstood figure, real or fictional, hero or villain, and gives said figure more dimension, showing a different side of their often well-known story. Following, fairly faithfully, to the works of Aeschylus, the author takes these Greek mythology tales and gives us a historical fiction feeling story that colors in all those spaces between the better known highlights, such as the Trojan War.

In Casati’s beautifully worded prose, knowledge of the tragedies that await Clytemnestra is not a prerequisite, although readers who are in the know will find this only adds to the dramatic tension as events unfold. But she is a figure who, like Medusa and Medea and so many other women in Greek myth, is often maligned without second thought.The thing I particularly enjoyed about this novel – and the thing that makes it different from others I’ve read – is that it focuses not just on Clytemnestra and Helen, whose stories are well known, but also on their other siblings. They find someone as broken, fit them into the empty spaces of their hearts and, together, grow into something different. I will say that I was not expecting to like the book as much as I did because the beginning of the book did start out a little slow. The story is an exploration of the female spirit and power of women who refuse to be villains or preyed upon, but instead, take charge and be the heroes of their own tales.

Crafted with page-turning suspense, Casati spins a mesmerizing story of an ambitious warrior queen who must use all her skill to protect herself and those she loves from men who view women not as equals, but as pawns to be sacrificed upon the altars of lust, greed, and fame. This novel by Susan C Wilson takes a closer look at Clytemnestra, her motivations, and the struggle she goes through.Growing up, the princesses of Sparta train in wrestling, spear-throwing and sword-fighting, and are relatively able to do as they please. richly drawn and lovingly rendered, Casati's Clystemnestra is a brilliant, fierce woman placed, again and again, in untenable circumstances.

Today, in the hands of skilled authors, these myths have become juicy fodder for novels that reimagine their maligned, misunderstood and often overlooked female characters, imbuing them with fresh agency and context. The House of Atreus: Clytemnestra's Bind is the first instalment in an epic three-part Greek mythology series. If their lower positioning in the social hierarchy is not apparent at first, it becomes abundantly clear when Theseus, the king of Athens, kidnaps and rapes Helen. Susan Wilson has really managed to give Clytemnestra her own strong voice and brought her children’s to life. Clytemnestra is often condemned by history, regularly depicted as a fickle, devious, and murderous wife.

Reading an entire book that focuses on Clytemnestra’s life is something I so desperately needed after reading Elektra, and I cannot tell you how pleased I was to find this on my local library’s shelf. There are so many Greek mythology retellings around at the moment I thought this one might be too similar to others I’ve read recently (particularly Jennifer Saint’s Elektra) – but I needn’t have worried. After the murder of her first husband and their baby son, Clytemnestra transforms her heartbreak into steel.

This is a woman who was prepared to wait to get even; she could have created the phrase that revenge is a dish best served cold. With Clytemnestra, Costanza Casati makes a familiar story feel fresh and different, and as a debut novel it’s quite impressive. Hmm, I don’t mind some present tense narrative providing it serves a dramatic purpose within a past tense story – anything more and I find it exhausting in a full length novel (less so in a novella or short story). I particularly liked how the author chose to end the novel keeping it open-ended yet entirely satisfying. In some versions of the tale, which are hinted at in this book, her husband’s family is cursed, not in the traditional sense, but the family line is blighted with evil intent.I was fortunate enough to get an advance reader copy of Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati and it was so good! There are also interesting comparisons with a farmer family who has an ongoing dispute throughout the book, visiting the king to ask for a ruling every few years, and who is continually ignored and mocked by royalty. Better to be there to go on, seize the next day, and have a mighty victory for a glorious, long life. A heroine of fierce spirit caught in a world ruled by men , finding a way through with a sharp, unquenchable courage . This means that whenever life doesn’t go quite the way they hoped it would, they have the determination and the inner strength to take steps to change things.