Started: 11/27/2022
Completed: 11/30/2022
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody
Review:
I have never really studied the Iliad. I knew it only in broad swipes and this book fills in the details in a far less ponderous manner than the original Greek. I knew nothing of Elektra. For that matter, I did not realize that Helen was sister to Agamemnon's wife! This book seems to follow the plot as outlined in Aeschylus' play Agamemnon though I wouldn't know as I have not read the play. The changing perspectives (there were several narrators) was nice in what is truly a difficult story to wrap one's head around (surely easier in Ancient Greece for those already familiar with the broad strokes). I think this is kind of like the way that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead relies upon a certain understanding of Macbeth. I enjoyed the retelling and, therefore, recommend it for those with a passing familiarity with the Iliad. I did not find the characters to be particularly deep and the only development seemed to be with Clytemnestra, whose fatal flaw seems to be love of her children(?).
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