Elektra: No.1 Sunday Times Bestseller from the Author of ARIADNE

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I’ve heard the stories about Odysseus and Penelope many times, but wasn’t familiar with Clytemnestra. Many of her actions and motivations might not feel justified but she is her father’s daughter and is unapologetic in her quest to avenge her father’s death and willing to sacrifice and bear the consequences of her actions.

For readers who are familiar with the Classics and/or enjoy the plethora of retellings revolving around the Trojan War, it should not surprise you that there is not much about the Trojan War itself in the retellings that will strike you as completely new. The criticism I do have however, is that I missed the Greek tragedy and there was plenty of incidents, events, deaths, and curses to create the prefect atmosphere and build new drama, but the author did not quite get it right with the atmosphere, drama and sense of theatre we get from the writing. Except for a sequence that could have been finished in a hundred pages, all the exciting stuff is off-page and I frankly kinda hated every single character in the book. If the whole book had been as powerful as Clytemnestra’s sections, I likely would have been satisfied.It attempted to cover so much ground but none of it contained depth or was written in a way that made me feel for any of the characters (ok a tiny bit for Clytemnestra). This manages to recontextualize events and choices in terms of family relationships, motherhood, and trauma.

The women are complex and it shows by their decisions and with the rationale and motives behind those decisions. The wives, daughters, and mothers created their own brand of magic and menace as we learned of the dangers and terrible atrocities committed, by them, in the name of love, survival and revenge. Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for the advanced reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

The creative language used in Elektra only made the story richer, and didn't feel like a tool to fluff up an otherwise disappointing author's writing. She also doesn’t seem to care about others around her- especially how she treats her friend Georgios and has a weird Oedipus complex about Agamemnon. Beautifully written, cinematic in its scope and highly compelling ; I flew through its pages and missed it immensely when it was over. For lovers of Greek Mythology, it is wonderful to see the world from the eyes and perspective of these women. She was a character I've never really cared much about before, but after reading this, she's become one of my favorite Greek myth characters of all time.