Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨⬜
Title: Elektra
Author: Jennifer Saint
Genre: Greek Mythology / Historical Fiction
Setting: Troy / Ancient Greece
Month Read: May 2022
Book Type: Hardcover
Publication: May 2022
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Pages: 291
*Books and Brews Book Club Pick
TRIGGER WARNING-
Muder / Matricide / Rape / Infanticide / War / Slavery / Misogyny
"Nothing brought them more joy than the fall of a lovely woman. They picked over her reputation like vultures, scavenging for every scrap of flesh they could devour."
No Spoiler Summary:
The House of Atreus is cursed. A bloodline tainted by a generational cycle of violence and vengeance. This is the story of three women, their fates inextricably tied to this curse, and the fickle nature of men and gods.
Clytemnestra
The sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon - her hopes of averting the curse are dashed when her sister is taken to Troy by the feckless Paris. Her husband raises a great army against them, and determines to win, whatever the cost.
Cassandra
Princess of Troy, and cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks of it. She is powerless in her knowledge that the city will fall.
Elektra
The youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, Elektra is horrified by the bloodletting of her kin. But, can she escape the curse, or is her own destiny also bound by violence?
Review:
I'm a big fan of Ariadne by Jennifer Saint, and I was a tiny bit disappointed that I didn't love this one as much, or more than her first. I did like the novel, I was just very confused why the book was named after Elektra, and not after Clytemnestra (who was definitely more of a main character.) The split narratives were great, and my knowledge of the Battle of Troy from The Song of Achilles was a huge help in navigating a lot of plot in this.
I do love a feminist Greek retelling, and i love Clytemnestra as a character, and her struggle, and anger, and grief are so relatable as a Mother. I wish we would have gotten to see more POV from Helen, and also from Elektra vs what we got of her as a naive child, and then toward the end when it felt like her story was just starting to begin and the book ended. The pacing definitely could have been a little different with the title holder of the novel.
Ultimately, I really liked the book, and it was a really quick and east read. I do recommend reading it (and picking up Ariadne as well!) I'm excited to see what Jennifer Saint does next.
Recommendation:
Circe by Madeline Miller
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
"Let him come back so that I can see his eyes as the light drains from them. Let him come back and die at the hands of his bitterest enemy. Let him come back so that I can watch him suffer. And let me make it slow."
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