Excellent read for fans of: Circe, Song of Achilles, Ariadne, Elektra, Lovely War, or obviously the Odyssey (are there modern day ‘fans’ of this? Or just people who soldiered through it for high school? My husband is piping up from the couch with a “I really liked the Odyssey.”)
If you’ve been following my Instagram @scytheandpen for any length of time, chances are you’ve heard me mention Circe by Madeline Miller. In my not-so-humble opinion, Miller is one of the greatest writers this century. She wields prose like a sharp knife, often leaving readers breathless. She knows how to cut to the heart of an idea and every sentence is whittled to needle-point precision. If there was a book I wish I could re-read for the first time again, it would be Circe.
When I spotted Ithaca by Claire North on the New Releases shelf at my local library, I immediately thought of Circe and picked up the book, hoping to be similarly transported.
Synopsis: Ithaca shares the untold story of the women left behind when Odysseus sailed for Troy. When every able-bodied male sailed for war and glory, the women were left to farm, hunt, fish, and manage alone. Penelope, wife of Odysseus, presides over a dangerous court of suitors vying for her husband’s title. With only her maids as allies, she must navigate everything from a disgruntled teenage son to pirate invasions to blatant treachery. In other words, she must rule without seeming to do so. The entire narrative is told from the perspective of Hera, the queen of the gods, who is drawn to Penelope’s plight but must observe clandestinely to avoid Zeus’s wrath. Hera, like Penelope, must wield her power without seeming to do so.
Pros:
Great writing, almost poetic at times. The book contains poetic moments in which North creates cinematic descriptions of Ithaca life, like a camera panning from room to room. North jumps between characters, offering one sentence or sometimes one single line of dialogue to capture a fleeting scene. These threads weave together to create the overall atmosphere of Ithaca and masterfully provides the reader with a wealth of information. As a writer, I loved seeing this little trick employed so well and may have to file it into my writer arsenal.
Feminist retelling done right. Ithaca definitely fits into the genre of “feminist retellings,” but does so in such a graceful way. Imagine looking through a magical spyglass that allowed you to witness history unfolding. Imagine you’re watching Odysseus traverse the sea, headed for Troy; now imagine a hand (in this case North’s) grabs that spyglass and redirects your gaze back to Ithaca, to a worried queen holding her kingdom together through sheer grit, barely keeping her head above water. While North’s storytelling is bitingly feminist, it isn’t didactic. North doesn’t preach to her readers or denigrate the source material; rather, she sheds light on a story that unfolded off stage, unnoticed and unrenowned. She elevates everyday mothers and maids alongside queens and warriors.
Hera’s irreverence. Hera (the goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth) narrates the novel. At times she is so snarky and irreverent I laughed out loud. She isn’t afraid to shed a harsh light on the truth of the matter.
Cons:
Pacing. At times, the book felt a little slow. It took me a few chapters to get into the story, but one I did I was hooked.
The Ending. In all honesty, this con is simply me being a picky grump.The novel ends on a gut-wrenching note that I found brutally beautiful. Apparently, however, this novel is not a standalone, but the first in a series. House of Odysseus is set to release May 2023. While I’m excited to spend more time with these characters, the sadist in me loved that heart-shattering ending.
My favorite moment:
My favorite moment occurs between Hera and Artemis. (Or maybe it was Athena? To be honest, I kept confusing the two goddesses while reading… joys of my brain cells being fried by toddler parenting. It’s a miracle I’m writing this right now.) Hera defends her presence on Ithaca by reminding her stepdaughter that “all women cry to her when their waters break.” She staunchly reminds the other goddess that, even though she does not claim a temple on the island, these bereft Ithacan women are wives and mothers, her devotees. The wrathful goddess (Athena, Artemis, who knows at this point?) realizes she has overlooked and belittled an entire swath of the population. She laughs at Hera’s attention to the mothers and cries “The mothers? Who gives a fuck about the mothers?” She abruptly leaves, as though those useless women were beneath her notice. They aren’t warriors or priestesses, they’re just measly mothers. She physically can’t even behold them and must depart. Well, as it turns out, perhaps she should have paid attention to those mothers. This moment is paralleled later amongst Penelope’s suitors, when they puzzle over a problem Ithaca faced. They sit around, stumped, wondering “who fixed that? Did the gods intervene?” It doesn’t even enter their minds that the “measly wives and mothers” might have had a hand in saving the day. These aren’t the heroines with swords, defying men and gods alike, these are the heroines of everyday, keeping the castle together and keeping their children (and themselves) alive.
Overall, I rate this novel 5 stars. (Sheesh, I’ve had a good reading year so far.) I highly recommend it to readers of all ages, but especially to women and mothers who have ever felt overlooked and ignored. Aforementioned grumpiness aside, I’m eagerly awaiting the upcoming sequel.
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