Review: Elektra
4/5
For fans of: Jennifer Saint, Greek mythology, feminist retelling, Troy, The Iliad, family curse
The Big Questions:
What genre is this in? Adult fiction, Greek tragedy
Are there any swoon-worthy characters? Helen is beautiful, but tragic. They all are
Is it spicy? Nope.
Is it violent or gory? There are depictions of violence, but not gory
Should I buy, borrow, or pass on this book? If you love Greek mythology and retellings, buy it!
“Can’t you see that it just goes on, over and over? The gods demand their justice, but we suffer for it, every time.”
Synopsis: 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?
“I wondered how many of them had wives waiting for them, mothers and daughters perhaps. What would those women think if they could see their menfolk, as they stood guard over us, the weeping, grieving survivors of Troy?”
Review: Once again, Jennifer Saint hit it out of the ballpark. Just know that if you have never read or heard these women’s stories, this is a Greek tragedy. So spoilers, it will not end well. Overall, the story does a great job of illustrating the complexity of feminine patience and rage against the backdrop of the famous Trojan War. My favourite out of the three, and arguably the least necessary, is Cassandra. She is merely there to give us a perspective of the war as Clytemnestra and Elektra are very much out of the action back in Mycenae. She is, however, the most tragic. From a young girl, she just wanted to be like her mom, touched by the gods. Well, she got that wish but was too good and punished for it. To know the future but to never be believed is, well, the story of so many of us, isn’t it? I really enjoyed her complicated relationship with Helen, the most controversial woman of the story. Now Helen’s perspective is one I haven’t read just yet and I hope someday to find a novel that does her story justice.
Clytemnestra is the most complex out of the three and probably the most relatable. Her story from young princess to wife to mother to rage-filled murderer is tragically exquisite. I get her. She took a chance at love, but was not world weary enough to see the immense walking red flag that is Agamemnon. She was idealistic thinking the curse of House Atreus ended with her convincing Agamemnon to spare Aegisthus. But nope, violent men are violent men and Agamemnon is the worst of them all. The tragedy of her life earned her the right to do what she did and her ungrateful, but totally neglected children, never understood that. Maybe because there is already a book out called Clytemnestra, but I feel like this really was Clytemnestra’s story.
Who I got the least is Elektra. She felt so one-dimensional. From the moment her father leaves for Troy to the end of the book, she never changes, never grows. She just embodies daddy’s girl drama, pick me vibes, and impotent rage. Very conservative female blonde news personality thinking they aren’t like other women because she knocks back whiskey with the boys. She embodies the curse. I couldn’t with her. Maybe if she was a bit of a more fleshed out character, I could understand. But she doesn’t and her ending, while the least tragic, is also the most boring. She was just boring. She didn’t even act out the revenge she wanted! She made her baby brother do it and suffer the consequences! Anyway, the book is worth it for Clytemnestra and Cassandra. Their emotional rollercoaster stories are worth it all.