House of names - BookWyrm

No cover — Colm Tóibín: House of names (2017)

275 pages

English language

Published Dec. 1, 2017

ISBN:: 978-1-5011-4021-1
OCLC Number:: 984127932

(2 reviews)

From the thrilling imagination of bestselling, award-winning Colm Toibin comes a retelling of the story of Clytemnestra's spectacularly audacious, violent, vengeful, lustful, and instantly compelling and her children ... In House of Names, Colm Toibin brings a modern sensibility and language to an ancient classic, and gives this extraordinary character new life, so that we not only believe Clytemnestra's thirst for revenge, but applaud it. He brilliantly inhabits the mind of one of Greek myth's most powerful villains to reveal the love, lust, and pain she feels. Told in fours parts, this is a fiercely dramatic portrait of a murderess, who will herself be murdered by her own son, Orestes. It is Orestes' story, too: his capture by the forces of his mother's lover Aegisthus, his escape and his exile. And it is the story of the vengeful Electra, who watches over her mother and Aegisthus with cold anger and …

From the thrilling imagination of bestselling, award-winning Colm Toibin comes a retelling of the story of Clytemnestra's spectacularly audacious, violent, vengeful, lustful, and instantly compelling and her children ... In House of Names, Colm Toibin brings a modern sensibility and language to an ancient classic, and gives this extraordinary character new life, so that we not only believe Clytemnestra's thirst for revenge, but applaud it. He brilliantly inhabits the mind of one of Greek myth's most powerful villains to reveal the love, lust, and pain she feels. Told in fours parts, this is a fiercely dramatic portrait of a murderess, who will herself be murdered by her own son, Orestes. It is Orestes' story, too: his capture by the forces of his mother's lover Aegisthus, his escape and his exile. And it is the story of the vengeful Electra, who watches over her mother and Aegisthus with cold anger and slow calculation, until, on the return of her brother, she has the fates of both of them in her hands.

1 edition

meeg reviewed House of names by Colm Tóibín

Review of 'House of names' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This book was incredible and actually impossible to put down. I started listening to the audiobook, then checked out the hardcover to read during breaks and meals, then went back to the audio while I was biking or washing dishes or anything occupying my hands so I could keep listening. I've never read any of Toibin's writing until House of Names and I'm absolutely in love with his lyrical style.

I love Greek myths, and I love modern retellings of them. Whether it's [b:Circe|35959740|Circe|Madeline Miller|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508879575s/35959740.jpg|53043399] or [b:The Song of Achilles|11250317|The Song of Achilles|Madeline Miller|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1331154660s/11250317.jpg|16176791], re-reading these stories told from different perspectives and voices sheds such a beautiful light on a classic tale. I could feel Clytemnestra's fury, Agamemnon's doubt, Electra's thirst for revenge, and Orestes' deep loneliness. There were so many times I paused to read or re-read a section just to revel in the descriptions of these characters for …

This book was incredible and actually impossible to put down. I started listening to the audiobook, then checked out the hardcover to read during breaks and meals, then went back to the audio while I was biking or washing dishes or anything occupying my hands so I could keep listening. I've never read any of Toibin's writing until House of Names and I'm absolutely in love with his lyrical style.

I love Greek myths, and I love modern retellings of them. Whether it's [b:Circe|35959740|Circe|Madeline Miller|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508879575s/35959740.jpg|53043399] or [b:The Song of Achilles|11250317|The Song of Achilles|Madeline Miller|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1331154660s/11250317.jpg|16176791], re-reading these stories told from different perspectives and voices sheds such a beautiful light on a classic tale. I could feel Clytemnestra's fury, Agamemnon's doubt, Electra's thirst for revenge, and Orestes' deep loneliness. There were so many times I paused to read or re-read a section just to revel in the descriptions of these characters for a moment longer.

I'm excited that this was my first read of the new year, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Toibin!

tw/cw: violence and gore, sexual assault and rape.

SharonC

rated it

Aug. 6, 2020

Subjects

Man-woman relationships
Adultery
Greek Mythology
Betrayal
Murder
Fiction