Clytemnestra

A Novel

English language

Published Sept. 27, 2023 by Sourcebooks, Incorporated.

ISBN:
978-1-7282-6823-1
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4 stars (4 reviews)

4 editions

Review of 'Clytemnestra' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

After seeing glimpses of Clytemnestra in other authors' books I was excited to hear her whole story. However I found this a bit bland. It's fine if you just want a straight telling of the story but the characters lacked personality. The audiobook narrator didn't do it many favours either as the character dialogue was all very samey, a slight variation between male and female but that was it. I often lost track of who was speaking.

Review of 'Clytemnestra' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Greek mythology is usually fascinating, and this novel lives up to that expectation. I did not remember much of the Greek mythology I’d read, and certainly did not know who Clytemnestra was until reading Costanza Casati’s work.

Born in Sparta to a ruthless Spartan King, Tyndareus, and Leda, the intelligent, shrewd queen, Clytemnestra is brought up to be the same. She is trained to fight and to value power and dominance. Unfortunately, Tyndareus’s daughters would all find what is was to be their father’s pawns, traumatic for women who were trained to be strong.

Clytemnestra’s character is imagined with nuanced complexity. She rages with hatred, wanting vengeance for those she has lost, but is also capable of intense love. Clytemnestra is one well-written, solid protagonist.

Her royal family is also depicted in detail, especially Helen, who I’d incorrectly associated with Troy instead of Sparta. There is more than one version …

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3 stars
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4 stars