Clytemnestra

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In its deft portrayal of the many layers of trauma, and in its offering of a feminist take on revenge, Clytemnestra joins a recent spate of similarly minded artworks, including Emerald Fennell’s film Promising Young Woman and Michaela Coel’s television series I May Destroy You. She loves to explore what makes us human: the eternal motivations, desires and instincts that cross time and place. The novel follows her as she navigates the male-dominated world of Ancient Greece, clinging onto her autonomy despite a life of tragedy. And that is most of her life – her childhood and first marriage in a Sparta where the girls learn to fight as well as the boys; the many years. A heroine of fierce spirit caught in a world ruled by men , finding a way through with a sharp, unquenchable courage .

I thought Clytemnestra was an odd choice as heroine, even within the recent trend of novels centering women in Greek mythology - but I read this book because I was excited to see how it would be done.I paired my reading with the excellent audio narration by Olivia Vinall which truly enhanced my experience. Costanza Casati's absorbing novel, Clytemnestra, transports the reader to a world, familiar through classic literature, that rewards brutality yet honors beauty, that trains women to be warriors then uses them as pawns, and where honor is paramount . This has lead to a well-rounded, tense and perfectly paced story with nuance–and an ending that is surprising even to those who know what to expect. Constanza Casati's Clytemnestra focuses on the life of the title character, known in mythology as the vengeful wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, Greece.

Early in the novel, a priestess delivers a prophecy that ‘the daughters of Leda will be twice and thrice wed…and they will all be deserters of their lawful husbands’ and over the course of the story we see this prediction begin to come true. No one is safe, and hints at this bad blood are made, mostly after Clytemnestra and Agamemnon’s second daughter is born, Electra…for there is something about her that is simply ‘not nice’. Casati reveals a Clytemnestra we've never met before: fiercely intelligent, passionate, and loving - and willing to do anything to avenge the ones she loves -- Naomi Krupitsky, New York Times bestselling author of THE FAMILY Ablaze with moments of deep tenderness and visceral ferocity, Casati's Clytemnestra gives the phrase 'fight like a girl' its rightfully heroic and empowering meaning! Casati establishes her first husband as a complete foil to Agamemnon, leading us along another set up to fall into the pits of despair. So is the description of Clytemnestra’s hatred for Agamemnon and of her enduring grief for her eldest daughter, Iphigenia, whom Agamemnon had personally sacrificed at Aulis to secure from the gods the wind that would allow the Greek army to sail to Troy after Paris had taken Helen there.

Clytemnestra might be a queen, but her opinion is still not very well regarded, and her husband and the king is able to treat her however he likes. I will recommend this book to anyone who loves history, myths or simply a well-written and absorbing story. She is frequently viewed with hatred, and as her claim to fame was murdering her husband, King Agamemnon, after he had been away at war for ten years, this is an understandable stance to take on the surface.

This is how the eponymous heroine of Costanza Casati’s debut novel “Clytemnestra” is described by one of her enemies. I was fortunate enough to get an advance reader copy of Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati and it was so good! Casati did such an excellent job making Clytemnestra come across as a living, breathing woman, I wanted revenge for her as much as she did. I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Casati, who was a scholar of Ancient Greek literature for over five years, balances informative descriptions of the Ancient Greek world with an entertaining and accessible style.

I for one have massively enjoyed this influx of feminist retellings and am excited to see it begin to expand to less well-known narratives and particularly less Western myths. I particularly liked how the author chose to end the novel keeping it open-ended yet entirely satisfying.

I especially appreciated the vile depiction of Agamemnon, as I’ve always despised him in any story he in which he appears. Rich in cultural and historic details, she explores the folklore and stereotypes surrounding Clytemnestra. If her message is cryptic in that moment, it becomes increasingly clear as the two princesses grow older and face one betrayal after another. If you are a fan of Circe, The Song of Achilles, Ariadne, A Thousand Ships, or Elektra, I can just about guarantee that you will connect with this book, too.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. On her deathbed, Clytemnestra’s grandmother tells Clytemnestra and Helen that their family is a “dynasty of queens” and that “you girls will be remembered longer than your brothers”. The author did a really good job of making the reader throw their lot in with Clytemnestra and feel that the things she does are inevitable considering how she has been wronged. You who perceive me in such an odious manner do little but speculate, ponder, wonder, like a child yet you do not know me as you should.