Summary: Now that all the others have run out of air, it’s my turn to do a little story-making.
In Homer’s account in The Odyssey, Penelope—wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy—is portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife, her story a salutary lesson through the ages. Left alone for twenty years when Odysseus goes off to fight in the Trojan War after the abduction of Helen, Penelope manages, in the face of scandalous rumors, to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, bring up her wayward son, and keep over a hundred suitors at bay, simultaneously. When Odysseus finally comes home after enduring hardships, overcoming monsters, and sleeping with goddesses, he kills her suitors and—curiously—twelve of her maids.
In a splendid contemporary twist to the ancient story, Margaret Atwood has chosen to give the telling of it to Penelope and to her twelve hanged maids, asking: “What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to?” In Atwood’s dazzling, playful retelling, the story becomes as wise and compassionate as it is haunting, and as wildly entertaining as it is disturbing. With wit and verve, drawing on the story-telling and poetic talent for which she herself is renowned, she gives Penelope new life and reality—and sets out to provide an answer to an ancient mystery.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review:
“We did much less
than what you did
You judged us bad
You had the spear
You had the word
At your command."
This is possibly the most powerful book that I have ever read and I don't even know what to say about it. It was like every word that Margaret Atwood wrote had so much meaning in it, that even though it was a fairly short book, it felt like so much more.
I recently read the Odyssey, and if there was any problem I had with it was the hanging of the maids. There was just so much injustice, and it was skimmed over as if it didn't matter. But in the Penelepiad, Margaret Atwood, writes about it, unflinchingly. She doesn't shy away from Penelope's and the maids' story, and that's what made it so important.
If there was anyone who would be fit to re-write the Odyssey, it's her.
"we had no voice
we had no name
we had no choice
we had one face
one face the same"
I loved how instead of just writing a novel about Penelope in one format, she included the maid's story too, but in various different ways. In some chapters, she had poems, while in others she had dramas, but they were all useful to the story and written with finesse and a unique style.
Margaret Atwood, wrote Penelope's character as so much more than "Odysseus's faithful wife." She made her into her own person, who was fierce, clever, and determined, even as 25 years passed, and it seemed like there was no hope to be found.
I also found it interesting how she included Penelope's perspective in the Underworld because it was clear that her death changed her perspective of life.
If there's anything else I have to say it's this: This is the kind of book that stays with you long after you read it, and it refuses to be forgotten.
"and now we follow
you, we find you
now, we call
to you to you"
"We'll never leave you, we'll stick to you like your shadow, soft and relentless as glue. Pretty maids, all in a row."
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