The female perspective, usually missing

It was interesting to hear a female perspective on the Trojan War told from the voice of Briseis, a former Trojan queen who's city was sacked and became a slave/prize to Achilles.

The story begins with how Briseis rose to become a queen of her city, and talks about life in the palace. When the Greeks invade the shores of Troy, and Briseis is captured after her city is destroyed and her husband and brothers are killed, she is taken as Achilles' prize among the spoils of war. The rest of the story is told through her eyes. Sometimes there are chapters where a male perspective (Achilles) is offered, but that is not the focal point.

After reading the Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller last year, I felt this book was a nice supplement to that one. This re-telling focuses on the plight of women who generally suffer abuses and sexual violence after they are taken prisoner. Some women fare better than others. I thought it was a fresh perspective, often not used in literature and barely mentioned in the classic epic the Illiad.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

An amazing story from an important perspective.

The story of Troy as it has never been told. An excellent book wonderfully narrated.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A novel for our times

I'm not sure I have the temerity to write a 'review' of Pat Barker's work. She is an 'author-heroine' of mine ever since I read her Regeneration trilogy. But this book is so moving and her heroine so strong a woman that I wanted to add my two cents to the accolades accorded to this story. Briseis is a survivor like so many woman, throughout history and in our world today, have been called to be survivors of patriarchy. Women who are treated as chattel and abused without consequences for the abusers. Briseis keeps her dignity and her compassion as she is so treated and yet does not banish the memories of the cruelties done to her in order to adjust to her new circumstances. There is both hope and sadness in her survival--hope because survival always lets us hope for a better world, and there is sadness, because when we look around us, many women still suffer a similar fate. As always, Barker's language and imagery remain vivid, long after the book is finished.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

If you love Homer and a female perspective

I loved this book right from the beginning. The only thing I would change would be the amount of times Pat vividly described smells - all totally unappealing. I understood that it was a foul place after the first few descriptions and would have preferred more information on scenery and character appearances.

Either way, the main character is very like-able and I quite enjoyed how she portrayed the realities of what it would have been like to be a female captive in Agamemon's camp. I'm a lover of any portrayal of the Trojan war and this was especially well done!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

amazing!

I highly recommend this book and the audiobook along with it ! it was both fun and sickening to read (in a good way) I read this book after The Song of Achilles and loved the different perspectives of Achilles and Patroclus, and the war of Troy

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A Must-Listen!

I couldn't stop listening to this book! Wow. It was so well written. It was intelligent: you can tell this author knows the story of the Iliad and Trojan War backwards and forwards. The prose was so engrossing, so lyrical. The two narrators were both fantastic. I was imagining everything being described, down to smell of salt and feeling of hot sand. It was chilling and brutal in its matter of fact descriptions of the reality of war and sexual slavery and how we like to put a palatable sheen on HIStory. This book feels like a voice in the wilderness crying out to be heard. It's an ancient story but it reflects our modern times so eerily. The narrative choice to give Briseis an active first person narration and the male characters third person, more passive voice was brilliant. This is not their story, that one has been told before a thousand times. This one belongs to the girls, to the women forgotten in the sands of time.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Let me save you the trouble…

The female narrator is great until she does a whiny, grating and distracting child’s voice.

Accents for the Greek are all a variety of those from the UK- equally distracting.

The plot is as follows- gore, assault of women, gore, assault of women, gore…well, you get the idea. There was so much potential to make these people real but instead I felt disconnected from two of the three main characters. I was always left wanting more context, further conversation, better background.

The female perspective could have been really amazing here, but looking back at the book the plot didn’t really go anywhere. There was a vague beginning and an equally vague ending. I won’t be venturing further into the series.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Only if you're finished all the Madeline Miller

Listened to this one right after Madeline Miller's CIRCE, and this is the inferior book in many respects (to CIRCE and SONG OF ACHILLES). While the idea of telling The Iliad from the perspective of a person who is reduced to an object in the original is noble, Barker doesn't take much advantage of that idea. It's more or less a rote retelling of the original story, but with some graphic details of rapes and murders thrown in. While it's easier to empathize with the women, certainly, they are still ironically not much more than walk-ons, since the narrative perspective is so narrow.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Bittersweet Storytelling

THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS is expertly written, haunting, tragic, and not for anyone looking for a happy-go-lucky read. It's unapologetic in what it is and told in an elegant, unforgettable way. Its messages and themes from the Trojan War are important and revealing. This is all the stranger because I don't know how to feel about it.

The story of Brises is unimaginably tragic as she is turned from a queen into a slave. This book does not shy away from her brutal treatment at the hands of the Greeks, with only Patroclus treating her with anything close to kindness. Brises tells of her life with the other Trojan women, and her treatment at the hands of Achilles and Agamemnon.

The plot is slow and filled with uncomfortable moments. It elevates the story of what these women went through and emphasizes the importance of their stories and worth, but it makes for uncomfortable reading. More than once, I found myself grimacing and cursing at some of the dialogue and reactions of Achilles and Agamemnon.

Which, I suppose, is the point. I do want to stress that this is an excellently written book and one that is important for lovers of Greek tragedies. But I do recommend finding something comforting to read or do afterward, since this book will stick with you for a long time after its finished.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

too modern of a mindset

I get what the author was trying to do with bringing a newer and feminine perspective to the Trojan War, but I find that it did not work for me. Briseis sounded like a modern person commenting on an ancient world. a world which was much harsher for sure, but everyone who was socialized in that world would not necessarily realize the problems of slavery, and gender rights. especially with the fact that she was okay being sold as a bride and having her own slaves before the fall of her city.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful