Ithaca by Claire North
From the multi-award-winning author Claire North comes a daring reimagining that breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men. It's time for the women of Ithaca to tell their tale . . . . "North brings a powerful, fresh, and unflinching voice to ancient myth. Breathtaking". Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne Seventeen years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom. Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. While he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door. No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne not yet. But as everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war. This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Beyond Ithaca's shores, the whims of gods dictate the wars of men. But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women and their goddesses that will change the course of the world.
- Suggested age range- Adult
- Format- Paperback
- Dimensions- 6" W x 9.15" H x 1.4" D
- Genre- Fiction
- Publisher- Orbit, Publication date- 04-18-2023
- Page count- 416
- ISBN- 9780316668804
Web ID: 16778062
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not for me but good overall
As with any mythology story, there are a lot of characters in this one. The author did a great job of telling the story and adding in some humorous parts to it. I just didn't find myself interested in picking it up. This is nothing against the author, it's just not a book I could pump myself up to read. Overall it was good, just my own personal feeling on it and maybe I just read it at the wrong time.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
An Empowering Tale About Strong Women
Penelope, Queen of Ithaca is a young woman when her husband, Odysseus, leaves home to fight in the Trojan War. Now, nearly twenty years later, she is a woman of mature years who waits patiently for her husband to return. It has been years since the fall of Troy and, alas, she has heard nothing about what has become of her husband. On the island of Ithaca, Penelope is forced by the sacred laws of hospitality to tend to the needs of her guests who never seem to leave. These men are suitors who are vying for her hand in marriage. Thus goes their reasoning: ‘It has been many years since Odysseus left home, so it is unlikely that he is still alive. It is time to choose a husband to be King of Ithaca.’ She refuses to make such a choice that could result in her son, Telemachus’s death or exile. Moreover, what if Odysseus truly is alive somewhere? She resolves that she will remain true to the man that she loves. When Illyrian pirates attack the small smuggler town of Phenera, it’s a veritable massacre. Whoever has not been abducted lies dead upon the ground. Penelope must act quickly before the pirates return during the next full moon. How can she protect the island and keep the peace amongst the suitors? Only time will tell. Claire North’s "Ithaca" is a tale about the lives of the women who live in Odysseus’s storied land. So often in The Iliad and The Odyssey, women were in the background. In this book, women are front and center, and that is part of what I love best about it. The story is told in first person omniscient, through the lens of Hera, queen of the gods, and goddess of women and marriage. This is such a unique and fun way of telling an often-told tale such as The Odyssey. Hera strikes just the right balance between sarcastic humor and the seriousness of a violent conflict-ridden world. Establishing Hera as the omniscient narrator makes for quite a creative and engrossing narrative. Another thing worth mentioning is the gorgeous poetic nature of the writing. It was lyrical and bewitching at certain points of the story. The plot was ingenious and ironclad. It was fairly consistent throughout. The pacing also was excellent. At no point did it seem like the plot or pacing was slowing down. There was a thrilling element of mystery woven throughout the story as well. That is what hooked me from early on in the book. For the most part, all of the characters were beautifully written. We have the long-suffering Penelope and her dedicated army of maids who all have to put up with many indignities from the self-important suitors. There are the suitors who cause all sorts of chaos and do nothing but eat and get drunk. They all impatiently wait for her to make a choice. In all, the characters had an authentic “feel,” as if they were the characters rendered in Homer’s The Odyssey. I had too many favorite characters to count. Some of my favorite characters were: Penelope, all of her maids, Hera, and the other women of Ithaca. Penelope is the proper queen who does what she can to keep the peace on her chaos-filled island. She needs to keep her cool in the face of rude and condescending men. She is so strong and admirable. At the beginning there is a useful section “Dramatis Personae” that explains who is who. This is a great way to keep track of the extensive cast of characters featured in the story. What I would have liked to see was an Author’s Note. It is apparent that the author must have done considerable research. An Author’s Note would have been great to explain the author’s decisions and the research they conducted. There were two things I didn’t like. As I was reading through the book, there were numerous grammatical errors. This was distracting and it took me out of the book. Another thing I noticed was modern wording. This, too, was distracting and took away from the story. This second thing, admittedly, is specific to my own tastes. Modern wording could be palatable to the average modern reader. All things considered, this book was absolutely delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I look forward to reading Claire North’s sequel, "The House of Odysseus," in the future.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Good ideas but drags a little in places
I love Claire North (The Gamehouse, Touch & William Abbey are all fantastic) but this one didn't grip me so much. It's a good story - how Penelope held Ithaca together while Odysseus was on his extended return trip - but it does tend to drag a little in parts and the story voice keeps you a little at arms length form the characters. Still worth a read, but not her best.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Greek myth at its most palatable and entertaining
“I who have nothing to lose that the poets have not already taken from me, only I will tell you the truth. I, who part the veil of time, will tell those stories that only the women tell.” Ithaca is the first book in The Songs Of Penelope series by award-winning, best-selling British author, Claire North. On Ithaca, Penelope, queen of the western isles, has already waited eighteen years for her husband, Odysseus to return from Troy. But that, and politely tolerating the hundred suitors vying for her hand (because surely Odysseus is dead?!) are not the only things on her mind. Pirates have been raiding her villages, Illyrians, she’s meant to believe, but privately she’s not convinced. And since none of their men returned from Troy, Ithaca has very few men of the right age, ability or training to defend against these raids. Calling on those suitors, who are more concerned for their own interests, is unlikely to help; accepting a suitor, as the Council suggests, would likely result in bloodshed between the rest, and danger to herself and her son, Telemachus. And just to add another wrinkle to the cloth, Orestes and Elektra turn up from Mycenae with news of Agamemnon’s murder, convinced that their murdering mother, her cousin Clytemnestra, has sought refuge on Ithaca. But while the men: the Council, the suitors and their fathers, her son, all regard the women as unimportant, of no account, Penelope is no mental slouch. She and her women have been quietly busy behind the scenes: all those grieving widows and mothers, those fatherless daughters, the women who have been farming and hunting and crafting and trading in the absence of their men will be, it turns out, not only prepared to, but with a bit of training, also capable of, defending Ithaca. “Take it from a queen – the greatest power we women can own is that we take in secret.” Using the goddess Hera as her narrator, North’s quick summary of the situation that many other poets describe, is refreshingly frank, and quite delightful. Hera’s commentary on events and players, on the affairs of gods and mortals, is irreverent, insightful and often darkly funny. “The poets will tell you a lot about the heroes of Troy. Some details they have correct; in others, as with all things, they lie. They lie to please their master. I sing for no creature’s pleasure but my own, and can attest that what you think you know of the last heroes of Greece, you do not know at all.” Even novices to the Greek myths and legends will be able to, with perhaps only a cursory check of Wikipedia, thoroughly enjoy North’s treatment of Penelope’s story. This is Greek myth at its most palatable and entertaining, and the second instalment, House Of Odysseus, is eagerly anticipated. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com