A Thousand Ships

Probably more of a 4.5 but I'm rounding up.

I knew this book had great reviews. But I never had it on my tbr because I don't gravitate towards Greek mythology retellings as I do towards the Indian ones. But when the audiobook of this was on sale, I couldn't resist buying. But it still took me a while to get to it and I'm genuinely upset that it took me this long. This is not a book that deserves languishing on any bookshelf unread.

I have read a couple Trojan War retellings before and like many of my blogger friends, I have a special place in my heart for The Song of Achilles with it's beautiful prose and even more beautiful love story. But this retelling gave me something that TSoA didn't have, something which I looked for in The Silence of the Girls but missed slightly, but finally found it here - and that is defiance. The author has decided to bring the stories of women whose lives have been affected by the war to light and that she does in truly defiant glory. This is not a chronological story and the sheer number of POVs would probably have ruined any other book, but the author masterfully crafts her words so that we never feel overwhelmed. Yes, there are so many women who affected and were affected by the war - Trojan, Greek, goddesses from Olympus and nymphs from the sea - to weave together a narrative that does justice to them all is ambitious and I'm glad the author succeeds so well at it. The prose is not necessarily beautiful, I think it tended to be more blunt but I felt it perfectly encapsulated the feelings of most of these women - they had lost too much and had no time for niceties.

And I absolutely loved getting to know these women. The story starts with Calliope who is kind of like the narrator of this book, questioning why a women who lives through the horrors of war is any less heroic than any man who fought in it. Aren't they the ones who suffer the most, even after the war has taken the lives of the men. We meet the Trojan women awaiting their fates - Hecabe, the queen of Priam who still conducts herself like her former self, never losing her fire or her sharp tongue; Polyxena, her daughter who is calm and composed and brave until the end; Andromache, Hector's wife who is soft spoken even in her grief and devastation; and Cassandra, another daughter of Hecabe, whose prophecies fall on silent ears but her grief at knowing everything and being completely helpless tugged at my heartstrings. What actually surprised me was that we don't get to see Helen much, despite the war being for her, but I guess it was an interesting choice by the author, because ultimately the other women lost so much more.

I think I actually didn't know the origins for why the war had to come to pass, so I was fascinated by the POVs of Gaia and Themis and Eris and the three goddesses with their golden apple. There was also the utter tragedy of Laodamia who is shattered by her husband's death and Oenone who is steadfast in her convictions even when faced with immense betrayal. These were two women I had never ever heard of before, so it was good to know their tales as well. We even got to read Clytemnestra's POV which I really liked because I never knew how she felt about her daughter's sacrifice and what she did after the war.

But the strongest presence I felt had to be Penelope. The author tells her story through letters written to Odysseus and I think the audiobook was particularly good at depicting her rising anger and frustration at her husband who was taking his own sweet time returning to his homeland. While we do get to know his exploits through the ten years after the end of the war, I think it was Penelope who had my heart for holding on and waiting for her husband - whether it was due to love or frustration or devotion or just duty - she was strong for herself and her son when she was inundated with suitors, and I kept wishing that she gets everything she wants.

In the end, this was a surprisingly excellent read and I think the author did a great job as the narrator of the audiobook, using all her broadcasting experience to bring the varied emotions of her characters to life. If you are looking for a Trojan war retelling which is not about the war but the women who are usually forgotten in the epic narratives of battles, writing that is blunt and unapologetic but also full of deep empathy for it's characters, and a style of storytelling that is unique and fascinating and behaves as if timeline constraints do not exist, then this is the perfect book for you.

outsold the iliad and the odyssey lbh

women have always gotten the short end of the stick in greek mythology, and while a thousand ships doesn't mean to change their endings, at least they are now given the chance to have their side of the story told. stories like klytemnestra's and penelope's feel especially loud in this context, as their stories are so complicated and they are such complex people, but are reduced to “so-and-so”'s wife to most people. let them be remembered as the vengeful queen and the queen who deserved better!

Review based on Audiobook, narrated by the Author.

When I saw the description I thought “Oh great, another retelling about the Trojan War. Hooray. Can't we do something new?” Despite that, I needed an audiobook for some cleaning and this one was available from the library. The novel started from the perspective of a woman waking up the day after they bring the famous horse into the city. It them jumps through subsequent women's perspectives such as Clytemnestra, Iphigenia, Persephone, Aris, and more. Each chapter gives the perspective of what one of the women of the Trojan war was, or would have experienced.

All in all, it was a sad, enjoyable read. The fates of the women are terrible. Hearing the stories from their perspective is even harder. Still, it was captivating to hear their different tales. It was a nice way to revisit the tale from a new view.

“And I have sung of the women, the women in the shadows. I have sung of the forgotten, the ignored, the untold... I have celebrated them in song because they have waited long enough.”⁣
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Haynes has written an extraordinary retelling of The Iliad and The Odyssey from the perspective of the much overlooked women. Their voices were brave and moving and funny and intelligent. (Penelope was one of my favourite). This is definitely one of my most loved books of the year so far. Everyone should read it. ⁣
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All I have to say is, literary masterpiece.

I lied.

I'm in awe of Natalie Haynes and how masterful this book is. It feels both epic in scope and yet so detailed. It is everything ever needed and to me, a modern classic. This is a text I would want taught in school. Perfect retelling ever. No need to look further.

It's rare I find an audio that I truly love. This is a rare find for me. It is read by the author and I absolutely loved the accent and flow.

I love Greek Mythology and Helen of Troy is one of my favorite stories. This was a fun read as it is from different perspectives across the board from the Greeks to the gods.

3.75 stars/5

Okay this was a good book! But I just wanted more. Especially more insight into the goddesses of this war. Like some straight chapters of Athena, etc. Maybe an unpopular opinion. But this lower rated review doesn't have me looking at the high reviews in disgust (like a lot of other books - Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, I'm looking at you). I honor those and can see how people would feel that way about this book. This is just my opinion.

Okay ima shoot you all straight I wish she put the Afterword as a Foreword because I was super unaware that this was her attempt as an epic and I think I would have appreciated it more knowing that ahead of time.

One thing I think was unique to this book (besides showing a woman's perspective on war and strife), is the underlining of grief that scored the whole thing. Let me explain: when there is a work that discusses or dives into war, grief is always an inevitable part of that. However, those works primarily focus on the violence. This movies being rated ‘R' with a disclaimer of ‘gore and violence', but there is never a warning about grief. To me, the grief is almost more impactful because you cannot explicitly see it. You can see someone getting torn to shreds, blood oozing on the battlefield but the only grief one can see is through a characters experience. Because of this, it is emotional. When we see grief, we are seeing an individual going through an experience and how that unique individual processes this. This is what Natalie Haynes does so incredibly well in this work. She works through countless women with many separate personalities, but writes as those personalities seeing through a veil of grief. This is constant through the whole novel.

I would say if you're looking for some high points as a respite from the feelings of loss and grief within this book, you are looking in the wrong place. It took me so long to get through it because I did not realize the emotional impact of subconsciously dealing with all that was like a buffering symbol on my head.

In other words: would highly recommend the works of Madeline Miller if this is your thing!