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Title: The Penelopiad
Author: Margret Atwood
Published: New York: Canongate, 2005
Page Count: 199
Total Page Count: 39,152
Text Number: 112
Read For: my own enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: In a retelling of recognizable classical myth, Atwood tells the story of Penelope, the patient wife of Odysseus, and her twelve maids, who Odysseus hanged on his return to Ithica. Alternating between Penelope's narrative, the musings and conclusions of a intelligent but jaded woman from her afterlife, and the chorus of the maids as they sing, chant, and perform plays, Penelopiad tells the story in multiple ways while still maintaining a coherent narrative. It questions and redefines how much Penelope knew, and tackles the issue of guilt—both Penelope's and Odysseus's—in the matter of the maid's deaths. For all of these contrasting and complex issues, the text is short, straightforward, and swiftly readable. However, it is not particularly satisfying: the book's theories and the way that they are laid against each other are all very interesting, but with so many ideas in so little length, none are addressed in detail or fully realized. An original, thoughtful text and a much-needed feminine retelling, but somewhat lacking—too short and too simple. Moderately recommended.
( Long review. )
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
Author: Margret Atwood
Published: New York: Canongate, 2005
Page Count: 199
Total Page Count: 39,152
Text Number: 112
Read For: my own enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: In a retelling of recognizable classical myth, Atwood tells the story of Penelope, the patient wife of Odysseus, and her twelve maids, who Odysseus hanged on his return to Ithica. Alternating between Penelope's narrative, the musings and conclusions of a intelligent but jaded woman from her afterlife, and the chorus of the maids as they sing, chant, and perform plays, Penelopiad tells the story in multiple ways while still maintaining a coherent narrative. It questions and redefines how much Penelope knew, and tackles the issue of guilt—both Penelope's and Odysseus's—in the matter of the maid's deaths. For all of these contrasting and complex issues, the text is short, straightforward, and swiftly readable. However, it is not particularly satisfying: the book's theories and the way that they are laid against each other are all very interesting, but with so many ideas in so little length, none are addressed in detail or fully realized. An original, thoughtful text and a much-needed feminine retelling, but somewhat lacking—too short and too simple. Moderately recommended.
( Long review. )
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
