The Penelopiad in Retro Chapter Chicks

Apr 09, 2017 Book Concierge rated it liked it

Shelves: canadian-author, concierge, strong-women, greece, library, mythology, audio

Book on CD read by Laura Merlington

From the book jacket 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. … 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?”

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Jan 11, 2017 Theresa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-and-classic-redos, middle-east, feminism, satire, z-pop-sugar-2021-reading-challenge, myth-legend-fairytale

Atwood has given us a more complete story than commonly available in myth of Penelope and her suitors and maids, those slain by Odysseus on his return to Ithaca. There is much to commend here but all in all it's not a completely successful retelling.

Penelope is telling her story from Hades, thousands of years after the events, all told in a very contemporary manner, full witty sarcasm. Her story is told in chapters not unlike acts or scenes in a greek play - without the verse -- with choral sec ...more

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Jul 05, 2014 Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Schu rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, fantasy-sci-fi, match-maker

I am quite glad to have had the opportunity to read Atwood's The Penelopiad. The plot involves the struggles of Penelope, Odysseus' wife. This is Penelope's story, the one not heard in The Odyssey and it takes the reader on a journey of the strength and intelligence of Penelope during Odysseus' two decade absence from home.

While reading about Penelope, one can't help but to chuckle, and that may seem heartless since the main character is sharing her tragedy. But, Penelope, has such a way with w I am quite glad to have had the opportunity to read Atwood's The Penelopiad. The plot involves the struggles of Penelope, Odysseus' wife. This is Penelope's story, the one not heard in The Odyssey and it takes the reader on a journey of the strength and intelligence of Penelope during Odysseus' two decade absence from home.

While reading about Penelope, one can't help but to chuckle, and that may seem heartless since the main character is sharing her tragedy. But, Penelope, has such a way with words, that left this reader snickering. For instance, I loved the bit when Penelope describes the treasures of her day as being "trash from Ancient Greece" to the modern world. She describes these long gone riches as trash, trash that is kept in glass cases in buildings (museums). And, that modern people adorned in sloppy clothing visit to look at this "trash" & then buy replics of this "garbage." I also loved the snippy interactions between Penelope and Helen. Helen is Penelope's Achille's Heal, and she grits her teeth with an occasional witty retort when dealing with her unpleasant but beautiful cousin. Penelope's conversations with Odysseus' nurse and her catty mother-in-law were also quite entertaining albeit one can't help but to pity Penelope a little.

The layout of the story closely mirrors the major events of The Odyssey, of which I am grateful that I re-read the epic last year. Margaret Atwood includes songs sung by characters to tell parts of the story, just as we've seen in Homer's writing. I greatly enjoyed the songs performed by the twelve maidens. I specifically loved the performance about Odysseus' sailors, there was such great humor in the lyrics. And, the irony of having the maidens sing a Greek male character's role was not lost on this reader!

My last positive critique involves Atwood intermingling ancient times with the modern era. I loved the creative idea of eternal life manifesting into different experiences for the dead based on their religious belief (e.g. Hades' afterlife versus Dante's hell and modern Christianity's s hell).

The constructive criticism I have is a few lulls in the story's flow. I also would have like to have seen character bios in an index to help readers that haven't read The Odyssey in some time. ...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Kris (My Novelesque Life) rated it it was ok

1.5 STARS

"revision of a story at the heart of our culture: the myths about Penelope and Odysseus. In Homer's familiar version, The Odyssey, Penelope is portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife. Left alone for twenty years when Odysseus goes to fight in the Trojan Wars, she manages to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, bring up her wayward son and, in the face of scandalous rumours, keep over a hundred suitors at bay. When Odysseus finally comes home after enduring hardships, overcoming monste ...more

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