From the Bookshelf of Retro Chapter Chicks …

A Thousand Ships

Natalie Haynes

Start date: May 1, 2022

Finish date: May 31, 2022

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Chapter Chick Reading

September-October 2025: The River Knows Your Name
By Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴… , Founding Retro Chick · 1 post · 9 views

last updated Aug 23, 2025 07:26PM

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Dec 14, 2021 Candi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, retellings

“… this is the women’s war, just as much as it is the men’s, and the poet will look upon their pain – the pain of the women who have always been relegated to the edges of the story, victims of men, survivors of men, slaves of men – and he will tell it, or he will tell nothing at all. They have waited long enough for their turn.”

I love the concept of this novel, giving voice to the women of the Trojan War, a whole lot more than I enjoyed the actual experience of reading it. I think the author did “… this is the women’s war, just as much as it is the men’s, and the poet will look upon their pain – the pain of the women who have always been relegated to the edges of the story, victims of men, survivors of men, slaves of men – and he will tell it, or he will tell nothing at all. They have waited long enough for their turn.”

I love the concept of this novel, giving voice to the women of the Trojan War, a whole lot more than I enjoyed the actual experience of reading it. I think the author did an admirable job sharing with the reader as many mortals, goddesses and other mythological beings as is humanly possible in just over 300 pages. Each chapter (43 in all!) highlights a different figure, some of them repeated occasionally and others just appearing once. In the end, however, the quantity is far too much, diluting their individual stories in the process. The extent of research involved to accomplish this feat is one I will praise endlessly. I’m not familiar with all the ins and outs of Greek mythology. I knew the major points previously and have learned a bit more after having read the outstanding Circe by Madeline Miller a couple of years ago. Cassandra by Christa Wolf was actually still quite fresh in my mind, affording me the opportunity to feel a whole lot more educated on the subject than I would have imagined myself to be. But in the end, this served more as an educational tool for me. What I would have preferred was more depth than breadth; to become more intimate with one or just a very few of these women.

“The women were waiting, powerless and broken. What happened after the end of the world?”

These women must have endured a great deal of loneliness, worry, pain and grief while waiting for their husbands, sons, and lovers to return home after so many years of fighting. I know they felt these things because Natalie Haynes told me they did, of course. If their emotions had been a bit more palpable, I would have soaked them all up. I like to do that - get myself all wrapped up in a character or two, and think about them while I’m not right there with the book in hand. I think I’m getting very demanding as a reader; an emotionally involved reader. That’s not to say that the next person will feel the same. We each have different expectations and needs.

One person in particular that I was eagerly waiting to hear from was Penelope. I’ve been longing to hear her voice ever since I finished Circe. I needed to know more about this woman who waited twenty wearisome years for Odysseus to return home. Who the hell has that kind of patience, that sort of devotion? She must be some woman! Her chapters turned out to be letters that she wrote to Odysseus; presumably they weren’t actual letters that could possibly ever have reached him. Instead, they served as a vehicle for the author to tell us what shenanigans Odysseus was up to, rather than what exactly Penelope was doing and feeling all those years. Well, yes, she was annoyed, that’s clear from her writing. And these letters did serve a bit of comic relief – lots of tongue in cheek sorts of remarks from this woman! A lot more could have been done with dear Penelope, but I’m still not at all sure who she really was, except extremely accommodating, naturally. And funny, if you like this sort of humor (I do!):

“I feel sure that only in my husband’s story will pigs play a crucial role. If his men aren’t being transformed into them, he’s sleeping next to them, all rather than coming home to his wife.”

How to rate this novel? I’m torn, quite honestly. I have to admit, I was hoping for another Madeline Miller adventure. And that’s likely not fair to Natalie Haynes. I would love to see Haynes take just a handful of these women and shape a story that maybe is not as broad, but rather more concentrated. Her knowledge is extensive and her writing skills are sharp; I anticipate a spectacular story just waiting to be told. If I consider Haynes’ expertise combined with my enjoyment, I think 3 stars is a fair rating.

“When a war was ended, the men lost their lives. But the women lost everything else.”
...more

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Oct 12, 2021 Maureen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-by-the-century

Beautiful retelling of the Iliad and the Odyssey told in the voices of the female characters.
We begin with the list of endless characters, each with its family history.
I constantly referred back while reading the book.I also googled some names just to fully understand the story. It was confusing sometimes with the different times. Some of the stories were told in non chronological order,but as you read the story it all came together.

The Trojan Women
“The women were waiting on the shore gazing bl ...more

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May 18, 2022 Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Schu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, fantasy-sci-fi

“But this is a women's war, just as much as it is the men's, and the poet will look upon their pain - the pain of the women who have always been relegated to the edges of the story, victims of men, survivors of men, slaves of men - and he will tell it, or he will tell nothing at all. They have waited long enough for their turn.”

I have read and enjoyed several of the works that Haynes uses as inspiration for A Thousand Ships. I appreciated that the author had given voice in these retellings of th ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

May 07, 2022 Tasha rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, fantasy-sci-fi

I really enjoyed it. I felt it had a good mix of myth and historical fiction feels. I think the author has a passion and a deep knowledge of the time and the myths and it comes through in the storytelling. The writing worked really well for me as well. I enjoyed the different perspectives and the slight time shifts didn't bother me once I got the rhythm of them. I feel like I learned a lot about these myths and I would rank her up with Madeline Miller as far as this genre and writing style. Nata ...more

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May 24, 2022 Kristin rated it really liked it

Shelves: ancient-creationto476, rcc_2022, european, folklore-fairytale

I didn't like it very much at first, but as the story continued I began to respect the work that went into it and I reworked my opinion.

I went into with the wrong expectations: It's not just a dumb re-telling of the Odyssey from the perspectives of Helen and Penelope (in fact, these two women are only a small part of the story). This story came from Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, as well as: Euripides' Trojan Women, Hecabe, Iphigenia in Aulis/Among the Taurians, his play Andromache, and more; Virgi ...more

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May 13, 2022 Kelly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction

Whenever my library manager and I work the Reference desk together, our time always starts with, "What are you reading and loving?" When I told him I was starting A Thousand Ships, he got a huge smile and said, "I just finished Pandora's Jar!" We both agreed to read the one the other had just read and then discuss both.

I thought this was a beautifully woven story (woven stories?) I learned a lot, was entertained (golden apple story :) :) :), and loved Natalie Haynes' writing style. I look forwa ...more

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