- Fiction
- Fantasy
- Romance
- Greek
- Mythology
This novel is a feminist re-telling of the story of Clytemnestra, giving voice to a figure long portrayed as a historical villain and placing her firmly at the centre of her own narrative.
Clytemnestra, born a princess of Sparta, endures profound grief and betrayal as soon as she reaches womanhood. Trapped in a marriage with a tyrant, she becomes a complex yet powerful character but I couldn’t help feeling that she let too many things pass her by. Her revenge, while satisfying, took a long time to unfold.
The setting is steeped in Greek mythology, moving across several well-known islands, with Sparta being particularly compelling when exploring her early life.
I really enjoyed how easy this book was to read; it’s a great introduction to Greek myth retellings. The writing style, with its very short sentences, sometimes felt a little list-like-as though Casati was trying to fit a great deal of story into a relatively short novel. This book could easily have been much longer.
Where it fell short for me was in the development of Clytemnestra herself. Compared to characters in other myth retellings such as Medea I read recently (view the review here) she felt less complex and, at times, weaker. I went into this expecting something similarly powerful to Medea, which I read earlier this year, but this didn’t quite reach that level for me, even though I still enjoyed it overall.
The novel’s central themes revolve around feminism, power, and female rage and justice. It explores how Clytemnestra navigates a world controlled by men after being raised as a queen, showing how trauma, violence, and betrayal strip power away—and how she ultimately reclaims it. Her anger is framed not as villainy but as a product of her circumstances, which I found compelling.
One of my favourite parts of the book was the focus on trauma and grief, particularly the chapter composed entirely of letters. It offered a powerful insight into her emotional state and gave a strong sense of her suffering.
I struggled to choose a favourite character because I didn’t feel particularly connected to any of them, but the writing style, rooted almost entirely in Clytemnestra’s inner life was something I did appreciate. Casati stays close to her thoughts, emotions, and transformation, only stepping back to build tension.
I would recommend this book to readers who are just beginning to explore Greek mythology or who are especially interested in stories centred on women. It’s an excellent entry point into mythic retellings. As a Greek mythology fan myself, I still enjoyed this as an easy, engaging re-telling.
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