Elektra: No.1 Sunday Times Bestseller from the Author of ARIADNE

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Saint writes her characters in such a way that they feel entirely real. Fabled figures including Hector and Achilles play small but pivotal parts during the palpable war between Sparta and Troy, but Elektra begins and ends as a story about women. They love and hate and hurt, just like any figure from history. They are victims of the cycle of violence that built their world, but Saint’s expressive storytelling allows their voices to be heard amidst the darkness. Despite their sufferings, these mythological women are cloaked in strength, bravery and a formidable rage that makes reading this novel a powerful and emotional experience. It’s a simply stunning retelling. Due to the numerous storylines and characters involved the book could have become quite confusing. With Ms. Saints considerable writing skills the book avoids this problem and is clearly laid out and entertaining. Utilizing well defined, three dimensional characters and believable dialogue the book for the most part flows easily. Only in the lead up to the climax of the book did I find the story dragged a-bit and became boring. And so it was done, and all our father lost that day was a horse. Well, a horse and his daughter, I should say, and a niece as well, to make it quite the bargain. All were taken off his hands in one fell swoop, for Helen had only to breathe the name “Menelaus” before he was up, clasping her hand in his and stammering out his gratitude and devotion; Odysseus offered for Penelope in almost the next breath; but my eye was caught by the dark-haired brother, whose surly gaze stayed fixed upon the stone tiles. Agamemnon.

Five stars from me, but if you don’t love the Iliad, or Greek Mythology, it may not reach that level for you. It is still well written and a great story of revenge though. To be blessed by Zeus in such a way was a thing of glory. That’s what everyone said. If Leda, our mother, had been deemed lovely enough by the ruler of the gods himself, it was a great honor to our family. It was not a disgrace to our father to raise the product of such a union himself. Across the seas, Cassandra is a princess with the gift of foresight but, cursed by Apollo, nobody believes her when she tries to warn them of the future. She knows that Paris will bring ruin on her people, that her city will eventually fall, but she can’t stop the events already in motion. Elektra feels equally powerless. Growing up with the father she adores fighting a war in a foreign land, she lives for his triumphant return. In his absence, Agamemnon becomes a god-like figure and it pits Elektra against her mother. Elektra knows that Clytemnestra is plotting something terrible, she just doesn’t know what. As the war rages on, the ferocity building on both sides, Elektra becomes consumed by her own rage, turning it on the one person who always tried to protect her. I shook my head. “I’ve heard stories about the family. The same ones as you. The curse of their ancestors, fathers killing their sons and brothers turning on each other. It’s all in the past, though, isn’t it?” Though the title would have you thinking this story is centered on one woman, it actually follows three separate women during the time of the Trojan War. Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon and mother of Elektra, was by far my favorite of the storylines. I was instantly swept up in her narrative and felt sympathy and heartbreak for her plight. We also follow Cassandra, a princess of Troy with the gift of foresight but the curse that none would believe her. While she isn't a big character in mythology, her story is definitely interesting.

I was looking forward to this because I've read the Sophocles and am familiar with the whole Freudian aspect from within Psychology and frankly, it was just nicely MESSED up as a tragedy. She did not need treasure; Sparta was wealthy enough as it was. She did not need good looks; she could provide all the beauty in any partnership. Any man was eager to be her husband, as we had seen. So, what was it that my sister had been looking for? I wondered how she knew, what magic had sparked between them, what it was that made a woman sure that a particular man was the right one. I sat up straighter, waiting to be enlightened. Yes, I was surprised because we are talking about Elektra and her mother, Clytemnestra; can't love them both, every time you should hate one of them, but not in this book!

I was also impressed that Saint was able to include such a long span of time in just one book, and then make it flow naturally. But that's just what she did. I shuddered. “He won’t want to kill a little boy, though, surely?” I could understand the brutal logic of it, but I couldn’t bring myself to picture the young men I’d seen in that hall plunging a sword into a weeping child.I listened to Elektra on audiobook and liked this version quite well. I only have one small issue. I wished the chapters were given headings with the name of the speaker. I found that I had no problem discerning Clytemnestra’s voice as it is the voice of a mature woman. I did however have a fair amount of difficulty, in the beginning, determining which character was speaking Cassandra or Electra. I had to wait until enough narrative was given to identify which. I feel the voices of the two women were just too alike, both being young and having a similar tone to their voices.