Tagged: xanthe
Penelope’s Daughter by Laurel Corona
(Cover picture courtesy of Excuse Me, I’m Writing.)
The award-winning author of The Four Seasons retells The Odyssey from the point of view of Odysseus and Penelope’s daughter.
With her father Odysseus gone for twenty years, Xanthe barricades herself in her royal chambers to escape the rapacious suitors who would abduct her to gain the throne. Xanthe turns to her loom to weave the adventures of her life, from her upbringing among servants and slaves, to the years spent in hiding with her mother’s cousin, Helen of Troy, to the passion of her sexual awakening in the arms of the man she loves.
And when a stranger dressed as a beggar appears at the palace, Xanthe wonders who will be the one to decide her future-a suitor she loathes, a brother she cannot respect, or a father who doesn’t know she exists…
For me, this book was a solid ‘meh’. There were some elements that were awesome and some that weren’t but the main reason for my indifferent reaction is the lack of emotional quality in Laurel Corona’s writing. I know Xanthe falls in love at one point. Do I really feel it? Not so much.
My favourite part of the whole novel is probably the level of detail that was put into it. Laurel Corona seamlessly wove Xanthe’s story into the greater story of the Trojan War, bringing life into a character Homer never considered important. I loved all the little details about weaving but also the details of daily life in Ithaca and Sparta. The author has this way of describing things that makes you feel like you’re actually there. It’s a truly magical experience.
One of the so-so aspects of the novel was the characters. Helen was fascinating and I can honestly say I would’ve preferred hearing her point of view than Xanthe’s. Xanthe is a rather bland character overall and as I said earlier I felt no emotional attachment to her. She got mad at times, was in love, felt true happiness, etc. Yet I, the reader, felt pretty much none of it. I was being told she experienced these things rather than experiencing them right along with her. The odd part was that I really felt for Helen so it could be a matter of personal preference. Who knows?
The plot does drag in some places, particularly during Xanthe’s childhood in Ithaca. I love all of the little details to be sure, but some of them really just didn’t need to be there to understand the story. Sometimes Xanthe’s chronicle dragged when she was with Helen in Sparta and that was rather disappointing considering how amazing Helen is in this interpretation. Overall the plot was fairly good but I did feel let down at the end of the novel when Odysseus returns. It just felt like Laurel Corona was rehashing the myth without adding a new variation on it.
Basically, meh. Penelope’s Daughter has some good and some bad in it. It’s worth a try if you think it sounds interesting but I wouldn’t go out of my way to convince you to read it.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Troy by Adèle Geras
(Cover picture courtesy of Winter Park Public Library.)
The siege of Troy has lasted almost ten years.
Inside the walled city, food is scarce and death is common. From the heights of Mount Olympus, the Gods keep watch.
But Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, is bored with the endless, dreary war, and so she turns her attention to two sisters: Marpessa, who serves as handmaiden to Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world; and Xanthe, who tends the wounded soldiers in the Blood Room. When Eros fits an arrow to his silver-lit bow and lets it fly, neither sister will escape its power.
After reading The Song of Troy by Colleen McCullough, Troy by Adèle Geras just pales in comparison. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. It just means it isn’t the best book about Troy.
Troy follows the story of Marpessa and Xanthe, two sisters trying to live their lives during the last months of the Trojan War. They’re both three dimensional characters with interesting backgrounds and we get to see them through other characters’ perspectives, but they’re not really all that memorable. There’s nothing that really sets them apart from other characters in fiction, so in my mind, they will always be good characters, but not great ones. For those of you hoping to see the traditional legendary heroes of the Trojan War, you’re going to be disappointed. Achilles, Hector and Odysseus receive practically no page time. However, if you want to read about the lives of those who were forgotten, the lives of the background characters, Troy is perfect for you.
The plot isn’t exactly fast-paced because Troy is more of a character-driven novel, but it isn’t boring either. Adèle Geras has certainly done her research about the Trojan War, but I wouldn’t say that there were any exceptional historical details. Just like in The Iliad, the gods come down from Olympus and interfere with the war, but what’s really annoying is the fact that their warnings are pointless since mortals forget meeting them anyway. What’s the point, besides to foreshadow what most people already know? As I said before, it is a good book, not a great one.
I give this book 3/5 stars.