Review: The Women of Troy

Title: The Women of Troy

Author: Pat Barker 

Publisher: 26th August 2021 by Penguin UK ,Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking

Pages: 304 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction, women’s fiction

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

Troy has fallen. The Greeks have won their bitter war. They can return home as victors - all they need is a good wind to lift their sails. But the wind has vanished, the seas becalmed by vengeful gods, and so the warriors remain in limbo - camped in the shadow of the city they destroyed, kept company by the women they stole from it.

The women of Troy.

Helen - poor Helen. All that beauty, all that grace - and she was just a mouldy old bone for feral dogs to fight over.

Cassandra, who has learned not to be too attached to her own prophecies. They have only ever been believed when she can get a man to deliver them.

Stubborn Amina, with her gaze still fixed on the ruined towers of Troy, determined to avenge the slaughter of her king.

Hecuba, howling and clawing her cheeks on the silent shore, as if she could make her cries heard in the gloomy halls of Hades. As if she could wake the dead.

And Briseis, carrying her future in her womb: the unborn child of the dead hero Achilles. Once again caught up in the disputes of violent men. Once again faced with the chance to shape history.

Masterful and enduringly resonant, ambitious and intimate, The Women of Troy continues Pat Barker's extraordinary retelling of one of our greatest classical myths, following on from the critically acclaimed The Silence of the Girls.

My Thoughts

‘As a woman living in this camp, I was navigating a complex and dangerous world’

In The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker gave women, who up until now were mostly ‘silenced’ with regards to the story of the Trojan War, a voice. She continues Briseis story in her follow up, The Women of Troy and, once more through the female characters who lie in the background of this ancient Greek epic, women continue to have their voice.

‘Only two Trojans in the camp? There were hundreds of Trojans in the camp; but they were women and women are invisible. An advantage, perhaps?’

Troy has fallen, Achilles is dead and the Greeks are awaiting the weather to improve for their return journey home. Interestingly, Pat gives some insight into Pyrrhus, Achilles’s son, who is struggling in the wake of his father’s legacy. Although this instalment may appear subdued compared to the first, there is still nuance regarding the fallout and dangers of playing the waiting game. 

‘I followed her gaze and saw, through her eyes, Troy’s black and broken towers, like the fingers of a half-buried hand pointing accusingly at the sky.’

Briseis was an incredibly well written character, demonstrating great strength and compassion to the women around her. A real sisterhood develops as they comfort and support one another. Briseis demonstrates great resilience in the face of such harrowing circumstances and is able to inspire and encourage those around her.

‘The watching women moved closer, gathering round her where she knelt on the filthy sand, joining their cries with hers – until they turned from women into wolves, the same terrible howl coming from a hundred throats. And I howled with them, horrified at the sounds I was making, but unable to stop.’

Once again Pat Barker's writing is exceptional as she delves deep into the motivations of her characters. This duology of books truly was the story that needed to be told -  the women who were at the very heart of this iconic tale - whether vanquished or victorious - their story being brave and empowering.

‘Heroic deeds, atrocities –  who’s to say where the line is drawn?’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.