Elektra

A Novel

By: Jennifer Saint

Narrated by: Beth Eyre, Jane Collingwood, Julie Teal

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

A spellbinding reimagining of the story of Elektra, one of Greek mythology’s most infamous heroines, from Jennifer Saint, the author of the beloved international best seller Ariadne.

Three women, tangled in an ancient curse.

When Clytemnestra marries Agamemnon, she ignores the insidious whispers about his family line, the House of Atreus. But when, on the eve of the Trojan War, Agamemnon betrays Clytemnestra in the most unimaginable way, she must confront the curse that has long ravaged their family.

In Troy, Princess Cassandra has the gift of prophecy, but carries a curse of her own: No one will ever believe what she sees. When she is shown what will happen to her beloved city when Agamemnon and his army arrives, she is powerless to stop the tragedy from unfolding.

Elektra, Clytemnestra, and Agamemnon’s youngest daughter, wants only for her beloved father to return home from war. But can she escape her family’s bloody history, or is her destiny bound by violence, too?

©2022 Jennifer Saint (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

A gripping tragedy with an ensnaring performance

I love Jennifer Saint's writing. Her writing winds you on a thread into the spool of her stories. This book is no exception. Her first book Ariadne had an incredible premise, but I wasn't a fan of the ending, which was hopeless and sad. In her new book Elektra, she still uses the medium of a tragedy to tell her story, and while the ending isn't a bright one, there's enough hope to satiate my cravings for a hero's redemption at the end of a story.

Vengeance is mine sayeth the sister.

Six word summary. Great story... Greek tragedy at its best. I love mythology and the lessons.

Called Elektra but it’s not really about her and she’s unlikable

This is my first time reading this authors writing so I’m not sure if it’s typical that she creates really unlikable characters. Most of the book doesn’t even spend time on Elektra but more her mother and Kassandra- the person the book should really be named after. Elektra is a naive girl who turns out to be a psychopath. She’s possessed with revenge and not in a good way. All the other characters suffer from her meanwhile they’re more likable. The audio performance is great though, that’s what kept me listening.

Great Story!

I was thrilled when I saw this title come out, as I had loved Jennifer Saint’s “Ariadne”. I found this book to be quite easy to listen to and enjoyed the story.

I found Clytemnestra’s grief for the loss of her daughter to be extremely palpable and touching. I’m not a mother myself, but I was brought to tears at Clytemnestra’s pain at the loss of her child. Her grief turned anger was so flawless that I found it quite hard to not sympathize with her.

Overall great read and would recommend for anybody that loved “Ariadne”, as well as anybody who enjoys Madeline Miller :)

2 great women one cringe master

Every time Elektra opens her mouth I wish her portion was over. By far she is the weakest character as she is just a female copy of Agamemnon which we already know about and it feels empty.

The readers were wonderful and really brought life to the story. I do with that the story didn’t follow the original myth the the letter. There is wiggle room and yet the author didn’t choose to do that.

Overall it was okay but Elektra is the worst

Character Development Needed

I'm a big fan of mythology told from an unusual perspective. So much of what we have in the classics doesn't take the female narrative into consideration and there is a huge opportunity to retell an old story. I've loved the books Circe and Clytemnestra and was really looking forward to getting Elektra's perspective as the daughter who overly-idolized her father and was excited to see that it also included her mother's story and Cassandra's as well.

But...

These characters felt totally one dimensional to me. Clytemnestra was obsessive. Cassandra was a martyr. And Elektra? Elektra was the least likable protagonist that I can remember. She was whiny and entitled and single-minded and shallow.

I hoped this telling would make me think and turn my perspective on its side. It didn't really do that.

It Just Wasn’t Enjoyable

I stopped a few times and was glad when it was over. Elektra was awful.

The End of an Era

The story is good and closes to the myth but the end felt for so rushed for such a long build up.

Worth the listen

This is a really nice retelling of the Trojan Women from the perspective of the main players. It weaves the stories of Clytemnestra, the scheming-yet-aggrieved wife of Agamemnon; his daughter, Elektra; and the Trojan princess Cassandra who is cursed to foretell of the destruction of her city with no one believing her. The best part of the book is the marriage between the voice performance and the perspective writing of the Clytemnestra chapters. I was thrilled every time I heard her voice read a chapter number, and those are the chapters I find myself going back to just to experience living inside her head again as she spirals in her plans towards vengeance. These chapters are performed deliciously by an actor who understood the assignment and knew the rent was due.

While I've never written a book and it's easy to be an armchair critic, I feel like Cassandra and Elektra are both similar perspectives, and I feel like there are really cool themes that could be delved into that become overcrowded with all three perspectives. It is true all three women -- and indeed more -- in the story are affected by the actions of Agamemnon and the men of Greece and Troy; but it might have been stronger to show the differences in either Clytemnestra and Elektra, or Cassandra and Elektra. My vote would be Clytemnestra and Elektra, but again -- those chapters really shone and were some of the most delicious character perspective writing I've experienced in a while, while I sometimes wouldn't register if it was an Elektra or Cassandra chapter.

My first by this author but I agree with other review comments that the ending is wrapped up fairly quickly. Obviously epic myths tend to have a deus-ex-machina that resolves things, but the pacing is a much slower burn for the rest of the book as each storyline burns their fuse until they all collide with bloody consequences.

Still a fun read and worth the listen. Not every story has to be *discourse* so if you enjoy greek mythology I think you'll like this, but it doesn't give the same vibe as Madeline Miller

The Fall Of The House Of Atreus

It’s been about a year since we got Jennifer Saint’s “Ariadne”. In that time we’ve gotten Stephen Fry’s “Troy”, Pat Barker’s “The Silence Of The Girls” sequel titled “The Women Of Troy”, and Natalie Haynes’ “Pandora’s Jar”. And with Madeline Miller’s “Persephone” on the horizon It’s seemingly becoming more and more difficult to stand out amongst these other modern reinterpretations of the Greek myths. Nevertheless, Jennifer Saint delivers yet another stellar entry with her novel “Elektra”.
I said in my review for “Ariadne” that I next hoped to see Saint tackle the story of one of the more classically “villainous” women of Greek Mythology like Medea or Medusa. I really wanted to see how she’d write someone that the myths have often depicted as evil or wicked. Zeus must have been listening because in “Elektra” we get Saint’s take on the titular Elektra, as well as Cassandra, and my personal favorite part of this story: Clytemnestra. It’s SO interesting to see what she does with Clytemnestra in particular because despite being one of the more famously villainous women of Greek mythology, it’s shockingly easy to sympathize with and root for her. Queen Clytemnestra was famously married to an absolute dog of a man; Agamemnon. The same Agamemnon who lured their daughter to an island under false pretenses, sacrificed her for fair winds, and then proceeded to murder, torture, or enslave the entire city of Troy. It is not difficult to sympathize with and root for Clytemnestra in the same way we root for Arya Stark in “Game Of Thrones” or Beatrix Kiddo in “Kill Bill” . Yet far too often Clytemnestra is the personification of the “evil wife” in Greek mythology, rivaled in infamy only by Medea. In “Elektra” Saint gives her a voice at last and I relished getting the chance to hear her side.
Through Jennifer Saint’s “Elektra” we get some new and very novel takes on all the women of the Oresteia. Elektra, Cassandra, and Clytemnestra all get their say and finally get to tell us their stories as they see it. Seeing the fall of the house of Atreus as it crumbles from the inside is so compelling I just couldn’t put it down. While there are some difficult passages and moments (Agamemnon is famously a total bastard) I think it’s a pretty rewarding read. It’s certainly entertaining and very competently written. While I still think the authors of “Circe”, “A Thousand Ships”, “Troy”, and “The Silence Of The Girls” are on the Mount Rushmore of great modern retellings of Greek myth/The Trojan War, “Elektra” is a worthy entry from a very talented writer. She only gets better and I genuinely can’t wait to see what we get from her next!

If you enjoyed “Elektra” as much as I have and are looking for something similar definitely check out the BBC production of “The Oresteia” on audible. I’d also recommend the books “A Thousand Ships” and “Pandora’s Jar” by Natalie Haynes or “House Of Names” by Colm Toibin. You should also check out “The Witch’s Heart” by Genevieve Gornichec or “The Wolf’s Den” by Elodie Harper.