Elektra

A Novel

De: Jennifer Saint

Narrado por: Beth Eyre, Jane Collingwood, Julie Teal

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

Great reimagining from women’s point of view

I would have rated it higher if it had been truer to the experience of women living in that time period. A lot of liberties were taken that took me out of the realm of believability as it would for anyone who studied the history and gender roles of the time period but overall the story was an interesting new imagining of the women of that time.

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.

I enjoyed it, but…

I liked the story structure, the three view points narration worked well in my opinion. However, did Electra have to be quite so annoying and unrelatable? She is meant to be a complex character, but I thought this story gave her little depth. What stood out was her whininess, selfishness, cowardice, and entitlement. I feel like it would have worked better if we could have truly sympathized with her motives. There is no unambiguous right or wrong and I wish I felt the painful inevitability of the conclusion and appreciated her journey. Instead, I was left thinking ‘what an a**hole.’

No new perspectives

This is the story of Elektra. Told from the perspective of Elektra, Clytemnestra, and Cassandra, but really it is the same story without any new points of view or any new ideas. It’s well written and well performed, but not all that exciting.

It Just Wasn’t Enjoyable

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