The Silence of the Girls

A Novel

By: Pat Barker

Narrated by: Kristin Atherton, Michael Fox

From the Booker Prize-winning author of the Regeneration trilogy comes a brave and masterful retelling of The Iliad, as experienced by the captured women living in the Greek camp in the final weeks of the Trojan War.

Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award • Finalist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction

One of the Best Books of the Year: NPR, The Washington Post, The Economist, Financial Times

Here is the story of the Iliad as we’ve never heard it before: in the words of Briseis, Trojan queen and captive of Achilles. Given only a few words in Homer’s epic and largely erased by history, she is nonetheless a pivotal figure in the Trojan War. In these pages she comes fully to life: wry, watchful, forging connections among her fellow female prisoners even as she is caught between Greece’s two most powerful warriors. Her story pulls back the veil on the thousands of women who lived behind the scenes of the Greek army camp—concubines, nurses, prostitutes, the women who lay out the dead—as gods and mortals spar, and as a legendary war hurtles toward its inevitable conclusion. Brilliantly written, filled with moments of terror and beauty, The Silence of the Girls gives voice to an extraordinary woman—and makes an ancient story new again.

A Different Perspective

Having already listened to "The Song of Achilles", by Madeline Miller and " Helen of Troy", by Margaret George, this was a wonderful addition from a different perspective. A view of the women who become the slaves to the men who killed their husbands, brothers and sons .Yes this is again the story of the Trojan War, and the main events are the same, yet each story has its differences. If you enjoyed either or both of the titles I mentioned above than this will be a wonderful addition and I believe you'll be captivated by this story as I was. And if this is your first venture into this history, I still feel it's well worth your time and money.
Narration was superb (which can truly make or break an audio book) and this narration brought the story to life.
High praise all around

Brilliant

Loved it. The narrators were wonderful to listen to, painted the vivid story very well.

A clever perspective on a well-known story

I don't remember how this ended on my wish list but glad it did. I really enjoyed the storytelling and the choices the author made for which parts of the story to focus on.

Loved it!

I loved Pat Barker's spare, descriptive writing, and Kristen Atherton's English accented recitation. I guessed that Atherton was a woman but wasn't really sure. Her descriptions of female slavery in a war camp, smells of breastfeeding and menstrual blood, early pregnancy, motherly things are the kind of things older women know. But her writing is not feminine, but strong, not willowy, almost masculine. The use of this ancient classic to tell a story that is rather universal and ageless, except to those of us who have lived far from wars and perhaps in between wars, give a voice that is quite moving. I didn't know much about the story but I loved reading the back--story on wiki and learning more about these ancient characters. Justice is well done to them by Pat and Kristen!

A Woman's View of War

The story of the Trojan War from the viewpoint of a woman, a queen who watched a man murder her husband and brothers and then became a slave to this man. The narration was good and the story flows. I became enmeshed in the story, shedding the occasional tear. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys different points of view.