Clytemnestra

            

Title: Clytemnestra

Author: Costanza Casati

Published: Sourcebooks Landmark, May 2, 2023

Pages: 489

Genre: Ancient Historical Fiction / Mythology

As for queens, they are either hated or forgotten. She already knows which option suits her best…

You were born to a king, but you marry a tyrant. You stand by helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore, and you comfort yourself with violent thoughts of your own. Because this was not the first offence against you. This was not the life you ever deserved. And this will not be your undoing. Slowly, you plot.

But when your husband returns in triumph, you become a woman with a choice.

Acceptance or vengeance, infamy follows both. So, you bide your time and force the gods' hands in the game of retribution. For you understood something long ago that the others never did.

If power isn't given to you, you have to take it for yourself.

How is it possible that this book ended in an uplifting way? I guess that's the whole point of regression to the mean. Things can never be too good or too bad, they always settle out somewhere in the middle. I bet Clytemnestra would disagree. She would probably say that things can definitely be too bad. And I would have to agree with her. 

I love a feminist spin on history/mythology. Taking a story that we've heard before and tweaking it just enough to remind you that you have no idea what actually happened, and the winners write the history books. Not just the winners, but the winners and their male advisors and translators. 

I always forget how completely tragic these stories are. Human sacrifice. An abundance of rape. All I can say about it is that Clytemnestra was the Queen of striking when you least expect. She had no problem waiting 15+ years for her vengeance. She knew she was going to get hers. And she got it! 

This was beautifully written. Impeccably narrated. But I definitely need a break from the tragedy before I jump into another book like this. But I think I will be reading more like this. 

Ratings

Stars: 5/5