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The Silence of the Girls

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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker, read by Kristin Atherton and Michael Fox.

A GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF THE 21ST CENTURY

From the Booker Prize-winning author of Regeneration

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction, the Costa Novel Award and the International DUBLIN Literary Award

There was a woman at the heart of the Trojan war whose voice has been silent - till now. Discover the greatest Greek myth of all - retold by the witness that history forgot . . .

'Magnificent. You are in the hands of a writer at the height of her powers' Evening Standard
'Chilling, powerful, audacious' The Times

Briseis was a queen until her city was destroyed. Now she is slave to Achilles, the man who butchered her husband and brothers. Trapped in a world defined by men, can she survive to become the author of her own story?

 Ancient Fantasy Fiction Historical Fiction Magic Women's Fiction Science Fiction Thought-Provoking Greek Mythology Ancient Greece War

Critic reviews

A searing twist on The Iliad... Amid the recent slew of rewritings of the great Greek myths and classics, Barker's stands out for its forcefulness of purpose and earthy compassion... Chilling, powerful, audacious
A stunning return to form
Angry, thoughtful, sad, deeply humane and compulsively readable, The Silence of the Girls shows that 36 years after her first novel was published, Barker is a writer at the peak of her powers
Its magnificent final section can't help but make you reflect on the cultural underpinnings of misogyny, the women throughout history who have been told by men to forget their trauma... You are in the hands of a writer at the height of her powers
An assured triumph
An important, powerful, memorable book that invites us to look differently not only at The Iliad but at our own ways of telling stories about the past and the present, and at how anger and hatred play out in our societies
She gives a voice to the voiceless...The Silence of the Girls is a book that will be read in generations to come
An impressive feat of literary revisionism that should be on the Man Booker longlist... This is a story about the very real cost of wars waged by men... Barker makes us re-think history
Giving voice to the voiceless, this is a gripping feat of imagination that succeeds in being relevant today
The most important novel based on The Iliad so far this century
All stars
Most relevant
I thoroughly enjoyed this book having had only the flimsiest knowledge of the story of Helen and Troy . And it is an original idea to tell it from the viewpoint of the women.
The narration was very good and I was gripped through out .

Excellent.

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This is an extraordinary retelling of the Iliad. Seen through the eyes of the women captured during the Trojan war, its fascinating and disturbing in equal measure. It was spoilt for me by the the reading of Achilles part which is done badly by someone who sounds like he went to Eton and Sandhurst, not an accent I hear as heroic at all. But buy it for the story, its gripping.

Slightly spoiled by Michael Fox!

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Marvellous retelling of an old story .
Captured the mood of those times in the eyes of timeless voices .

Great Listen

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I absolutely loved this book. within the whole me too movement this gives an honest perspective from the view of a captive slave and her journey within such a dark camp. as someone who had been sexually abused I didn't find this book triggering, but found some understanding and comfort within her thoughts and feelings. such a great mix of perspective from different characters. if love to see s TV adaptation of this.

I was left questioning the characteristics of characters and questioning what would happen next. a great read and no where near as dark as one would imagine. I would highly recommend this. the ends worth the wait.

captivating and hard to stop listening to

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If anyone ever said there is no skill in reading aloud, they're wrong. The voice as much as the words was responsible for my enjoyment of this story. The subject matter is heavy, but the emotion is magnificent.

beautifully read.

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