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The Penelopiad
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Summary
For Penelope, wife of Odysseus, maintaining a kingdom while her husband was off fighting the Trojan War was not a simple business. Already aggrieved that he had been lured away due to the shocking behaviour of her beautiful cousin Helen, Penelope must bring up her wayward son, face down scandalous rumours, and keep over 100 lustful, greedy, and bloodthirsty suitors at bay....
And then, when Odysseus finally returns and slaughters the murderous suitors, he brutally hangs Penelope's 12 beloved maids. What were his motives? And what was Penelope really up to?
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- Miss Z Cook
- 25-11-16
Interesting concept, not enough depth
If you have read the Odyssey and know your mythology there's not a lot more here to engage a reader. The concept of telling the story from a different angle is interesting but could have been expanded more. I didn't really feel any emotion for Penelope, just absorbed her story. having said that, portraying the maids as a Chorus was very clever and the narration very good. Interesting listen.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
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- Mrs Trellis
- 09-06-17
Alright I suppose
I didn't really enjoy this one that much. A nice idea but never really developed into anything.
On the general quality of this audiobook however: awful. The woman's voice was irritating enough before they put the horrendous treatment on to turn her into the chorus. That was so uncomfortable to listen to, I tried to skip through whenever "they" were speaking!
11 of 13 people found this review helpful
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- L
- London
- 21-10-16
Short but sweet exploration of Penelope
Any additional comments?
I thought this was a solid novella, which was both funny and moving. I felt a lot of unexpected sympathy for characters, and felt the narrator, as well as Atwood, really drew on Penelope's negative emotions well, in a way that didn't make her seem whinging or unlikeable.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
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- Suswati
- 18-08-17
Tongue and cheek feminist outlook of mythology
This is pretty hilarious. Once again, the master of feminist prose Margaret Atwood has created a modern day version of Penelope from the Greek mythology of Odysseus in which she is no longer alive. She's rather outspoken, feisty and sly attempting to live with her brutish husband while on Earth. At the same time, her hatred for Helen of Troy has seeped into her afterlife as well. I love the ending talking about liposuction and heels. A fun listen.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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- Wras
- 10-03-15
A retelling of a story that adds new facets.
This is very much a Tragicomedy that more than a novella wants to be a satirical feminist play. For those of us that enjoy the heroic retelling of this stories this will come at first like a cold shower or boiling hot one, but if you stay and continue reading you will see an unmasking of the romanticised cruelties required for our heroes to be so virile and disdainful of others lives and the bitterness that that injects into women's lives no matter what their social status.
The Penelope we encounter in these pages is honest but guarded with her honesty even now that she is just a spirit, she is also bitter and resentful of her times and what was imposed on her, she dislikes to this day Helen for making her life more difficult, but we see she can not escape her tender feeling for Odysseus though she knows him better than most, perhaps she forgives him because he returned. When she looks at our world she still sees it as dangerous and chooses not to reincarnate.
The twelve maids are a chorus that interrupts and interjects their views and represent women in the lower classes and slaves. They were defenceless and without rights or pity from anyone, ponds in a tragedy but even though slain in the tragedy, that was not the tragedy. They sing of their humanity and reject their status as symbols.
I must confess that I love Margaret Atwood, Her mind like her writing are exceptional and she never disappoints.
13 of 18 people found this review helpful
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- Pat Dillon
- 28-09-18
drivel
i was quite hopeful when i purchased it. But this book is utter tripe. Really, don't bother.
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- Mrs. A. Kaye
- UK
- 09-05-18
intriguing and engaging
It made a change to hear from Penelope - the world's most famous wife...about time
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- Amazon Customer
- 15-12-17
Surprisingly addictive!
If you could sum up The Penelopiad in three words, what would they be?
addictive, funny, captivating
What about Laural Merlington’s performance did you like?
The voices of the handmaidens were so chilling. I honestly felt a shiver when listening alone and in the dark!