2021 – “The Women of Troy” by Pat Barker

Themes in fiction often come and go in waves. Some years ago there was a fashion for twisty thrillers such as Gone Girl and more recently there have been a large number of quirky, cosy crime novels in the vein of Richard Osman hitting the shelves. A few years back there were a lot of retellings of Greek myths. The most popular were probably The Song of Achilles (reviewed here) and Circe (I review here) by Madeline Miller and I particularly enjoyed The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood reviewed here). But my favourite, by a very long way, was The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker which is a retelling of the siege of Troy from the point of view of the women caught up in the conflict.

I enjoyed Pat Barker’s book so much that I was delighted to find that she had written a sequel, The Women of Troy, which takes place after the battle and describes the consequences of the women of being either on the winning or the losing side. I am also very excited to see that there will be a third book published about the voyage home from Troy and particularly concentrating on Cassandra.

I am at a disadvantage when reading these books because I don’t know the original stories, except in a very basic outline. I have no idea if Pat Barker is keeping to the sense of the original or how far she is deviating from it. What I do know is that she has written very powerful fiction about the fate of women when they are caught up in the wars and activities of men. This book rings very true to me and is written very much with modern sympathies and understanding even though it is set in ancient Greece.

The narrator of the book is Brieseis who is pregnant with the child of the now dead Achilles. She was once a princess of Troy but was captured and treated as the spoils of war. She is attempting to survive in the shifting political climate of the victory and of an ill wind which is not allowing the conquerors to return home. She outlines the stories of other women in much the same situation but who experience different fates and make other choices.

Reading about abuse, trauma and the abuse of power is not easy but the author has a compelling style. I have blogged before about books which feature women caught up in war and experiencing the consequences and you can read my thoughts here – I also give some recommendations of similar books which you might want to consider.

I read The Women of Troy in one afternoon because I was so gripped by the story and wanted to know what would happen next. I have read other books by Pat Barker which I have enjoyed but this one is by far the best of hers so far. This is a powerful and affecting story containing some brutal truths but which has humanity at its core. It is exceptional writing.