House of Odysseus

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Please tell me now if you killed any of them,” sighs Penelope. “I would rather not be embarrassed by the revelation later.” On the isle of Ithaca, Queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband, Odysseus, sailed to war with Troy and never came home. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace – but this is shattered by the arrival of Orestes, king of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra.

Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the Furies circle him. His uncle, Menelaus, the battle-hungry king of Sparta, longs for Orestes’s throne – and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims. Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the Furies circle him. His uncle, Menelaus, the battle-hungry king of Sparta, longs for Orestes's throne - and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims. Conjures up a world in which women, abandoned by their men, must weave their own destinies‘ The Times The worst part of finishing House of Odysseus is waiting until June 18, 2024, to find out how North wraps up this trilogy. There are a lot of questions to be answered: Will Odysseus really kill them all? Will Telemachus be there when it happens? But most importantly, who is North recruiting to do the narration? My money is on Athena, but she seems a little too no-nonsense to tell an interesting story; she is more of a how-to kind of narrator. I would kind of like to see Artemis, she is the kind of girl to put an arrow through your eye just for looking at her the wrong way or any way at all for that matter. She would tell a fun story. Everything I've wanted in a retelling: a vibrant cast, full of suspense, told with a phenomenal narrative voice - this is an absolute masterpiece' Sarah Bonner, author of Her Perfect TwinHouse of Odysseus has absolutely blown me away. I read Ithaca last year and thoroughly enjoyed it but I felt like it suffered from two things: slow pacing and a disconnect from the main characters of the story. If you liked the political maneuvering in the Game of Thrones series; if you chafe at the way that Greek mythology couldn’t pass even a modified a Bechdel test; if the inner lives of women are interesting to you; if you love a “good for her” story with an denoument that feels absolutely earned and yet somehow still in some ways surprising; I recommend this book whole heartedly.

I have a smile on my face after reading this brilliant book. Claire North made me laugh my head off at this excellent re-telling of the Penelopiad.What sets House of Odysseus apart is North's skillful blending of the ancient and the contemporary. She effortlessly juxtaposes the mythical elements of the story with the realities of modern life, creating a thought-provoking exploration of themes such as feminism, identity, power, family ties, and the enduring power of myth. The seamless integration of these elements is a testament to North's storytelling prowess. When I read Elektra, I was eh on her character, but North really brought Elektra's story to life in House of Odysseus with her love for Orestes and her general upbringing. It's so sad how she views love and relationships because of her father.