Clytemnestra: The spellbinding retelling of Greek mythology’s greatest heroine

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Rivals House of the Dragon in conspiracies and feminine brutality. An electrifying read' ELIZABETH FREMANTLE Fans of Madeline Miller will love Clytemnestra, and I'm excited to have another great mythology writer to choose from. Huge thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks and Costanza Casati for this ARC. I read this book at the tail end of a mythology binge, and I loved this one. This book is all about Clytemnestra’s story, from details of her childhood in Sparta, all the way up through the end of the Trojan war. I went into this book knowing a lot about this story and specifically the women of the Trojan war. Even though I knew the story, the artistic take on this story still left me surprised and on the edge of my seat. I felt so emotionally attached to the story and every scene, even though I already knew the ending, which is something so special and so hard to do. I specifically loved how much of the book was focused on Clytemnestra’s life and childhood in Sparta. In my personal life, my mother told me and my sister stories of the strong and powerful women in Spartan lore. So reading more about the Spartans in this book really touched me in a way that I felt connected to the stories from my own mother. This book was powerful, emotional and empowering. I loved this take on Clytemnestra’s story and would recommend this to anyone who wants to read more Greek mythology.

Ablaze with moments of deep tenderness and visceral ferocity, Casati's Clytemnestra gives the phrase 'fight like a girl' its rightfully heroic and empowering meaning! Beautifully told in a style that pays nimble homage to classic Greek mythology, Clytemnestra is a rich and compelling read , and even more so for every woman who has ever had to fight to reclaim her power. A must-read! Buki Papillon, author of AN ORDINARY WONDERClytemnestra by Costanza Casati is a great historical fiction that shines the spotlight on an enigmatic, complex, and fascinating woman of ancient Greece. A bad wife? Not if you consider the circumstances, argues Casati. In Clytemnestra’s voice, Casati delineates the many just causes for her fury.

This book will transport you to another world where you will suffer right along with the main character, Actually, it would be more accurate to say that you don't just feel like you're walking along side her, but that you actually ARE her. You will feel every single emotion the main character feels. Whether its feelings passionate, all-encompassing love or experiencing that familiar deep, visceral feeling of wanting to enact revenge for being wronged, you will go on an emotional rollercoaster. This book felt PERSONAL and I'm still sitting here taking it all in. Clytemnestra’s characters are utterly fascinating, which is crucial for a novel so driven by the reconciliation between humans and their agency when confronted with tragic fates and unfair societies. Helen is one of my favorite characters. I’ve never read a version of Helen quite like this one. Many retellings paint her as manipulative or aloof or cruel, which is interesting in its own right, but this story does its best to paint Helen in a thoughtful, sympathetic light. She struggles with her self-worth in the face of surface-level judgment and with constant comparisons to her sister. When her issues boil over the cover of subtlety and mildness she tries to fit herself to, she becomes understandably spiteful, then regretful, then desperate. Even after the Trojan War begins, Helen remains an interesting character in the mind of Clytemnestra, who has to grapple with the biased memories she holds of her sister: did the childhood perfect and unbothered version of Helen that Clytemnestra held in her mind ever really exist at all, or was Clytemnestra’s perception of her tainted by comparison? I love how Helen and Clytemnestra’s sisterhood is so complex. It develops through the novel realistically and intriguingly, not to mention Clytemnestra’s relationships with her other siblings and family members. Clytemnestra is fascinating to learn and read about. She is complicated, at times scheming, but intensely revengeful. Yet, she is also a mother who loves her children deeply and a protective sister. As Queen and in her husband's absence, she ruled ruthlessly but fairly, at least by "Ancient Greek" standards. Living in a time when females were almost powerless, she fought for respect and used hers wisely; she was courageous but also unforgiving when wronged. I received a free advanced copy of this book from NetGalley/Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review. Clytemnestra is a book full of names I honestly cannot pronounce right, but had a blast reading anyway. I think the only name I got right was Hermione. But all of that aside, it is a very intriguing story about a Spartan woman and the experience and changes that vengeance brings.A heroine of fierce spirit caught in a world ruled by men, finding a way through with a sharp, unquenchable courage. With the fire and spark of Madeline Miller and the depths of Mary Renault, Clytemnestra will keep you reading well into the small hours, and your dreams will be of worlds where women reach for the gods MANDA SCOTT

Honestly, if anyone gives me feminist Greek mythology I just about combust from excitement and Clytemnestra was absolutely no different, I'm COMPLETELY obsessed and fully intend to make it my entire personality for the next three to six months.If you do recall her name, you might immediately associate her with the archetype of the “bad wife”. If you’d like to read something that turns history on its head, offers a completely different take on the mythic tale of the Spartan Clytemnestra and her sister, Helen [of Troy], have I got a book for you. Clytemnestra is heartbroken, and full of rage. She plots revenge while Agamemnon is away in Troy. In his absence, she allies herself with her husband’s cousin Aegisthus, Agamemnon’s sworn enemy who had staged the coup years before. Upon Agamemnon’s return, she and Aegisthus kill Agamemnon, and they take rule of Mycenae for themselves.