There are moments when she is scathing in her critique of men and disdain for the ancient poets, and moments where she is softer in the fondness she feels for her queens. And having Hera, frustrated and overlooked and put-upon Hera, be the way into this story ends up feeling extremely inspired. It shows the brutality of their existence and the lack of choice women had when forging ahead after abandonment or married to men they barely knew, expected to bow to every whim of their husbands, fathers, sons, and the patriarchy in general.

And just to add another wrinkle to the cloth, Orestes and Elektra turn up from Mycenae with news of Agamemnon’s murder, convinced that their murdering mother, her cousin Clytemnestra, has sought refuge on Ithaca. We know the story of the suitors and how Odysseus tricked and defeated them, but Penelope’s entire experience is often glazed over.Claire North is a pseudonym for Catherine Webb, a Carnegie Medal-nominated author whose first book was written when she was just fourteen years old. I realise that what makes him king amongst the gods is less the thunderbolt he wields and simply that he believes himself set upon high. I’ve always disliked Hera, but in the past year or so I’ve read multiple books that showcased facets of her I had never considered. Ici l’histoire nous est narrée à travers les yeux de la déesse Hera, une déesse que je ne portais pas vraiment dans mon cœur et en lisant ce livre je me suis rendue compte qu’en fait je voyais Hera comme on me l’avait décrite à savoir une femme jalouse vindicative et terrifiante.

She’s a goddess “of a certain age,” getting plumper with time, who sees the gods and goddesses in Olympus though unflinching eyes.The writing is so excellent as well I can’t help compare how valuable it is among Miller and Atwood’s retellings. When the others are dead and gone, when Clytemnestra’s body is burnt and Penelope has breathed her last, only Elektra will remain, the last woman to carry my fire. It has been seventeen years since Odysseus left Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War, leaving his young bride Penelope and infant son Telemachus behind.

So yes, it's about war, too, and what war does to the women left behind, stuck in a culture that tells them they can do nothing even when there is no one else left to do it.While we learn a lot more about what she does in Odysseus' absence, this storytelling approach does feel somewhat distant. Ancient geopolitics, espionage, treachery, and games of power make it thrilling, and deeply personal stakes make it intimate and focused. However, I did find that the novel lacked pace (surprising given the twist), which is why I am withholding one star - but I will no doubt read the sequel in due course. Had I not been familiar with these, I might have gotten lost in the names and the plot and not noticed the superb writing and how North was playing with form. The scraps of freedom that we have are to pick between two poisons, to make the least bad decision we can, knowing that there is no outcome that will not leave us bruised.