Despite being familiar with their stories, I felt in reading Elektra it was truly a Greek tragedy.

Told from the perspective of Elektra, Clytemnestra, and Cassandra, the reader is brought into the complexities of family dynamics, faith, personal conflicts, revenge, and in general, what life can be like for some people.

While Elektra reminded me how much I enjoy Greek mythology, it felt more as if I were ready truly human stories rather than mythological ones.

I look forward to reading more by Jennifer Saint.

A gorgeous necessary reimagining of the Trojan War from the perspective of three women: Elektra, Clytemnestra and Cassandra.

Jennifer Saint's Elektra weaves the stories of Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and Elektra together, allowing us to witness events during the Trojan War from their perspective. The House of Atreus is cursed. A bloodline tainted by a generational cycle of violence and vengeance. A spellbinding reimagining of the story of Elektra, one of Greek mythology’s most infamous heroines, from the author of the beloved international bestseller, Ariadne.

Clytemnestra was the daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, the King and Queen of Sparta, making her a Spartan Princess. She's also the sister of Helen, alleged daughter Zeus who chose Menelaus as her husband. But after a peace contingent from Troy arrives, she is spirited away by Paris, the prince of Troy. Agamemnon of Mycenae raises a great army against them, and determines to win, whatever the cost. But after he murders one of her daughters, Iphigenia, as a sacrifice to the Goddess Artemis, Clytemnestra spends the next 9 years waiting for Agamemnon to come back to war so that she can pay him back for the betrayal. Clytemnestra all but ignores her own daughter, Elektra, as well as the new born son Orestes. She begins a love affair with Aegisthus, her husband's cousin who saw his father Thyestes betrayed by Agamemnon.

Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, lords of Troy, making her a Princess of Troy, sister to Hector and Paris. Cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks of it, she knows that Paris is going to be the trigger a war that will see Troy face the entire Greek army when he returns with Helen. She is powerless to stop it since few people believe her prophecies. She saw that Troy would fall by a clever machination of the Greeks, but her fellow citizens, including her father, did not listen to her words, thus causing the end of the city. In a final embarrassment to her, she's taken by Agamemnon back to Sparta. Cassandra is much more sympathetic than either Clytemnestra or Elektra.

Elektra was the youngest daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae. She was the sister of Iphigenia and Chrysothemis, as well as Orestes. Elektra story in this book is kind of twisted. She adores her father, who she barely knew, idolized him like he was Achilles, and is sad that it takes 9 years for him to return. Her singular focus and fixation and devotion to the idea of a man Elektra is a person who has this image in her head of her father and will do absolutely anything to keep up that image, including justifying his cruelty and brutality. She hates her mother because she not only ignored her for years, but plotted to assassinate her father with her lover. If you are into mythology, I would recommend that you look up her story and see that she and Orestes had an interesting.

The reason for my rating is simple. I would have liked this story more had the publisher and author separated the years. I know the story begins shortly before the Trojan War. I know that certain characters like Elektra and Orestes grow up quickly but there's no timeline as to how old these characters are at the end of the story. The Trojan War allegedly took place between 1194-1184 BC.

Smooth writing, excellent handling of the darker sides of mythology and history without it ever seeming gratuitous. Characters were engaging and even at their worst, the reader is still compelled to care about these women and hope for the best, despite knowing what will happen--in true Greek tragedy fashion.

This one is perfect for anyone who's been stuck in a "book hole" since they finished Circe!

Saint takes a look at the classic story of Helen of Troy from the seat of her sister Clytemnestra and a few of the other women involved concluding with Clytemnestra's daughter Elektra's story. It is beautifully written and drags all of your feelings through the dirt behind the tragic chariot that was their life.

I received an ARC of Elektra from Flatiron Books in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Saint’s follow-up to Ariadne is called Elektra, but that is somewhat misleading—the titular character shares this story, which encompasses events prior to and during Homer’s Iliad and Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, with Clytemnestra (her mother) and Cassandra of Troy (The Trojan Women, or something similar, might have been a better name for this book; even though Elektra and Clytemnestra are not from Troy, it still shapes their story, and I don’t think Euripides, who is currently very deceased, would mind the title of his play revitalized). I am glad Saint chose to tell this story from multiple POVs—the scope and interplay between the three central characters is crucial—but as the book becomes more thematically complex, she struggles to make it cohere.

Clytemnestra’s story is the most straightforward and the most engaging: her husband, Agamemnon, sacrifices their daughter, Iphigenia, to curry favor with the gods prior to sailing for Troy, and so she waits for him to come home so she can kill him. The chapter in which Iphigenia is sacrificed is a highlight of Elektra—Clytemnestra and her daughter are in the dark about what Agamemnon is planning (he tells them Iphigenia will be marrying Achilles, which surely should have made them suspicious; we all know Achilles and Patroclus are OTP), and Saint effectively builds a sense of mounting dread as the chapter closes in on its bloody finale. Clytemnestra has clear motivations as the novel moves on, and after she has had her revenge (...spoilers?), Saint brings her emotional arc to a surprisingly lovely conclusion that speaks to vengeance as a theme.

Elektra is handled a bit more clumsily. She continues to idolize her father even knowing that he killed her sister (she justifies it the same way he does, as a cruel necessity within their religious worldview), and she plots against her mother even as her mother plots against her father. It’s a fascinating contrast of ideologies, but because Saint never quite manages to convincingly put the reader into Elektra’s headspace—a headspace warped by a culture so savage that it seems almost alien, at least to me, although its patriarchal nature is far from unfamiliar—her side of the story never truly feels like it becomes a legitimate complement or counterpoint to Clytemnestra’s. Worse, her youth strips her of agency and prevents her from becoming a fully active character.

Cassandra is completely fumbled, and that’s especially disappointing because she has the most potential: her story resonates through time in a way that Clytemnestra’s and Elektra’s don’t. She rejects advances from Apollo and is cursed with the gift of foresight—but when she speaks her prophecies, no one believes her, which is not a thing that has happened to any woman ever (/s). This particular plot, though, doesn’t have anything interesting to contribute thematically, nor does it mesh well from a structural standpoint; it crashes into Clytemnestra’s story with all the grace of a runaway train, and I found myself somewhat baffled as to why it was included at all.

Elektra is a decent book. Saint’s prose is not exceptional, but it is competent, and she does occasionally muster a striking sequence or bit of imagery. Cassandra’s story is an absolute disaster and Elektra’s isn’t particularly strong, but Clytemnestra carries most of the novel with confidence. I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend Elektra when the market is saturated with Circe-likes, many of which are better than this (including Vaishnavi Patel’s exceptional Kaikeyi, which published only a week prior), but I wouldn’t warn anyone away either. If you can’t get enough of books like these, you will likely find Elektra sufficiently satisfying.

I love books with just awful angry women and this did not disappoint. I felt like I had some familiarity with the story after reading A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes but Elektra really fleshed out the characters, especially with Clytemnestra and Elektra.

The story is told in alternating chapters and begins with Clytemnestra meeting and eventually marrying Agamemnon. Clytemnestra is the sister of Helen and cousin of Penelope so we get hints of what's to come. Clytemnestra also does not know about Agamemnon's gruesome family history but learns soon after marrying him. Unfortunately, her worry over his history proves true after he sacrifices her beloved daughter Iphigenia and basically drives Clytemnestra mad with anger and she spends most of the book plotting her revenge. The story also intertwines the story of Cassandra princess of Troy who can speak the future though no one believes her. She is Agamemnon's prize after the Greeks win the war. Her chapters are beautiful and heartbreaking since if you're familiar with her story you know what is coming. Finally, Elektra's chapters are the most infuriating and a little creepy which I think is the point. Elektra loves her father and will forgive him anything (including the murder of her sister). Her mother is not so lucky and after Clytemnestra kills Agamemnon Elektra spends the rest of her chapters plotting revenge. The bloodline really is cursed.

Overall the book was very good and I love re-tellings of mythology especially when they focus on lesser-known characters (women). My one and only issue with this book is that I'm not sure it's approachable for everyone. I like Greek myths and am familiar with the story of the Trojan war and I really enjoyed it. However, if you aren't familiar with the story it can be kind of confusing. I wasn't as familiar with Agamemnon's family and his ancestor Tantalus and had to look up Tantalus's story myself. I didn't have to but I was interested and wanted to know more. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing but I do think if you're not a little familiar with Greek myths this can be a difficult book to start. I really enjoyed it and I highly recommend it.

I was provided a free copy of this book through NetGalley.

I very much enjoyed Jennifer Saint’s earlier foray into ancient myth and history. Her first novel, Ariadne, was an absorbing read that captured a time and place and did so from the women’s point of view. I also highly recommended this new book to those who like historical fiction and are fascinated by ancient Greece.

Some of the characters in this novel may be known to readers while others may not; they are numerous and may be a bit challenging for some readers to keep track of. It is worth the effort to sort them out!

The historical period is partly around the Trojan War. Complex loyalties and revenge dictate much of the action leading to war and other decisions made by the men in this book.

Some of the couples whom readers get to know are Penelope/Odysseus; Clytemnestra/Agamemnon; and Helen/Menelaus/Paris. There are also many others who are important to the narrative including Elektra, Iphigenia, Achilles and Cassandra. Each is entangled within their family, marriages, infidelities, history and gods. It makes for a satisfying narrative.

Inside this story are wars, complex relationships, revenge, honor, daily life and more. Reading this novel, of course, I saw how over the top the Greek Gods could be. Life from the female point of view is very well portrayed.

I found this title to be an immersive read. I recommend it highly.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

This was a very quickly paced retelling with a focus: the women surrounding Agamemnon.

We get three perspectives for the majority of the story but if you know your mythology you can see the tide pulling you toward inevitable deaths. I have always loved myths surrounding Troy and the Major Players involved so I was very eager to read this. I will not be putting anything in a spoiler because this story has existed for years and this is simply a new version of it.

Pro:
Paced Well
Three Unique Voices
Fun interpretations of classic text

Depending on who you talk to, the Cassandra myth could happen many ways but the end result is the same: Cassandra can tell the future but no one believes her. I think her sections were the hardest to read as I have always maintained that this sort of thing was my biggest fear. Imagine knowing over and over what could save your family to have them simply look at you with hate or pity? Her journey to her ultimate death at the hands of Clytemnestra is so sad and well done.
Likewise the most emotionally jarring moment of the whole book was Iphigenia's death - not because I was surprised but by how effected Clytemnestra was in the writing. You can feel her very physical grief and distress and how it slowly morphs into cold revenge and anger, leading her to where she ends up. Also, watching this cool as well after avenging her daughter was so sad. I feel like we got brief glimpses at how regretful she was about failing to be involved with her living kids at the end but I wish I'd seen more of that.
Truly then out of the characters our only weak link is Elektra, our titular character. Elektra was not the most enjoyable POV person as her utter devotion to her father, realistically rooted in being YOUNG when he left, was still off-putting and annoying. Elektra may be a result of devotion to her father but she most definitely is also the result of neglect from her mother. Her chapters just sort of ran on with the same tone for most of the novel and were quickly skimmed.

Negative:
End Pacing
Time jumps

The end tends to hurry along and the time jumps in general, most times almost ten years, were jarring and out of place while mid-read. I know there is only so much you can do to show time passing in a novel but it felt hurried in weird ways at times.

I do think I'll be looking to get a version of this for my classroom library so that there is a more modern version of this specific text for my kids to read.

This intriguing tragic story follows three women all bound to suffer from the curse on House Atreus. Clytemnestra, loyal to her children, plots revenge against her husband after the death of one of her daughters. Princess Cassandra of Troy, cursed by Apollo to see the future, but never to be believed when she speaks, desperately tries to save her family and people. Elektra, daughter of Clytemnestra, is fiercely loyal to her father and is fueled by hate for her mother to avenge her father. This story is an insightful mythology retelling about family, revenge, and tragedy. I really enjoyed the 3 different point of views. The were beautifully woven together by the author. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this read in exchange for a review!!

Elektra by Jennifer Saint is a reimaging of the story surrounding Elektra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. On the eve of the Trojan war, Agamemnon commits the unthinkable to ensure success in his endeavors, filicide. While Clytemnestra never forgives her husband, Elektra never forgives her mother for what comes next. With the Trojan war as a backdrop, the members of the Atreus house betrayal of each other become the betrayals of a nation.

I didn't know too much about Elektra, only that she was the daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. I like how Jennifer Saint splits the story into the three voices to understand where the character is in the story and how they are feeling. Cassandra is a fantastic character. Elektra is an angry girl. Her mother welcomes an enemy into their house. Cassandra sees all and isn't believed by anyone. I do sympathize with Clytemnestra after her older daughter was killed. The scene is shocking even as it is mentioned in the myths. Again Jennifer Saint's retelling is great for anyone who loves Greek mythology. You will not be disappointed.

Saint returns with a dazzling new book worth of its amazing predecessor Ariadne. Here, a vibrant retelling of the Trojan war and the Greek House of Atreus centers on the intimate perspectives of several strong women behind their warrior husbands, sons, fathers and brothers as the Greeks and men of Troy fight a ten-year war. Suddenly the Trojan war, Helen of Troy, Paris, and all the Greek soldiers who made it to mythic fame get a powerful mythical-quality retelling from a feminist perspective. The story unravels from the alternating perspectives of women from both the House of Atreus as well as the kingdom of Troy: Clytemnestra, Electra and Cassandra.

Cassandra, a daughter of the royal Troy family is befallen frequently by searing visions of future tragedies given to her by Apollo, to whom she serves as a disciple and priestess. Cassandra has ceaselessly prayed for the future prophecy seeing of her mother, and Apollo grants her wish. But as he grants the gift, he seeks sexual favors in return which the virgin Cassandra spurns. Apollo turns the gift into a curse, such that no one hearing Cassandra’s prophesies will believe her, and at the same time Saint buckets even the male gods as the same brutish domineering mortals doing battle. In the current “me too” movement, Apollo would make front page news much like a Hollywood producer demanding sexual favors in exchange for help.

Clytemnestra, the twin sister of the gorgeous Helen of Troy, languishes in the shadows of her sister’s effervescence before being married off to Agamemnon, the brother of her sister’s husband. Her husband she comes to learn comes from the House of Atreus, cursed by countless generations killing each other in a story of unending revenge upon revenge. Much like the United States women suddenly stepping into “men’s” work and powerful positions as men went off to fight World War II, in Saint’s storytelling Clytemnestra takes over the management of their kingdom and wielding of power, given that all men except the elderly and young boys have absconded to a decade long war far away from home. Clytemnestra comes to loath her husband, takes over his kingdom in his absence, and formulates an act of revenge of her own.

Electra, the isolated and antisocial daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, acutely feels the loss of her beloved and idealized father to war, and the lack of any attention or affection from her mother.

Saint’s poetic writing births a new mythology for the silenced women of whom the bards did not sing or embody into passed down legends. And Saint as bard sings such a perfect pitch melody in bringing the Greek mythology alive from a uniquely women-centric perspective. Saint ensures that the women’s tales reverberate with a mythical ethos, but this time from the vantage point of wives left behind, mothers worried about their soldier sons, and daughters bemoaning the loss of their fathers and brothers. The women’s tales become entwined, with pathos and tragedy ensuing as in all Greek tragedies.

Thanks to FlatIron books and Netgalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

I loved Circe, song of Achilles and Ariadne. I was so excited to get an arc of this one and it did. It disappoint!! This blew me away. I didn’t love the pacing of Ariadne, but Saint definitely found her groove for this book. I love the feminist retellings! All three woman has rich stories. I might not have loved their personalities, but I loved their characters.

Jennifer Saint is an absolute treasure, and her newest novel Elektra is no different from what we're used to seeing her put forth. I loved this book and the story within, and cannot wait for folks to dive into this as well.

NetGalley Advanced Copy | We devoured Ariadne, making Elektra one of our most anticipated books of 2022 - it did not disappoint.

Saint is the goddess of Greek mythology retellings, adding flair and fire to stories that place women at the forefront of history.

We cannot wait for even more novels from this author.

Read our full review on The Uncorked Librarian here: https://www.theuncorkedlibrarian.com/books-about-greece/

Thank you to NetGalley & Flatiron for a free advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The House of Atreus carried a curse. A particularly gruesome one, even by the standards of divine torment.

Three women. Three different stories. In Elektra, the author weaves the stories of Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and Elektra together, allowing us to witness events during the Trojan War from their perspective. Life is rarely kind to the women in Greek tragedies as they live in fear of either the whims of the gods or of men.

When I read Ariadne, the previous book by the author, I would grow frustrated with the main character for not taking more control over her own life. Looking back, I was probably harsher on her than I should have been. But I cannot say the same for the women in Elektra. Unlike Ariadne who I wished took more control, the women in Elektra took decisive actions that forever changed the course of their story. But as much as I appreciate how they took more initiative, it is difficult, if not impossible, to ignore how some of those choices are just simply flawed and come with terrible consequences.

"Every word I speak is unwelcome." – CASSANDRA


In thinking about the three women, I hate to lump Cassandra together with Clytemnestra and Elektra. Cassandra is much more sympathetic and I found myself growing frustrated on her behalf. Seeing the future, but never believed. And if someone did believe her, the future remain unchanged due to that individuals own obstinance. My only concern regarding her story is that I couldn’t make sense of why everyone thought she was mad or disturbed. Or perhaps it is more appropriate to say I never could figure out why she couldn’t provide a reasonable voice to what she was seeing. You don’t have to know everything that will occur in the future in order to say “This small thing is what I saw.”

But for Clytemnestra and Elektra… Where does one even start. The author does an excellent job of showing all the steps that led to the path this mother and daughter took and to the consequences that you know are inevitable. But still…Elektra. Her singular focus on a father she barely knew. Her fixation and devotion to the idea of a man that clearly did not exist, I could never understand. But what struck me at times was how little regard she had for women experiencing cruelty at the hands of the gods and men. Her lack of empathy and sympathy shows how small her emotional range is and I can’t help but wonder if she is a caricature of herself and not fleshed out or if it is the best way to explain what is potentially a mental disorder. It is clear that Clytemnestra ignored her, which added to Elektra’s problems, but I find that Elektra should have been able to reach some reasonable conclusions to past events that she willfully chose to ignore.

The book evokes so many thoughts and emotions that I never could pin one thought down in regards to the characters. I would feel so incredibly sad for Clytemnestra and then several pages later so frustrated with her. The women are complex and it shows by their decisions and with the rationale and motives behind those decisions. In the end, the stories of each of the women and the build up of all the pieces kept me thoroughly engaged. Often I found myself reading longer than I had originally planned.

Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for the advanced reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

9781250773616

289. Pages
Publisher: Flat Iron Books
Release Date: May 3, 2022

Fiction, Mythology

This is a retelling of the Trojan war from three women’s’ perspective. Clytemnestra is Helen’s sister although Zeus is not her father. While Helen chooses Menelaus as a husband, Clytemnestra chooses his brother Agamemnon. Elektra is her daughter and loves her father. Cassandra is a princess of Troy, cursed by Apollo and given the gift of prophecy yet no one believes her.

The book has a steady pace, and the characters are well developed. The story is told in the first-person point of view from the three women. It is full of passion – love and anger. I read the book in one sitting, liked it so much I read it again. You really cannot go wrong with mythology stories, and this retelling is certainly a winner.

My two favorite genres are historical fiction and fantasy. All novels about ancient mythology usually appeal to me for that reason so when I saw that Elektra was about a few of the key female figures during the battle of Troy time period, I was ALL about it.

The story is told from three different points of view: Clytemnestra, Cassandra and Elektra. I enjoyed all three for different reasons, but my favorite was Clytemnestra. I felt that she had the most depth. I don’t want to spoil any major plot points but there were many times throughout the book where Clytemnestra had to make hard choices and those choices usually caused major repercussions. Sometimes she did things that weren’t necessarily good or for the best, but her decisions were understandable. She came across as a flawed, but very human, character.

I also really enjoyed Cassandra’s point of view but I wish she would have been in the story more. Her parts were, for the most part, tragic and I so desperately wanted her to find happiness. Unfortunately, like most mythological stories, that didn’t happen.

Elektra was my least favorite character BUT I think she was supposed to be unlikable. Due to tragic events in her life, she became a miserable person. While that’s understandable, it doesn’t make for the most fun character to read about. I didn’t absolutely hate her but I am glad the book wasn’t told solely from her POV.

Other than Elektra, my only complaints with this book were with the pacing and lack of depth. I found it difficult to keep up with the time period because there would be jumps of like ten years that weren’t made obvious. This wasn’t a big deal, just something I noticed. I also would have liked to have seen more in-depth relationships because most felt very surface level. Again, this isn’t a big deal or something that made me dislike the story; it’s simply what I wish could have been different.

I have long been a fan of Greek mythology, and when I see a new retelling, I instantly gravitate towards it. I really enjoyed Jennifer Saint's previous book, Ariade, and was excited to get a chance to read Elektra! As it happened, I read this shortly after reading Clare Heywood's excellent Daughters of Sparta, which tells much the same story, albeit in a different manner. I don't want to dwell on comparing the two, though I did feel Daughters of Sparta was, perhaps, done with a greater commitment to historical detail. For example, in the way the women behaved, their curbed freedoms, even the way the names were spelled, which was somewhat inconsistent in Elektra, where the author chose only to spell er name with the "K" as would have been correct, but Clytemnestra and Cassandra with "Cs", though, as far as I know, there is not letter "c" in Greek. Nitpicky, I know, just something I noticed, yet which, of course, did not take away from the overall telling of the tale. Besides, I am no scholar, so likely there is a reason for this discrepancy, which I simply do not know.
The story itself was familiar to me, and yet I felt engaged from start to finish. I have always seen Clytemnestra as a victim, Agamemnon as a monster, and so this version of the story appealed to me. I don't want to give anything away fro the readers who are unfamiliar with the story, but I felt for all the characters, so many women who were used as pawns in the games of men and gods and suffered for it. The writing flowed well, and there was no choppiness when Saint switched from one POV to another, though the most compelling chapters for me were the ones told by Clytemnestra.
If you are a fan of mythology or retellings, this may very well be for you. I am certainly looking forward to seeing what Jennifer Saint comes up with next!