“I, Antigone, have closed my eyes.
My voice is deep and quiet, dark and slow, like a river moving over rocks, never stopping, never ceasing, endless. ….
He was wholly at fault, and he was entirely innocent. This is true of us all if we only knew it. His fate is everyone’s….
I, Antigone, have opened my eyes.”

My thanks to Saga Egmont Audio for a review copy of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘I, Antigone’ by Carlo Gébler and narrated by Stephanie Racine, an experienced actor, who has provided narration for many audiobook titles.

I found this an elegant retelling of the myth of King
Oedipus of Thebes. After hearing a shocking prophecy by the Delphic Oracle the king and queen of Thebes instruct Antimedes, a shepherd, to leave their newborn baby to die on a mountainside. Antimedes cannot bring himself to do it and he gives the baby to another shepherd travelling home to Corinth. He in turn presents the baby to the childless king and queen of Corinth, who name him Oedipus and raise him as their own.

As a young man Oedipus makes his own pilgrimage to the Oracle of Delphi and learns to his horror that it is his fate to kill his father and marry his mother. In order to prevent this happening he vows never to return to Corinth. So where does Oedipus end up? Why Thebes of course and the tragedy unfolds.

Many years later on the eve of a battle between her brothers for the crown of Thebes, Antigone takes on the role of biographer determined to set the record straight about her father's life and death.

Carlo Gébler’s poetic prose had great power and I was especially pleased that he included gods and various magical creatures in his narrative. There was also plenty of action and I was impressed at nd it draws on how vivid his descriptions were throughout. Its characters, both major and minor, emerged vividly from the page.

It feels a very personal tale of a daughter seeking to honour her parents following their deaths. For those aware of Antigone’s own journey, she is very committed to honouring her kin.

I feel that a novel like ‘I, Antigone’ is perfect for the audio format as its style is in keeping with the ancient traditions of storytelling. Stephanie Racine was fantastic as its narrator. Her voice is rich and clear and I felt that she conveyed a sense of Antigone’s authority and determination to set down the story of her family and especially of the tragedy of her parents, Oedipus and Jocasta.

Overall, I found this an excellent retelling of Greek mythology, one of the best I have read in recent years.

Highly recommended.

True to the original myths with little change. Good for people new to the story. It should also be noted that despite the title, the story is focused on Laius and Oedipus rather than Antigone.
The prose is nice, though nothing new in the myth retelling realm. Also, how did Antigone know all of this? She speaks of people’s motivations, conversations and things she would never have been privy to. Still, there are some nice moments of reflection from Antigone throughout the story.
In the end the thing that stuck with me is the problem with the ending message, which is spelled out for the reader. Fate is said to be inescapable, but everything that happens is mainly because of the poor decisions of mortal people. The gods are explicit about what they will do if these people choose certain paths, which are only punishable because the former sins committed by one man who doesn’t even really try for penance.

P.S. The audiobook narrator does a good job with the material and her voice was quite fitting.

Thank you NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio for the ARC.

I loved this book. As a Classics major, I truly felt that the Theban myth was well portrayed, true to the sources. The language is fluid and (since I listened the audiobook version) the narrator did a wonderful job. The characters were believable, flawed and human. The literary aspects and themes of Greek Tragedy were also in I, Antigone, in a way that was clear and accessible for anyone who is not familiar with it - I'm talking namely of the miasma, or the unbreakable destiny/prophecies. It's an easy, interesting and moving read, that is sure to impress any myth retelling fans. Why didn't I give it 5 stars, then? Partly because of tiny reasons (that didn't influence much but that I'd still like to point out) like the onomatopoeia "bang", which felt out of place - it reminds me of a gunshot, not something that would appear in Ancient Greece. Lastly, and after thinking quite a bit about it, about the title and the narrator. The truth is, Antigone is always, in every version of the myth, there to serve others, not herself. So it makes sense that she focuses so much on everyone else's story and so very little on hers. However, the last part of the text fell too rushed (even Oedipus at Colonus, I would have loved to see more of it), it seemed to me that it didn't make much sense for Antigone to talk so much about the lives she didn't live and so little about the parts that she did live. But I'm overall very happy with this new story!

I enjoyed the matter of fact narration for this story. The narrator did a good job and I'd listen to more novels read by her.

I knew the broad strokes of this story but I actually don't think I've ever been familiar with the full sequence of events. It's always interesting to find out more detail. I wonder how much is the commonly accepted course of events from the myth and how much has been changed here.

This story seems more like one where, as so often happens, by trying to avoid the culmination of a prophecy the characters actually ensure that it comes to pass.

However, it still seemed that there were many chances for the characters to make different choices and that had any one event occurred differently than the prophecy could have indeed been thwarted.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

as I was browsing the audiobooks on netgalley, this title caught my eye. I remembered loving "oedipus rex" and "Antigone" when I was in high school and college so I was very excited when I realized my request through netgalley was approved.

I want to start by saying this book is so beautifully written and I have made several bookmarks in the audio version that I am slightly inclined to purchase a physical copy of the book for when I have the space to build out my dream library. there are passages in this book that made me gasp at the imagery with which It was written and there were several passages that I know can stay with me forever.

what made this book a disappointment for me had a lot to do with the expectations I had coming into this novel. I was under the impression that this book would be a retelling of oedipus rex and Antigone. the book is told by Antigone who is chronicling her lineage and trying to make sense of how she came to be. It briefly starts with the story of europa, then moves to jocasta and Laius, oedipus, and finally antigone. it made sense to me that the story progressed in this way. in order to fully understand why oedipus became oedipus, you need to understand where he came from and the context he was borne of. the book was so well done but it fell short of Antigone's story. In this, I find the title to be misleading. antigone is simply a narrator and a product of the story; she is not the heart of it as oedipus is. if there had been more context to her life at the end, I think it would have been more fulfilling for me instead of the throwaway chapter which summarizes, rather briefly, her plotline.

ultimately, I wanted more; and, if I could not have it, I wanted it to be clear that this is a story of her lineage and not of just her. so, regardless of how beautiful the prose, this book did not give me the satisfaction I craved.

… now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some reading to do.

I'm a complete sucker for Greek myths, specifically ones focused on the women and we've been spoilt recently (with The Silence of the Girls, and A Thousand Ships) so I was excited for this, as well as a bit nervous - it didn't let me down!

The narrator, Antigone, attempts to set straight the story of her father, Oedipus, restoring his reputation. Fairly straight-forward retelling, and I didn't get that lost with the usual millions of characters there are in Greek mythology! (Okay, sometimes I did but it wasn't too bad!). It was really interesting to learn more about the Oedipus story that we all sort of know, but not necessarily in much detail. Although the narrator is Antigone. she doesn't actually come in until the last 20%, so don't go expecting lots of Antigone! Instead, we get some other great characters from her ancestors - Europa, Jacasta and Laius.

I think it might be hard to follow if you don't already have some knowledge of the characters - hopefully the book has a family tree at the front! Be aware this isn't like the books I mentioned at the beginning - it doesn't focus on women. Still a good read!

It got off to a bit of a slow start for me (I had to reread it a few times because I didn't get what was going on - this could have been my mood though!) and it isn't a page-turner, but I enjoyed it. I also thought the narration was excellent (although it took me a while to used to the narrator's voice for some reason.)

Great book! If you know you're easily triggered, please do check out the trigger warnings.

Thank you Netgalley and Saga Egmont for a copy of this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Since a controlling factor in my ending up with a Bachelors degree in Classics was my long-lived love for Greek myth, I am always excited to see new retellings. Unfortunately, this one is average, at best.

It does have its pros:
-I think it is fairly approachable and accessible for people who are intimidated by the original myths.
-It strings a thread of continuation through several myths that one might otherwise have come across as distinct, helping the reader connect the often disjointed strings of ancient stories.
-I liked that the narrative comes full circle back to Europa, whose kidnapping sets off the chain of events of the novel, at the end.
-The story is simple enough that it is easy to follow as an audiobook.

That said, I didn't feel that I, Antigone had much of its own voice. It did not add anything to the myth, really. It is less of a retelling and more a novelization of an anthology of connected short stories, changing the format but contributing little to nothing to the content. I found the exclusion of Ismene from most of the book very strange, as one would think that Antigone would have more to say about her own sister in a narrative about her family's tragic history. There were also a few anachronisms in the book that seemed very out of place to me.

The book explicitly opens with rape and kidnapping of Europa and maintains this, admittedly very ancient Greek, level of detail of tragedy throughout. I am always a little off-put by such explicit violence against women voiced through male authors, and that was as true as ever here. It feels a bit strange to read a book that is supposed to be in the voice of a young woman like Antigone, knowing that it was written by a 67-year-old Irish man.

Overall, if you are okay with overt violence, including but not limited to rape and attempted filicide of an infant, but you are intimidated by the original Oedipus trilogy by Sophocles and the other couple of Greek myths smattered into this novel, this could be a good and fairly comprehensive introduction to those characters. However, I would recommend just reading a quality translation of the ancient works for free, instead.

I, Antigone is a straight forward retelling of the famous Greek myth/story of Oedipus which has led to the birth of the term 'Oedipus Complex' and is told from the perspective of Oedipus's daughter Antigone who only makes an appearance as a narrator in the beginning and end of the story.

Anyone who has a knowledge of Greek/Roman mythology can agree that all stories coming out of these mythologies have a sense of injustice pervading through them. The story of Oedipus is no different. The character I sympathised with the most was Antimedes who I felt did what he did with a clean and just heart but ended up with the worst punishment.

I also liked how the author Carlo Gébler tells a somewhat complicated story in a simplified way and begins with Oedipus's ancestors--Europa and her rape by Zeus, Cadmus, his search for Europa and formation of Thebes, Lianus and his misdeed--and connects those incidents with the inevitable fate of Oedipus.

The narration is beautifully done by Stephanie Racine and I feel listening to this as an audiobook would be an excellent choice.

My thanks to NetGalley, the audiobook publisher Saga Egmont and the author for the audio Arc of the book. Publication date is 1st July 2022.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

I do love a story rooted in mythology or history, but this read like more of a history text than a novel. This was really the history of Oedipus, his parents, and his birth parents with Antigone as narrator, starting with the evolution of his birth parents' relationship and continuing through the prophecies of the Oracle of Delphi, which drove their decision making. As with all mythology, there is plenty of tragedy, misunderstandings, bed hopping, and attempts to manipulate fate.

It was interesting and well-written, but didn't really develop the characters as personalities as much as treat them as historical figures moving on the board so it was a bit dry for me, overall.

I loved the audio narrator and would definitely listen to her again.

I love Greek mythology, so I was excited to pick up I, Antigone. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite what I expected and did not resound with me the way I wish it had.

Mythology retellings have become super popular the last few years, especially the ones that focus on a character and really bring them to life with vivd details and emotions that don't exist in the myths themselves. This book, however, does not do that. It lacks those kind of character details that bring them off the page. It does a great job of recounting the entire story of Oedipus, but I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters. I also expected (based on the title and description) to hear a lot more about Antigone, but she was really only present as a narrator.

Sadly, this story wasn't a hit for me. The narrator was great, but I was counting the hours until the audiobook ended.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! We have Antigone telling us some stories of her family. We cover Europa and Cadmus, the founding of Thebes, Jocasta. I really loved the narrator for this audiobook as well, very engaging in their reading.

This was a beautifully narrated audiobook. Stephanie Racine does a beautiful job of putting the lyrical rhythm of ancient epics into this retelling. I felt very connected with Antigone's character, less so because of the content itself, but because of the voice she gave to her.

This was a fairly true to mythos retelling of Oedipus' tragedy. I did feel most of the book was more focused on him than Antigone herself, but considering that Sophocles' play did much of the same, it didn't catch me off guard. I do feel that a more unique retelling would give Antigone more character and agency, but this was still both fun and familiar.

3.5 stars for the book itself, 5 stars for the narration.

The story of Oedipus is one of my favourites. This rendition does not pull it's punches and fully describes the reality that one cannot outrun fate. I did find it a bit unusual that the titular character does not feature more but I don't feel like it detracted from the quality of the story.

Descriptive and captivating! My only critique is that there were an overwhelming amount of characters, true to the nature of this genre, but it was hard to follow in a audio format. Having a family tree in the print version may be helpful for readers to keep track.

Always love listening to Oedipus’ story,
Thought provoking on how one cannot escape their fate. Destiny catches up with you, you cannot defy the gods.
Greatly narrated, engaging and classical.

Thank you to New Island and NetGalley for providing me with this ALC in exchange for an honest review!

I picked up this one because Antigone, duh! And because I actually did enjoy reading the Oedipus books in high school. I think this was an interesting take, but I wasn't quite as fulfilled as I had hoped to be, I think I expected a much more nuanced take, and what I got was good, but not anything super new. I still highly recommend to Greek tragedy lovers and those who got in many unnecessary debates with boys in lit classes just to show you were smarter!

Between having been a big fan of mythology since before I hit double-digits and the comparison made to Madeleine Miller's work, I expected I, Antigone to be a bit hit. I was sorely disappointed. That's the trouble with setting high expectations. . . . Notice that I haven't rated the story poorly—I'm just not wowed.
Antigone is barely more than the narrator. There is next-to-nothing relating to her personal actions or feelings. [Contrast this to Miller's Circe, the retelling of which I enjoyed and rated highly.]

Rape and murder abound. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has read Greek mythology. Zeus abducts and rapes Europa, and Laius (Oedipus' father/Antigone's grandfather) rapes a young servant boy. Both are described graphically to no real “benefit” to this story, in my opinion. In the murder department: Laius orders that his infant son (later named Oedipus by his adoptive parents) be murdered (obviously, that doesn't happen); years later, Oedipus murders Laius (whom he doesn't know is his birth father), as prophesied; and there are other “less important” murders as well. Multiple suicides and maims are also described.

The most interesting and only possibly decent characters end up being the servants who care for Queen Jocasta (Oedipus' mother/later wife; Antigone's grandmother and mother) during her pregnancy and beyond, and who facilitate the rescue of the infant Oedipus. These servants are present throughout the story—they appear toward the end as Oedipus' true identity is discovered/revealed, bringing the story full-circle.

Thank you, NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio, for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review. Publication is expected July 1.

We have heard of Oedipus (of Oedipus Complex fame). But did you know his story?

I, Antigone, is the story of Oedipus told through his daughter - step-sister, Antigone's, voice. When I saw the title, I thought there would be more of Antigone but we see her only in the beginning and at the very end.

The story, as all Greek epics, is full of twists and turns and violence. The author does justice to the topic by managing to bring those turbulent times before our eyes. The story also talks about how seemingly unconnected events (the kidnap of Europa, Oedipus marrying his mother) are, in fact, connected deeply. And how people can go to any lengths to achieve their horrific dreams.

The narrator, Stephanie Racine, was excellent. Greek myths usually have a lot of characters and she managed to keep them separate.

I found the violence sometimes too gratuitous and there was also some unnecessary description of naked bodies.



3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thanks to Netgalley and Saga Egmont Audio for the ARC

I enjoyed this audio book, though it seemed to take me a long time to get through it. I love a retelling of Greek myths, and was pleased to listen to an unravelling of the background story of Oedipus and Jocasta. Stephanie Racine's narration was spot on: making it seem very factual, even the more shocking parts of the story. It really makes you think about the lifestyles of the rich versus the slaves at that time. Thank you NetGalley for this proof.

This was a straightforward retelling of Oedipus, told by Antigone. But it didn’t start with Oedipus. It started with Zeus’s rape of Europa and follows the whole family tree. There is very little about Antigone in the story. She is just recounting her family’s history as she knows it. This is honestly just a modern retelling and doesn’t turn the myths on their head or offer any additional explanation. It is just hand-waving over the parts where you might want more explanation. The narration of the audio was good, but the story itself felt dry and a bit overly detailed with the rape scenes. The ick factor was expected given the story of Oedipus, but I didn’t expect to feel creepy about Antigone telling the story of her grandfather raping a young slave in detail. I think, somehow, readers were expected to feel some empathy for the rapist. But all I felt was uncomfortable and vaguely bored. This is not a bad book and I think a lot of readers got more out of this than I did, but I might have DNFd this book if I wasn’t obligated to finish it for NetGalley.