Ithaca is the story of the last three queens of Greece, but zeroing in on the one who is most often left to fade into the background. Focusing on what happens on the island of Ithaca in the years following the Trojan War, the story of Penelope and what she does to continue ruling when by all rights she, as a woman, shouldn't be ruling is hauntingly beautiful. With Hera telling the story as she looks on from the immortal plain, it allows the readers to understand more about what was happening to the women while they all waited for their husbands to come home with Odysseus. This story is absolutely beautiful and truly allows readers to understand more about what the women must have gone through as they tried to carry on and maintain a society without half of their population.

I love Claire North's writing! This particular book is a retelling of the myth of Odysseus. As many other recent retellings, this one amplifies the female voices and is very much focused on the women and their perspectives. In fact, the narrator is Hera, the goddess of earth and fertility and the sister-wife of Zeus, who is traditionally portrayed as jealous and evil. I really loved reading the story from her point of view. She certainly does not come across as meek and submissive (which is NOT a flaw in my book). I found her narrative to be highly entertaining: it is sarcastic and witty. Overall, the book is a fresh take on a well-known myth and the men do not look quite the heroes they are supposed to be. I really enjoyed this one!

I wanted to love this because I do love a good retelling but the POV felt so off to me, I was confused. I don't mind a lot of characters in a story, but I also want to completely understand what I'm reading. There were times when the story was really strong and those moments were great but I couldn't connect the way I wanted to...

Tuesday is pub day for Ithaca! Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the early copy.

I love retellings of Greek myths, especially the ones told from POV of the women. This one is told in the voice of Hera, who shares her secrets and snarkiest opinions with the reader. Beta’s perspective was definitely my favorite part of the book, it was that much more fun than having an unnamed omniscient narrator. She watches as Penelope struggles to maintain her position as widow and queen, despite the suitors in her banquet hall and pirates in her shores. The dialogue was sassy and fun while the story struck deep. Ithaca is an ode to the unspoken suffering of people left behind when men set out to be heroes.

Giving this book a goddess for a narrator was a great idea. Making that goddess Hera? The BEST idea. This book is thoughtful and lyrical but also laugh-out-loud funny and snarky. Absolutely the best Odyssey retelling, in part because it has the least Odysseus.

I am an utter whore for Greek mythology retellings focused on the under-appreciated and misunderstood women of said mythology. And Ithaca was no different. While at times it could be difficult to get into, the chapters that hit, really hit. There were some sections that had me as close to crying as my combo of birth control and anti-anxiety meds will let me. I also saw that there is a sequel planned for early next year and I am beyond excited. Penelope has always been such an interesting character to me ever since I first read The Odyssey freshman year of high school. I think this book was also even more interesting due to it being narrated by Hera. This narration took a bit for me to pick up on, but once you do, it's amazing. If you are at all interested in what the hell they did on Ithaca during the 10 years after the end of the Trojan War and Odysseus' return or Penelope at all as a character, go pick up this book.

“Seventeen years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom.
 
Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. While he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door. 
 
No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne—not yet. But everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, and Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war. Only through cunning, wit, and her trusted circle of maids, can she maintain the tenuous peace needed for the kingdom to survive.”

This story starts where Illyrians attack a small village on Ithaca where a girl, Teodora escapes with an older woman to alert Penelope about the attack. A whole generation of men was lost after the battle of Troy. There are only elderly men and young boys to defend Ithaca from those who have been attacking it. And those on the council don’t think Penelope has what it takes to keep everyone safe. I love the journey that these characters take.

I very much enjoy historical novels (I have a BA in history) and this book checked every box I was looking for in this reimagining of Ithaca after the Battle of Troy. It was so interesting reading a book about this time in Grecian history that is about the women and not just men. The author also was able to tie in the history of the Gods into this story which I really enjoyed. Ancient Greek history is my favorite time period and I could not put this book down. I’m really hoping that there will be another book!!

I didn't hate this, but I was expecting to love it and therefore ended up disappointed. 😅 Unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations for another myth retelling in the vein of Circe, Ariadne, or Kaikeyi.

It is a woman-focused, feminist myth retelling. The difference is that those stories were first person narratives following the (nearly) entire lives of the main characters. Ithaca is narrated by Hera, but isn't really Hera's story. I think this is supposed to be the story of Ithaca (Ithaca specifically after the Trojan war but before Odysseus's return). But it is confusing because we are getting Hera's perspective of Penelope mostly. It feels like it wants to be the story of Penelope, but it doesn't fully commit. And that lowered the stakes and my investment as a reader.

The story portrays many different female characters all dealing with the patriarchy in different ways. I think that that was the ultimate point of this story. Ariadne did something similar. The difference is that Ariadne made me really deeply sympathize with the characters and filled me with warmth and hope. Ithaca did none of those things for me. Ariadne had beautiful, flowing prose. Ithaca had prose that was perfectly fine, but not especially beautiful.

I'm being really critical, but I did enjoy this. Some of the female characters were really badass! There were definitely some cool scenes.


Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the e-arc.

Sexual violence? Yes. Other content warnings? Slavery, violence, misogyny, killing.

“Ithaca,” by Claire North, tries to explore what might have happened on Ithaca during Odysseus’s decade trying to return home to Ithaca. If you haven’t read (or are very familiar with) The Iliad or The Odyssey, this book may be difficult for you. Characters are introduced without background explanation for the most part, which had me consulting online sources for a Greek myth refresher. As other reviewers have noted, this book is narrated by Hera who has the advantage of “seeing all,” and throwing in some rather pointed wit. While I felt this was a good choice for the overall story, unfortunately I never felt like one got to “know” Penelope herself, other than she was trying to keep her husband’s kingdom afloat and she cared about his/their people. I have the feeling that this book was a lot deeper than I chose to read into it as there’s a lot about female power and the path females were (are?) forced to walk whether they want to or not. I’ve never been a huge fan of Clytemnestra or Elektra, but I found the weaving in of their stories into the overall story of Ithaca an interesting one. I liked the character of Kenamon; between helping (and fleshing out) Telemachus and viewing Ithaca through a foreigner’s eyes, he was, for me, the one suitor who stood out (which may have been Ms. North’s point - the suitors should be interchangeable). This book did take me a while to get interested in and in the end I think it could be edited down a bit to quicken the overall pacing. As this is noted in Goodreads as the first in a series, I’ll probably read the sequel to see what else happens. If you’ve ever wondered “what were the womenfolk back home doing during the Trojan War,” this might be a book to pick up and read. A 3.75 read for me, rounded up to 4.

"However the gods move in our lives, good sister, let us not imagine they move for any whims save their own.”

3.5/5 stars

Ithaca is a interesting book. It focuses on the women of the Odyssey, particularly Penelope. It is told from the eyes of Hera who looks upon the queens of Greece with intrigue, at times meddling in their fates.

I am torn with my feelings on this book for many reasons. For one, the story is enthralling. Penelope and her maids's scheming and planning felt real to me and I was almost never bored while reading.

At the same time, I found the writing somewhat dense and unclear. Hera's voice, while an unique lens, at times holds the narrative's emotion back.

This book is written with the assumption that you know Greek Mythology. Specifically, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Characters will not be explained to you and events are constantly referenced with no clarification. If you are very familiar with the mythology, there are tons of barbs and jokes that you will enjoy. If not, you will very possibly be alienated.

As for the characters, I loved Penelope's depiction here and I thought she had a fair amount to depth. She is a queen and cares for her people. She is cunning and intelligent but she also fails at her scheming more than once. She is a mother who loves her son but does not know how to reach him. Complex and flawed. Just as I thought she should come across.

Penelope's maids were fine. They got a fair amount of time being loyal and brave but none of them really interested me. Even Leaneira, who is narratively very important. It's honestly a shame.

I struggled with Telemachus but I was always going to. He is stuck between who he is and who he wants to be. And it is not his fault that his father is a hero. He was always going to be this way. But, it infuriated me anyway. It is so typical that he would behave the way he does towards his mother, but I don't hate him any less for it.

Elektra was definitely the most compelling of the side characters. She is a girl who has been shaped by her father's violence. She is strong and sure of herself. Her speech in the feast were some of my favorite pages. Elektra has always been one of my favorite figures and I adore her depiction here. I loved her relationship with Orestes as well. It gave her some much needed softening.

Kenamon was a great addition to the suitors and I enjoyed him alot. As a foreigner, he exists sort of outside of the ways of the Greek men. He is a very interesting character and his relationship to Telemachus gave the prince needed growth.

Hera is interesting. I've never much liked Hera in Greek Mythology but this book is clearly written by someone who loves her. I came away from this with a great deal more respect for her and her fits of rage.

I liked the way Hera kept checking in on Odysseus and showing the contrast of him sleeping with Calypso while his wife held his kingdom.

I think this book has some great storytelling. If you don't mind a bit of a journey, I think you will like where it takes you. It made me definitely want to reach for more Greek Mythology retellings so that's something.

Superb. I came to this book thinking it took guts for Claire North to take on a subject that Margaret Atwood already has (in The Penelopiad) but it turns out that North's book is much more ambitious than Atwood's, not content to put a feminist spin on the end of the Odyssey but taking aim at the post-Trojan-War Greek myth landscape more broadly, in particular The Oresteia, and is a skillful balance between storytelling and commentary/criticism of the short shrift that landscape gives to its female characters, both mortal and divine.

This book doesn't even cover the same time period as Atwood's Penelopiad, but takes place two years earlier. Rather than take events directly from the original epic poem and portray them from Penelope's perspective, North invents a mostly new plot that she portrays having taken place in the background of the time period which the Odyssey dismisses with a few lines about Penelope and her weaving (before getting on with Odysseus's story). The story is narrated by Hera, centering not only Penelope and the maids but also Clytemnestra (a favorite of Hera's), Elektra, and the goddesses Athena and Artemis. It's a wholly unique take on Penelope's and Clytemnestra's stories, and for the most part can mesh perfectly well with the stories as presented in the Odyssey and Oresteia; either the characters are women, and therefore easily ignored or dismissed, or the events as presented lack poetic grandeur and would surely be embellished by the (male) poets and bards into the more heroic versions that came down via Homer and Aeschylus.

As mentioned, this book ends with a couple years to go before Odysseus's return to Ithaca and the massacre of the suitors (and Penelope's "disloyal" maids). I eagerly await North's spin on the rest of the saga.

Ithaca tells the little known story of Penelope - Queen of Ithaca and wife of Odysseus during the time after the Trojan war while her husband is trying to make his way home. The narrator of the story, unexpectedly, is Hera! I really love the way she's written and her sarcastic sense of humor. The perspective is enthralling, highly amusing, and uniquely feminist. I really think that women, and Penelope in particular, weren't given enough credit for the accomplishments and contributions they made to society and in keeping Ithaca in one piece during Odysseus's adventure home. The sacrifices she made and the scheming and secret behind the scenes actions she and her friends had to make were courageous and selfless. I'd highly recommend this read for anyone who is interested in mythology or historical fiction!

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for providing me with a digital copy for review. The opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the author or publisher.

Okay, wow, this one blew me away a little. Less a retelling and more a telling of the in-between parts of a myth, it’s an ensemble-cast political epic set in Bronze Age Greece, masquerading as one of the currently-popular “feminist Greek myth retellings.” If you like those, you should give this a try; if you like anything Greek mythology, you should give this a try; if you liked Atwood’s Penelopiad, you should give this a try; if you like epic fantasy (and all its political machinations), you should definitely give this a try.

North has created a really compelling cast of characters - both mythological and original - and an engaging, complex story. Her choice to hand the story’s narration to the goddess Hera was truly excellent; it helps bypass comparisons with Atwood (who comes up almost by necessity when you think about retelling Greek myth from a female perspective, but especially this myth), and gives the story a truly incredible emotional heart which becomes apparent only later on. No spoilers, but it was actually stunning; I had to put the book down for a bit to recover.

Only one critique: it started off a little slower, and took me a little while to really get into; I ambled through the first 2/3 of it at a very slow pace, picking it up and putting it down easily, but once I rolled into the last third I devoured it in a matter of hours. This very well might be intentional, but I found myself wishing (as I read the end) that the beginning had hooked me in a bit more, so I could have gotten there faster.

All in all, extremely highly recommended, and I was so glad to hear this is a series; I already can’t wait for the next book. enormous thanks to @orbitbooksus and @netgalley for the e-ARC!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC! This book is the latest in a new genre of retelling Greek and Roman mythology from the POV of their overlooked and under-appreciated female characters. Claire North has turned her attention to Penelope and the women of the Odyssey, including its unnamed handmaidens, slaves, and other mistreated women. But above all this book is dominated by its narrator, the goddess Hera, who has also been overlooked as the jealous wife of Zeus.

Hera’s narrative is at turns bitingly funny, intriguing, and brutally depressing. Some of the language felt anachronistic, but her suffering and rage felt very real. I have never seen another depiction of this goddess that is both fascinating and sickeningly tragic. I read this book for Penelope and she is an engaging character, but I felt like she took a backseat to Hera’s absorbing backstory and current plight.

One element of this book I found hard to stomach was the constant sexual violence. True, violence against women is at the heart of most Greek myths but the visceral and frequent way it was described in this perspective left me feeling nauseous. While I think it does shed light on a historical reality, it’s not “enjoyable” to read.

And that’s how I felt about a great deal of this book. The writing was intriguing, the depiction of well known characters was deeply interesting, and the ultimate message is probing and thought-provoking. But I can’t say it was an easy read at all. I also really struggled to tell the characters apart. Additionally, this is the first book in a series so many issues are left up in the air after the final page. I wonder how closely North will stick to the original but I can’t help but hope Hera gets to burn the patriarchy to the ground. Pretty please?

Trigger warnings: rape, sexual harassment, incest, cannibalism, violence, blood sacrifice.

A story of the last three queens of Greece, told from the perspective of the goddess Hera.
I really enjoyed this retelling. I loved the relationships and comraderie between the women of Ithaca. To see them gather together to protect their homeland with the help of three goddesses was awe inspiring.
I only really liked two of the male characters and that being Kenamon who was the best male role model in this story, and Medon who seemed like quite the loyal friend to queen Penelope.
Penelope herself was always having to make hard decisions to do what was best for her kingdom even though most people did not actually believe in her rule. She remained strong and steadfast in her decisions and I applaud her for that.

Overall, this was an amazing Greek Mythology retelling, and I would definitely recommend it.

DNF around 20% :( Something about it just did not click for me at all. The characters (of which there are MANY) felt underdeveloped. Also, using "fart" in the dialogue a few times - in a Greek mythology retelling - really took me out of the experience. I so wanted to love this since I've been a fan of the other retellings of late (Circe, Elektra, etc.), but I just could not get there. Many thanks for the chance to read and review this ARC in advance of its pub day on September 6th.

**I don't rate books I've DNFed (I don't think it's fair), but am putting 1 star on NetGalley since I can't leave my review without a rating**

I have such a weakness for Greek myth. Mythology of any kind fascinates me, but I’ve been obsessed with Greek mythology almost since I learned to read. Because of this love, I often find myself divided on retellings. On the one hand, I love any chance to revisit these stories I love, especially if told in a way that gives me a new perspective. On the other, I tend to judge these a bit harshly because of my love for the source material. But when I find a book that not only retells one of these timeless stories, it breathes new life into it, it becomes an instant favorite.

Ithaca? Definitely an instant favorite.

Ithaca is the story of, well, Ithaca, as Odysseus has been gone for 17 years and his queen, Penelope, strives to hold the kingdom together. She’s been inundated with suitors, seeking her hand in marriage because, in their minds, she’s quite obviously a widow. Of course, they actually care nothing about Penelope; they all just want to claim her kingdom for their own. Penelope balances on a razor’s edge, trying to keep the suitors fed and content as she constantly claims to be on the cusp of a decision, knowing full well that she can never choose because all of the spurned suitors will surely declare war on Ithaca. Thankfully, Penelope is incredibly clever, and she maintains this balance deftly and with astounding subtlety. But nothing lasts forever, and the suitors are beginning to get restless. As pirates begin periodically raiding this land of women and boys, Penelope is faced with an impossible decision. But as she decides, who will defend Ithaca?

Our tale is told in a nearly omniscient, mostly third-person narration through the eyes of Hera, queen of the gods and patron on the Greek queens. She is also a character in her own right, seeking to aid Penelope’s cause as subtly as possible, without drawing the attention of any of the other gods. Especially her husband, Zeus. I loved the mirroring of Penelope’s story with the little we learn of Hera throughout the novel. While I loved Penelope, Hera was definitely the stand-out character here. 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. She has become so much more sympathetic and interesting to me through these works, and I absolutely adored her in Ithaca. I was also fascinated by Hera’s love for Clytemnestra, Penelope’s cousin and queen of Mycenae and murderer of her own husband, King Agamemnon. These are stories that I know well, but North’s writing and characterizations brought them to life in new ways.

Speaking of writing, I was incredibly impressed with North’s craftsmanship. She managed to both utilize the classical modes of storytelling used by Homer and his contemporaries while subverting those same modes in ways both thoughtful and irreverent. This could only be done by someone with a firm foundation in the source material who also has a brilliant ability to wield her craft. I’ve tried North’s writing in the past and found that it didn’t click for me as a reader. Either I’m a very different reader now, or she’s altered her style tremendously for this book. Or I was just wrong to begin with. The balance she was able to strike between respecting the material while also delivering snark and sarcasm in a way that brightened the story without ever making light of it, was astounding. There were some very emotional moments when really hard topics were conveyed beautifully, but there were also moments that made me laugh out loud. This was insanely clever, and I can’t wait to read the next installment.

Did I mention this is part of a series? Because I didn’t realize that for some reason until I reached the end. I might know where the story is going, but I still want the next book immediately. Alas, The House of Odysseus is at sea until May of 2023.

While I do think that Ithaca could be enjoyed on its own, I think that having a background with the foundational works it is retelling made reading this far more rewarding. Ithaca is mostly retelling what was happening in the background of The Odyssey, but it also references The Iliad quite often, as that covers why Odysseus left Ithaca in the first place. The Oresteia, which covers the lives and deaths of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon and their children, Orestes and Elektra, was also an integral part of this story. 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. Which would have been quite the loss on my end, as that was what made this book so special for me.

The plot itself was propulsive. I found myself having a very hard time putting this book down while reading it. But housed within that addictive pacing was deep and moving commentary on the lack of autonomy given to Grecian women and how cruelly they were often treated. Parts of this, especially the portions about Clytemnestra’s treatment at the hands of her husband upon his return from Troy, were incredibly difficult to read. And hearing from Hera how much of herself she saw in these queens, how she had experienced the same, really drove home the fact that height of station did nothing to spare these women. North also expressed how the poets of Greece were men, who only immortalized manly things and, when forced to record a story where a woman was at the fore, would find ways to twist it and make her less so that men felt like more. This was beautifully put and very thought-provoking.

I loved everything about Ithaca, except for the fact that it’s not the standalone I was for some reason expecting it to be. But this is very much a rereadable book, so no doubt I will enjoy it again before the next installment is released. Not only did Ithaca give me wonderful characters to root for, it did so from stories I’ve known all my life and has thus altered them in my memory. For the better. I now feel this desire to go back to those original sources and revisit their stories from a new perspective. I can’t recommend Ithaca highly enough, especially to those who share my lifelong fascination with Greek myth.

I think the case of this book was more of “it’s me, not you” type of thing. The POV just didn’t make sense to me and completely disconnected me from the story. I cannot recommend.

I'm definitely on the Greek Mythology re-telling train. I've read so many this year already and have a few ready for the rest of the month. Talk about a hot topic at the moment. So I was fascinated by Ithaca and a re-telling of Penelope's story. To start this review, let me tell you some things that would have helped me while reading. For one, Ithaca is going to have a sequel. I didn't realize that when I began reading so when the ending came I was taken aback.

Additionally, because I feel like in literature class we don't talk too much about Penelope's time while Odysseus is gone, more things happen than you might remember. Because of that it can feel a little bit slow at times as your expectations war with your experience. Furthermore, parts of Ithaca are actually told from the gods perspective, specifically Hera. I actually enjoyed these sections as it made me not only feel 'above' of the action, but gave me insight into the workings and favors of the gods above.

Thank you Netgalley and Redhook for the advanced readers copy. This was not what I expected when I saw that it was a retelling of Penelope, the queen of Ithaca. It turned out to be better than anticipated. The many myriad threads that make up this story, twist and curve and create a beautiful tapestry of a narrative reminiscent of the works of Madeline Miller and Natalie Haynes. This was a much more nuanced retelling than some recent works that have been released, and I wait, like Penelope for the return of Odysseus, for the next book in the series.