When I was 17, I read the Iliad for an English class. One of three girls in a class of twleve, I frequently had to defend the actions of the (few) women in the epic. I vividly remember reading of Clytemnestra's welcome to Agamemmnon and how badass it was. How strong she was and how absolutely amazing she was for finally taking her vengeance upon him. As more and more retellings from ancient Greek myths started getting published, I hoped and waited for someone to recognize Clytemnestra's utter badassery and write her version of the events, so when Costanza Casati's book popped up, I was incredibly excited to read it.

If you don't know the story of Clytemnestra, some outlines: she was from Sparta and was Helen of Troy's twin sister and married Agamammenon. Helen married Menelaus, Agamemmnon's brother. When Helen left Menelaus for Paris (and launched a thousand ships), Agamemmnon went with Menelaus to fight the Trojan war. This may be spoilery but considering these stories are more than 2500 years old, if you don't know, then that's on you: Agammemnon sacrificed his and Clytemnestra's oldest daughter Iphigenia to get wind to get going to the war. She was pissed (rightly) and waited the full ten years for him to return so she could take her vengeance. And take it she did.

Casati does an amazing job of transporting us to ancient Sparta, showing the youth of Clytemnestra and her family relationships so we understood her as a person. We meet her first hubsand and experience her grief as tragedy upon tragedy hit our heroine, but she doesn't falter. Clytemnestra rises up again and again, knowing what needs to be done. She's a remarkable woman and the story Casati weaves is engaging and honors Clytemnestra the way only a woman can. I was not as emotionally connected to the characters, but I think that was due to Clytemnestra's strength and her need to be standoffish was a part of that. I wish Casati had spent more time exploring the maternal side of Clytmenestra and leaning into her relationships with her children, especially her deep connection to Iphigenia and detail the tense relationship between her and Electra.

The book also felt as though it ended suddenly. Knowing that there's so much that happens after Agamemmnon dies makes the ending of this book feel sudden. Maybe there will be a sequel? Fingers crossed. I know I'll be reading more of what Costanza Cosati writes.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati caught my attention with the book cover alone. It’s stunning. But, I am a huge greek mythology fan and knew I had to read this book. For fans Ariadne, Circe, and A Thousand Ships, you will eat this book up. This book made me want to learn more about the Queen. The characters are well written and complex. It got a bit slow at parts but I still finished this book. If you’re a greek mythology lover like myself, read this book.

Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Costanza Casati for the early ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful title. The trend towards the retelling of myths has been delightful and I have a group of readers devoted to them. I can't wait for them to read this one!

Clytemnestra is a masterpiece. For lovers of Circe and modern tellings of Greek tales, this novel by Costanza Casati blew my mind. This fast paced and action packed novel had me swept up instantly and along for the ride. This is a story of power, gender roles, love, loss, revenge, with compelling Clytemnestra at center stage. This author is now an instant add.

Thank you NetGalley for this riveting ARC.

I think Clytemnestra is a Greek figure I know the most about, so I was excited to see what all Costanza Casati tackles in her novel — and how. I was so impressed with the humanity she gave this hated queen of ancient greece, and really enjoyed the ride. Fans of Song of Achilles and A Thousand Ships will eat this up!

Clytemnestra by Constanza Casati is a great new book in the genre of historical fiction centered around the Greek stories of gods and goddesses and the mortals that fit into their stories. Clytemnestra was born a princess of Sparta, sister of Helen of Troy, the most beautiful women in the world. While Helen’s story revolves around being kidnapped and taken to Troy by Paris, the Trojan prince, Clytemnestra represents another kind of woman—a strong, capable woman who is faced with repeated trauma and as a result becomes a cunning and vengeful leader of Mycenae while her husband, Agamemnon, the powerful leader takes his army to go help Sparta destroy Troy in retaliation for the capture of his brother’s wife, Helen. Clytemnestra despises Agamemnon due to the murder of her first husband and infant son followed by his raping of Clytemnestra and his insistence that she marry him. She is not sorry to see him leave with his army and she becomes the de facto leader of Mycenae and does an excellent job with the economy and security of her country. However, once Agamemnon summons his and Clytemnestra’s eldest daughter to Aulis to lift the spirits of his men with a marriage to the great Achilles as a ruse to sacrifice her to the gods to ensure a change in winds to allow them to sail to Troy, Clytemnestra’s focus becomes vengeance against Agamemnon and his family and followers. Ten long years later, she is given her chance upon Agamemnon’s return home to Mycenae. Who will survive to rule Mycenae?

I found this book enthralling with the story of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon to highlight a very strong and intelligent woman taking charge of her own life and the difficult situations that women of that day were subjected to. She was denied a life of love and companionship with her first real love, her first husband, Tantalus and ends up shackled to the man who killed him and her infant son. She becomes hardened and distrustful of Agamemnon and spends much of her life planning revenge against this man. While admirable in her strength and self-confidence, it is sad to see her so absorbed in meting out vengeance in the name of Justice.

I love these retellings and this is no exception. I've only gotten glimpses of the MC in other books similar, so getting her origin story is a treat. It wasn't as lyrical to me as a Madeline Miller book and style/tone was much more the Silence of the Girls..that stoic tone and quick chapters may not be for everyone but it was well done..3.5 stars.rounded up.

There is a glut of books right now based on mythology told from a maligned woman’s perspective. While I enjoy getting to see myths reinterpreted from a different perspective, it’s hard to write a happy story when you look at the source material, where women primarily served as a foe or a plaything. It’s comparable to the trend of telling a story from a well-established villain’s perspective that you have no backstory on. Both, when done well, and with a good enough kernel of source material, can be enjoyable and eye-opening.

But one of things that can be very tricky about these stories is capturing the humanity of the character and providing the reader to empathize with them. This is what Madeline Miller does so incredibly well. Costanza Casati, in centering her story around Clytemnestra, has a heroine that suffers more than her fair share of tragedy. Wife to Agamemnon and sister to Helen, she is raised in brutal Sparta where fighting and whipping are par for the course, tears are for the weak, and sympathy is overrated. And even then, those are the peak years of Clytemnestra’s life – she thrives with this mindset. This helps her survive everything that is to come, but her stoicism as her losses and injustices pile up make it hard for the reader to fully embrace everything she has suffered.

Clytemnestra’s mental mindset is always on the long game, planning how to get her revenge on the people that are foolish to think they have her in hand. This is enjoyable of course, flipping the script from a woman seen as a power-hungry betrayer; instead viewed from the perspective of someone who had to fight for herself, her worth, and demand respect. But I still felt like I should have been gutted emotionally living her experiences and I was more distanced than I felt I should have been.

The story itself many readers may already be aware of, albeit from me-man, me-powerful perspective. The more in depth look at more household affairs is a different one, but for much of the book the plotting felt slow developing as a result. More engaging scenes take place in the book that force the reader back into the book, but the general storyline follows the long game approach of Clytemnestra herself. With a longer than average length for a novel, clocking in at almost 450 pages, this means one of the first more shocking scenes doesn’t come until almost 40% of the way through the book. I’ll confess that until that point it was hard for me to be as invested. The scenes cluster closer together from that point forward, driving the story along, but the lulls can be a struggle. I liked the book, but it still felt overly long, with parts that could have been left out to clean up pacing some. Good, but it doesn’t quite meet the gold standard.

I love a good Clytemnestra retelling, and Costanza Casati has that in the bag. This is an incredible rendition of Clytemnestra's contentious story.

Description:
Madeline Miller's Circe meets Cersei Lannister in a stunning debut following Clytemnestra, the most notorious heroine of the ancient world and the events that forged her into the legendary queen.
As for queens, they are either hated or forgotten. She already knows which option suits her best...
You were born to a king, but you marry a tyrant. You stand by helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore, and you comfort yourself with violent thoughts of your own. Because this was not the first offence against you. This was not the life you ever deserved. And this will not be your undoing. Slowly, you plot.
But when your husband returns in triumph, you become a woman with a choice.
Acceptance or vengeance, infamy follows both. So, you bide your time and force the gods' hands in the game of retribution. For you understood something long ago that the others never did.
If power isn't given to you, you have to take it for yourself.

Review:
We are taught there are three sides to every story; your side, their side and the truth. Up until the book, the only side of Clytemnestra I had heard was of the blood thirty queen who ruled with with fear for those who were not loyal to her. This story while not changing anything that happens, allowed me to see and understand how she became the way she did. Clytemnestra had always felt a bit like a villain before now, but Casati weaves a beautiful story of a princess and queen stronger than all of the heart ache she endured and all of the betrayals she suffered. She was raised and strong spartan woman and she fought like one, even if it wasn’t with weapons. If you love the classic Greek tales, you will most definitely enjoy this.

I love reading about Greek mythology - loved "Circe," "A Thousand Ships," and "The Song of Achilles." So I was excited to read Clytemnestra and am thrilled to say it didn't disappoint; it is everything I was hoping for.

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.


The characters in this story are complex and well-developed. Although not all are likable, all will churn up your emotions. I also have to say you do not need to be familiar with Greek Mythology to enjoy this book. Still, even if you are and know the outcome, this book will keep you turning the pages and perfectly engaged.

This was a very good, female-centered retelling of Clytemnestra. Greek mythology paints her as a “bad” woman and an unlikable character, but this story was honest and human. I enjoyed getting her point of view if the events that shaped her life and even better, her interactions with bigger pieces of Greek mythology, like Helen, Paris, and Agamemnon.

The writing was well done and the storytelling easy to follow, but with enough freshness to stay interesting—no small feat considering how well people know this story already. The only real con for me was time. It was hard to track how much time had passed and travel seemed to take no time at all; but, I assumed coming home from Troy would have taken Agamemnon weeks, but this story made it seem like it was just a day or two. Truly, not much to dislike or criticize about Costanza Casati’s Clytemnestra.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Costanza Casati for the opportunity to read and review Clytemnestra. I give it a 4/5 and recommend it to fans of Greek re-tellings and fans of authors like Madeline Miller. Jennifer Saint, and Natalie Haynes.

I won’t lie, I went into this book thinking that it would be a cheap version of the song of Achilles or Circe. However, once I started reading I was captivated by the book. It’s on par with The song of Achilles, if not better. Clytemnestra went through so much in her life and still kept strong. I absolutely loved how she waited to long to get her revenge. The story was jaw dropping at times and I found myself looking up the author to see what else she has written because whatever it is I want to read it too. Definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year.

I love a good feminist mythology retelling, but Clytemnestra ain't it.

Mythology is so hard to do well: there's a pre-set story line you're trying to be faithful to, the family dynamics are complicated and lots of confusing interconnectedness, and you're trying to breathe life and feminism into characters but still trying to stay true to a plot that's clearly written by non-feminist-men.

Unfortunately, Clytemnestra fell short for me in every aspect. Clytemnestra always feels at arm's length from us, we're told that she's strong and a fighter but there isn't much depth or growth beyond that.

The pacing is odd with large time jumps: Clytemnestra experiences tremendous loss then we just like, fast forward to when she's fine? The timing of the ending was a CHOICE and is a complete cop-out to Clytemnestra's character arc.

I think plenty of people will still enjoy this one, I'm just unfortunately far enough into Greek Mythology obsession that I'm probably pickier, and this failed to deliver on every account.

The cover is so beautiful! I already knew the story of Clytemnestra, but this was such a good retelling. The writing was excellent.

Ever since she was young, Clytemnestra knew she would be a queen. As the daughter of the King of Sparta, she was raised to rule and isn't above using her fists or her cunning to get what she wants. After a betrayal takes her husband and child from her, Clytemnestra's forced to wed the brutal Agamemnon, the brother of her sister Helen's husband. While their marriage is unhappy, Clytemnestra seeks comfort in her children and solidifies her position as Queen. She uses her strength and intelligence to become a well-respected and feared ruler.

When Helen leaves her husband, Menelaus, for Paris of Troy, Clytemnestra prays to every vengeance goddess that Agamemnon will die in the battle to retrieve her. But, once again, Clytemnestra feels the sting of utter loss and betrayal as she watches Agamemnon sacrifice their eldest daughter in hopes of securing a fair wind for his ships. Left to deal with the heartache of losing another child, Clytemnestra swears revenge on her husband. She seeks solace in Aegisthus, Agamemnon's cousin, who likewise holds a grudge against her husband. The pair begin scheming, and only that propels her for the coming years. When Agamemnon finally returns home, it's clear that the battlefield may have changed, but the war still rages on.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; if a book is a Greek mythology retelling, I'm going to read it. I find Clytemnestra such an interesting character, so I was immediately intrigued by this. Casati's writing was beautiful and descriptive and hooked me from the first page. Clytemnestra was captivating in her quest for revenge, and I liked how Casati didn't shy away from how brutal she was but still found a way to make you almost root for her. The plot did lose me a little in the second half because of all the time jumps, but other than that, I thought this was a stunning debut, and I'm excited to see what Casati comes out with next.

I’m loving all the retellings of myths lately, and this is no exception. I really appreciated how the author gave Helen and Clytemnestra such thorough back stories. They particularly made Helen much more sympathetic than I had thought of her previously. Interesting choice to end the book where it did. I kind of liked it, since it gives you a chance to believe maybe there was a happily ever after…. If you’re not familiar with the rest of the story, anyway.

What a stunning book. I am naturally drawn toward mythology retellings or expansions, and they can obviously be a bit hit or miss, but this one felt spot on.

I read an "expansion" earlier this year that touched on Clytemnestra and her role in Agamemmnon's death, but reading that other book, I knew I wanted MORE. The more interesting parts of that story were the chapters that centered on Clytemnestra's POV and when I saw there was a book all about her coming, I jumped at the chance to read it. And I was not disappointed.

That this story starts well before the Trojan War and and focuses so much on how Clytemnestra was raised, her relationship with Helen and her brothers, her life as a Spartan woman (which is so different from the Greek women) truly does this woman justice. You can see the small cuts that illustrate a lifetime of fighting, of sacrifice. You can more intimately understand why this woman would become so hell bent on revenge. It wasn't just the brutal and unnecessary sacrifice of her daughter. It was so much more than that. This book gives the reader a whole picture of this Queen, a woman that history has essentially reduced to the murder of a king. She was so much more, and Casati brings that to life.

What I think is also interesting about this book is how history differs from person to person. How, no matter how much research is done, the ancient world is still left up to interpretation. Events in this book seem to vary greatly from the other book I read earlier this year, and while there is obviously artistic interpretation, I do feel that Casati's story allows for a more well-rounded look at this ancient woman. We can never actually know what went on in the hearts and minds of these people, nor how close or far from the truth we can get, but the choices Casati makes seem to give more credence and clarity to the events of Clytemnestra's life, and even that of Helen. Only historians whose life it has been to study the ancient greeks and their works can probably (maybe) definitively say whose interpretation is correct. But when it comes to story telling and character motivation, I think Casati has created a version of history that feels real and epic, and a character that you can empathize with.

Clytemnestra is a new look at rhe Helen of Troy myth and instead of focusing on the boring Helen, we instead focus on her lesser known sister, Clytemnestra and her struggles through life cleaning up her sisters mess along with the rest of her family. Casati takes the Greek myth, removes the gods and divine intervention to humanize the story and it truly works. Casati truly breaks down Clytemnestra character and why she is one of the fiercest warrior queen's and mother's in the Greek mythos.

Let me repeat that: there is no gods in a Greek myth reinterpretation and it still works as a story. And the writing totally makes sense as to why the characters believe the gods meddle in their lives while actively showing other characters operations and how most of the events were not godly. And the story still works! I have yet to see that in a reinterpretation of books like these.

While I see many already saying there are no redeemable characters in this book, I truly feel sorry for Clytemnestra and truly understand her pain, rage, and the hunt for her own justice for all the horrible hands she has been dealt for in her life as a mother and truly feel for her.

Overall Clytemnestra is definitely on my must read list and I highly recommend you read it too, especially if you were a Percy Jackson kid.

Special thanks to NetGalley for an ARC!

Clytemnestra
By Costanza Casati

Clytemnestra is a princess, her mother, the queen. She comes and goes from the castle, behaves as all children do, seeking adventure outdoors. Helena of Sparta is her sister but still, Clytemnestra is the adventuress readers will want to know in this tale of an ancient heroine who has many objectives to overcome in her life. This book highlights them all, making it a read you aren’t able to put down, non-stop action on every page. Despite the fact the movement in the book, much of the action is dramatic, does not stop the fact that it comes to the girl, then woman, at a pace and and all would be overwhelmed. But, Clytemnestra holds her head high and prevails in it all, however the events play out. This woman, definitely a Spartan worthy of her own telling, tale, and book. Constansa Casati wrote it, simply titled, Clytemnestra.

Her sister, in youth, remarks that as a man, she would be one of the strongest fighters in Greece. Clytemnestra, knowing she must be the cleverest of all to prevail, working hard to make herself so. And the story of her parents are very important to the girl, her heritage, reminding her forever of where she came from and what she carries in her veins, not just the royalty, but the strength, endurance, and fortitude to be great, the greatest of all others. The girls are thought to be born from a mortal mother and a god but their father, King Tyndareus, loving their mother for her fierceness, doubts Helen (her sister) as his child.

Clytemnestra’s family is quite large, full of many brothers and sisters. They are all loved, all except Helen, by the King, as he thinks Leda (Helen and Clytemnestra’s mother) had taken with another man to beget this daughter. The rumors, stories, tales and jokes do not help the matter. But, whatever may come of this, whatever of the future, the sisters are close and nothing will part them. Will that always remain true? Their grandmother Gorgophone would tell them that they would be remembered, throughout history, over their brothers, their family, a dynasty of queens. Will that be true? Will both sisters be remembered?

The girl has learned much in her training, wrestling the Spartiates throughout her youth. This is part of her training as a Spartan, as part of the royal house, as a girl. The Spariates are the daughters of the best and noblest houses of the warriors of Sparta. They are to train with the commoners until they start a family. King Tyndareus oversees the training and fights and when Helen is challenged for her first fight, Clytemnestra has to do something that is against the rules, something never done. While royalty may burn, rape, steal, and kill as they like the only thing forbidden to them is to hurt a noble person. Will Clytemnestra always break the rules? But, will she only do that for those she loves?

A smart girl, growing into a woman, Clytemnestra disagrees with a glorious death over being shamed. The decision in living is what, I think, makes her a woman now, rather than a girl. Being alive is the only way to make it through life, as in death, there is nothing, you are gone and only a story remains, however victorious, or glorious it may be, only words whispered from anothers mouth. Better to be there to go on, seize the next day, and have a mighty victory for a glorious, long life. This thought, however, separates her from many of the other Spartans. How will Clytemnestra’s different ways of thinking about things (however smarter they may seem) create victories, or disasters, for her in the future?

In Costanza Casati’s story, we find all the good traits of a great woman, a wise woman, a worthy woman and readers need to read about this lesser told Spartan who we should have heard just as much, if not more than, her well known sister Helena. There is alot to enjoy, in Clytemnestra a book readers simply won’t want to put down, or, be able to.