This is the third book in Pat Barker’s The Women of Troy trilogy. I loved the first two books, The Silence of the Girls and The Women of Troy both of which are based on Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid, so I was very keen to read The Voyage Home. I wasn’t disappointed but it is slightly different in that this third book is loosely based on the first part of Aeschylus’s Oresteia. The first two books are narrated by Briseis, who had been given to Achilles as a war prize, whereas Ritsa, a fictional character, replaces her as the narrator in the third book, which took me by surprise. I had been anticipating it would be Briseis again.

At the end of the Trojan War the Greeks and their prisoners eventually set sail for home. For King Agamemnon that is Mycenae, where Clytemnestra, his wife is waiting for him. But she is plotting his murder to avenge his sacrifice of her daughter Iphigenia to appease the Gods and gain a fair wind to sail to Troy. After ten years she is still full of grief and rage, her determination to kill Agamemnon is stronger than ever.

Also in the same boat are the captured Trojan women including Cassandra, a princess of Troy, a daughter of Priam and Helen’s half sister. All I knew of her before is that she was a prophetess, whose prophecies were never believed. She’s a strong, beautiful woman but a very fragile character, often ranting and raving. She is demented, and manic, who Ritsa says is ‘as mad as a box of snakes’. Ritsa, her slave calls herself Cassandra’s ‘catch fart’.

The first part of the book covers their voyage to Mycenae and the second part is about what happened when they arrived. Barker doesn’t pull her punches. This is a well written, brutal, bloody tale of revenge told in a modern, colloquial style, and full of grim detail of horror and squalor. Most of the characters are unlikable, with the exception of Ritsa. I think the best book of the trilogy is The Silence of the Girls, but I did enjoy The Voyage Home.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin, the publishers for the ARC.

This was such an excellent ending to this trilogy - I raced through it and it has made me appreciate the overall arc of these books so much.

Pat Barker has put Trojan women at the centre of her retelling of the ancient war on Troy. In this final installment we see the pain and horror these women experience as they are forcibly taken across the ocean as slaves. Their lives are irrevocably changed and through careful reflections on how different people react to this, the book explores pain, sadness and grief but also hope, friendship, survival and what it means to be free.

Cassandra absolutely shines through this book and that is such a beautiful surprise - I don't think I've ever read such a nuanced or sympathetic version of her. I certainly haven't read one where she felt like a real human woman and not an archetype before.

Loved it, I would just say it packs it's punch as part of this series. As much as Silence of the Girls felt like the start of a trauma and Women of Troy felt distinctly like a middle book showing the reader the longevity if the trauma, this book feels like the third act wherein the women start to try to figure out how to move and live around the trauma. It doesn't stand on its own the same way because it wasn't written to do so.

In The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker gave women, who up until now were mostly ‘silenced’ with regards to the story of the Trojan War, a voice. She continued the story in book 2, The Women of Troy. Three years later Pat presents book 3 - The Voyage Home. The issue I have is - six years on from reviewing book 1 - that the book market is saturated with Greek tragedies and I did not find this book as engaging as the preceding two. It had its moments, but overall it just fell flat for me in comparison to the previous two and when compared to similar retellings of these particular characters by other authors.

This trilogy of books truly was the story that needed to be told, the women who were at the very heart of this iconic tale - whether vanquished or victorious - it finally gave them a voice.

One thing I love about Pat Barker's books is that she strikes the perfect balance between writing beautifully and empathically about Greek myths while never shying away from the horror and the violence that comes with the territory. With Greek mythology becoming more and more of a trend, I love to see authors who continue to represent it without rose-tinted glasses, but without also condemning the genre.
Admittedly I haven't had the chance to read The Women of Troy and I only got to read half of The Silence of the Girls (which got ruined by seawater when I was on holiday and is a whole other thing!) so maybe I lack some context and if I were to reread The Voyage home as the third in a trilogy I would be able to connect with it differently. But even so, I thoroughly enjoyed this. This is the story of three women, each a prisoner in her own right, and their rage and anguish, existing amidst a world of heroes and men and their savagery, and it's incredibly beautifully written. I will never not love these kinds of stories.

I read the author's previous books and loved them, I think I finished them in a couple of days. So I was very excited when I got approved for her latest one. However, unfortunately it didn't do it for me. I didn't find the story as compelling as the previous ones and struggled to finish it. It sounded interesting but there wasn't much too it. Such a shame...

My teenage daughter is a dedicated and obsessed student of mythology, and has loved reading Pat Barker's retellings, so much so that she has influenced one of my book clubs to start reading them. She prizes them above Homer's Odyssey or The Iliad, and feels that Pat Barker is more accomplished than other, modern, writers such as Madeline Miller and Natalie Haynes. My daughter found this to be as charismatic, thrilling and profound as the first two but with a heightened feeling of drama and peril.
Clytemnestra's and Cassandra's despair are almost tangible in this retelling and my daughter was lost in Mycenae - she didn't even remember to eat whilst reading this.
Stunning in every regard.

The Voyage Home is the third (& final?) book in Pat Barker’s retelling of the famous story of Troy, but told from different perspectives. This book is set immediately after the fall of Troy & imagines what happens next. If you’re a fan of Agamemnon (shudder) or Clytemnestra (hurray!) then you already know their fates, but this novel looks at the wider picture, with particular focus on Ritsa, who was a character in the previous novel The Women of Troy., and Cassandra, cursed with the gift of prophecy. Beautifully written, with spots of much needed humour here & there. I loved it. Many thanks to NetGalley for an early read.

I have been waiting for this book for so long and it did not disappoint. This trilogy is absolute perfection. When yet another book reimagining the classics rolls out, my heart drops into my boots, but this, for me is the OG. Such spare, beautiful writing that doesn't flinch from the horror of what she depicts. The voyage from Troy to Mycanae and the culmination of the events set in chain at the beginning of the Trojan war are represented with such clear eyed fierceness. You cannot help but draw connections between this ancient tale of alienation, the displacement, the wars that cause not just a loss of home but a loss of self, and the brutal ways with which those in power use people who have lost everything and the modern refugee crisis that rumbles through the UK today. This is a tragedy that you cannot look away from.

This trilogy from Barker hasn't captured my imagination like so many of the other retellings of Homer/Greek legends but I am pleased that I read this one as I liked the focus on the story moving to Cassandra and the Trojans for a retelling of Agamemnon's return to Mycenae after the siege of Troy.

Continuing the story of the women of Troy following the Greek victory over the Trojans, The Voyage Home follows Cassandra (daughter of King Priam) and her maid, Ritsa, as they are transported to Mycenae with Agamemnon and his crew.

I love Greek mythology and really enjoyed the first two books in this series, so I was thrilled to receive a copy of the third book. Although I was disappointed to be leaving Briseis who was the star of the first two books, I did enjoy Ritsa’s point of view, and getting to follow some of the other powerful women from Greek myth. I was already somewhat familiar with Clytemnestra and her role in Agamemnon’s death, but I knew very little about Cassandra so I enjoyed reading her story. Also, as this book is following essentially ‘new’ characters, it would be entirely possible to read it as a standalone novel, without having read the first two books (but they’re brilliant, so why skip them?).

I have to say I didn’t love this book quite as much as the first two, but I would say that that’s a criticism of the story itself, rather than of Pat Barker’s re-telling. She’s done a great job with what she had to work with. It’s still an interesting story though, and excellently told.

My one and only gripe with this book is the use of rather out-of-place nursery rhymes to represent the ghostly presence of the children murdered by Atreus. Many of the lyrics used come from the traditional English nursery rhyme, Oranges and Lemons, which refers to the bells of certain churches in and around London. Using this particular rhyme in a book about ancient Greece makes no sense whatsoever, and really got on my nerves. I know it’s a petty complaint, but if you’ve put that much effort into researching the mythological stories, would it be that difficult to research and select a more appropriate rhyme (or not include the lyrics at all)?

I was looking forward to the last stage of this trilogy which has been so delicious!

I thought I might need a warm up on the characters but Barker's fluid prose takes us right back to the heart of the end of the Trojan Wars without a hiccup.

I found the novel captured yet again, the unheard, un-considered stories of the female population caught up in the power hungry, violent male population with, seemingly, the Gods condoning their actions. The perspective gives new voice to the aftermath of plunder and looks beneath the surface, literally, of the day to day.

I did love it. I did find it compelling and it was page turning. However, I found not only the slang but many parts of the text anachronistic. Whilst knowing this was the style of Homer (et al) and, always happy with poetic licence, I kept noticing it. The sailors calling the slave woman "love", Barker using her native Geordie lilt as she uses "mam" instead of mum/mother and the backdrop use of nursery rhymes, not yet created, was so obvious that it felt contrived. Obviously the whole story has a contrived element as womens history is sparsely reported but it was only these smaller elements that jarred for me.

Despite this, I did find myself enthralled and captivated by living this ancient story viscerally and becoming a witness to history.

With thanks to #NetGalley and @PenguinUKBooks for the opportunity to read and review

This novel and Pat Barker are brilliant. Utterly real in voice and setting, the novel plants characters and stories from myth solidly in the real world - in the earth - with voice and just the right details. I love Barker’s ability to take a story we think we know and show us so much more. She handles heavy themes that resonate across the centuries around the position of women, class and war with a light touch and delivers a compelling and satisfying story that has it all - love, revenge, grief, violence, ghosts… Pat Barker uses everyday language to speak with intelligence, sensitivity and beauty. Every character is complex, engaging and authentic. Brilliant.

Pat Barker has managed to reduce a tale that has retained its power for thousands of years to an episode of Eastenders. The story of Clytemnestra should have been an exhilarating finale to this trilogy but it is reduced to a domestic tale with no sense of the epic.

I remember seeing a production of the Oresteia in London a few years ago and the murder of Agamemnon still managed to cause a modern audience to gasp. This is a story of fate, of unstoppable events coming together as universal themes of love and revenge swirl to completion. The story the gods set in motion with the murder of Iphigenia comes to its equally horrific conclusion, as the cursed house of Atreus moves into another generation, dooming the children and unleashing the wrath of the Furies. Clytemnestra is at the centre of it all, a powerful Queen who has held her country together for 10 years and who now finally gets her chance to enact her revenge on her husband. How on earth can you make this story boring and mundane?

Pat Barker manages to do just that by making Clytemnestra seem like a bored housewife and Cassandra's prophetic curse is portrayed as little more than a bit of a nuisance. Having three narrators further weakens the story and Ritsa's own story feels shoe-horned in and rather pointless. The anachronistic language and modern phrases seem to be intentional, to make the tale seem more gritty and real but it is really jarring and further destroys any sense of time and place, and all sense of the epic. The sea voyage felt more like it was set in Elizabethan England and their is very little attempt to paint a picture of the palace and the surrounding area, or even to describe the famous lion gate and cyclopean walls. One of the few moments of any real power was the laying down of the red cloth and Agamemnon's entry into the city, stumbling along on the tide of red. Sadly this sense of impending doom wasn't pursued and the story soon fell back into the mundane.

And what was the point of the rather gothic haunting of the children, the handprints and the singing of English nursery rhymes? I could understand the theme of the murder of children - from the killing of the Trojan children, the killing of Iphigenia and linking that back to the curse on the house of Atreus - Agamemnon as a child killer, from a house of child killers, but the haunting was all very Hammer horror and really didn't sit well within this Greek tale. And after studiously avoiding almost all mention of the gods, suddenly the Furies appear in all their glory. Orestes and Elektra's portrayal was equally unsympathetic and left no room for empathy or character development.

I'm sure there are still tales to be told about the women of Troy and the great Greek Queens but sadly this is not one I can recommend.

Any retelling of the Greek myths and legends is going to be a challenge for a writer, as the tales are almost set in the stone from which we learned them at school. Pat Barker’s retelling is an intruiging mix of the ancient and modern, with some of the language taken straight from the streets of today's youth and much from the wtritings of the ancients. The story is an incredible achievement in that this combination of ancient and modern works so well. Each of the characters, from the ‘great’ King Agamemnon, to Cassandra, his mistress, to his wife, Clytemnestra, mourning her daughter, to the maid Ritsa - all entirely believable and skilfully drawn, becoming real people in the reader’s mind. This book is an extraordinary feat of skill and passion for the subject, and an absolutely riveting read too.

The Voyage Home by Pat Barker concludes her Trojan War trilogy by following Agamemnon and the women in his entourage on their return to Greece. Through the perspectives of Cassandra, now Agamemnon’s concubine and a high priestess of Apollo; Ritsa, her down-to-earth servant; and Clytemnestra, the queen seeking revenge for her sacrificed daughter, the novel explores intense themes of prophecy, grief, and the manipulation of women as pawns in male power games. Barker provides a poignant and nuanced view of human emotions, rendering each character both complex and tragic. The violence and tension in Mycenae, combined with deeply human perspectives, make this work a remarkable and original conclusion to the trilogy.

I loved the first two books in this series and there's always the worry that the next one isn't going to live up to expectations. However, this third (and I'm assuming final) installment did not disappoint! I finished this a few days ago and haven't stopped thinking about it... I'm trying to resist rereading the whole series again when I have an ever growing tbr pile staring at me accusingly. Absolutely brilliant 👏 👌

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin UK for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I will be leaving a full comprehensive review on my Goodreads profile. - connected to this account.

I enjoy Barker's most recent addition but felt the characters lacked distinct strong voices. The use of simple modern language with splashing of time accurate phrases was not for me. I found it pulled me out of the story - but it may not have this impact on every reader. An impressive effort to cover a story arc of this magnitude that is already so rooted in public conciousness.

I loved the first two books in Pat Barker’s masterful re-imaginings of the Greek war myths, so I had high hopes for this third book, and I wasn’t disappointed. There’s an incredible level of skill required to re-tell well-known stories in a way that feels believable, emotional and suspenseful, even though we know the endings.
Continuing the story of the captured Trojan women as they set sail for Mycenae with the victorious Greeks, this new novel centres on the fate of Cassandra, daughter of King Priam, priestess of Apollo, and a prophet condemned never to be believed. Also given voice are Cassandra’s slave or ‘catch fart’ Ritsa, and Agamemnon’s Queen Clytemnestra.
Like the previous books, Barker gives us a fresh view of these well-worn tales through the eyes of these women, who, from slaves to priestesses, princesses, and queens, are all victims of war-mongering men.
Despite her reputation, I confess I was very much ‘Team Clytemnestra’ cheering her on as she planned and carried out the murder of her husband Agamemnon as revenge for his cruel sacrifice of their daughter Iphigenia ten years earlier. After 10 years of his bloody, brutal war, all that has been achieved is death and destruction. He deserves his gruesome death.
I know books are often delivered as trilogies, but I really hope there are more than 3 books in this series, I would hate this to be the last.
With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC.

Title: The Voyage Home
Author: Pat Barker
Rating: 4 Stars

If you're a fan of Greek mythology, The Voyage Home by Pat Barker will sweep you off your feet and into the tumultuous aftermath of the Trojan War.

A brilliant follow-up to Barker’s The Women of Troy, this novel dives deep into the lives of the captured Trojan women as they sail to Mycenae with their Greek conquerors.

At the heart of this story is Cassandra, daughter of King Priam, a priestess of Apollo, and a prophet cursed to never be believed—a fate sealed by the vengeful god she once spurned.

Cassandra is a fascinating character, psychologically intricate and deeply tragic. Barker masterfully portrays her as a woman burdened by the gift of true prophecy, yet doomed to watch as her visions of doom and destruction go unheeded. Her arrival in Mycenae with the victorious but arrogant Agamemnon sets off a chain reaction of betrayal, bloodshed, and vengeance that is as riveting as it is inevitable.

Barker doesn’t just retell an ancient myth; she breathes new life into it. She intricate this into a very realistic story line and it just flows! The world of The Voyage Home is rich with historical detail, but it’s the psychological depth of the characters that really shines.
Barker skillfully navigates the complex emotions and power dynamics at play, making you feel the weight of each character’s choices and the tragic inevitability of their fates.

For those who love stories inspired by Greek mythology, The Voyage Home is a mesmerising conclusion to Barker’s series, offering a fresh, creative perspective on the well-trodden myths of old.

The blend of history, mythology, and Barker’s sharp, empathetic writing makes this novel an absolute must-read.

I’ve really enjoyed this series and this book is no different. I found it easy to read and hard to put down.