Genre: Ancient Historical Fiction
Published: May 2, 2023
Pages: 489
For fans of Madeline Miller, a stunning debut following Clytemnestra, the most notorious villainess 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.
A blazing novel set in the world of Ancient Greece, this is a thrilling tale of power and prophecies, of hatred, love, and of an unforgettable Queen who fiercely dealt out death to those who wronged her.
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.
I'm going through a bit of a fictional mythology phase right now, so this book played right into that. Clytemnestra is a character that I was not familiar with at all prior to reading this book, but now I feel like I know her whole life story. And while I realize this is fiction, I'm fairly certain that mythology as we know it is also fiction that only loosely resembles events as they actually happened. And honestly, this is probably a more realistic version of events as they happened because it doesn't feel so mythical.
This book was a little dense in places, and it was definitely painful at times. Life was particularly painful for women in Ancient Greece, especially Sparta, even when they are the favored child of the king. There were a few times while I was reading that I need to step away from the book for something a little lighter to bring my mood back up before I could dive back in.
If you enjoy mythology retellings, this is definitely one you'll want to read, and it was a great debut novel. Overall I give this book 4.32 out of 5 stars. - Katie
Costanza Casati was born in Texas in 1995, grew up in a village in Northern Italy and lived in the UK for five years. Before moving to London, she attended a classical Liceo in Italy, where she studied Ancient Greek, and Ancient Greek literature, for five years. Costanza is a graduate of the prestigious Warwick Writing MA program, studying under Sarah Moss, and currently works as a freelance journalist and screenwriter. Clytemnestra is her debut novel.
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