About the Book:
Title: House of Odysseus
Author: Claire North
Series: The Songs of Penelope #2
Page Length: 400
Publication Date: Aug. 22, 2023
Publisher: Orbit Books
Synopsis: House of Odysseus is the follow up to award-winning author Claire North’s Ithaca “a powerful, fresh, and unflinching” reimagining (Jennifer Saint) that breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men.
In the palace of Odysseus, a queen lies dreaming . . .
On the isle of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never came home. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace—a peace that is shattered by the return of Orestes, King of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra.
Orestes’ hands are stained with his mother’s blood. Not so long ago, the son of Agamemnon took Queen Clytemnestra’s life on Ithaca’s sands. Now, wracked with guilt, he grows ever more unhinged. But a king cannot be seen to be weak, and Elektra has brought him to Ithaca to keep him safe from the ambitious men of Mycenae.
Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the furies circle him. His uncle Menelaus, the blood-soaked king of Sparta, hungers for Orestes’ throne—and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims.
Trapped between two mad kings, Penelope must find a way to keep her home from being crushed by the machinations of a battle that stretches from Mycenae and Sparta to the summit of Mount Olympus itself. Her only allies are Elektra, desperate to protect her brother, and Helen of Troy, Menelaus’ wife. And watching over them all is the goddess Aphrodite, who has plans of her own.
Each woman has a secret, and their secrets will shape the world . . .
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My Review:
House of Odysseus is the second captivating book in The Songs of Penelope series. The story picks up where the first book left off, and it’s a slow-building plot for the first third of the novel. However, once the story picks up, the intensity never eases, and the last third is relentless. The story switches to Aphrodite’s perspective and offers a fresh and unique look at the characters, most of whom we were introduced to in Ithaca.
I love how North created such layered and nuanced women in Penelope, Helen, Aphrodite, Elektra, and many more. Oftentimes, these characters are portrayed one-dimensionally, and North’s feminist retelling brings them to life with astute clarity. Penelope is everything I hoped she’d be, and the story really delves deep into her character, exploring her roles as a mother, wife, leader, target, ally, enemy, and more. She is so smart and sharp, always a step ahead of everyone else even when it seems she’s not. This is a woman who has to rely on herself for twenty years, and she epitomizes strength, resilience, and womanhood.
North is a gifted storyteller with a way of writing that makes it easy to become wholly invested in her stories. House of Odysseus immersed me into the happenings on the island of Ithaca as Penelope fought against the threats against her island and people, especially the vile and deadly Menelaus. I was captivated by the brewing conflict, the fallout after Clytemnestra’s death, the characters with unclear motivations, and the issues that plagued Penelope, Elektra, Orestes, Helen, and other allies. And a special shout-out to Helen, who became so much more than I ever expected. I’m so glad it went more into her story from her perspective, not from the perspective of the men who controlled her.
Though it had a slow start, I ended up really liking this one. Penelope has always been an interesting character to me, and this is an intriguing story about her life while her husband is gone. I’m so glad I buddy read it with Leslie at Books Are the New Black, too. It was fun analyzing and predicting together. And the story ended in a place that has me eager for the next book! Special thanks to Orbit Books for sending me a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
Rating:
Favorite Lines:
We women of sky and fire, we goddesses, we are so mighty, and yet if we learn anything from old mother Hera, it is that the brighter we blaze, the more the men line up to make us fall.
Nothing was as sweet as the madman who begged for death, and for whom death did not come.
Though many creatures both living and dead have turned their faces to the cruel skies and proclaimed that love is a lie and they will have none of it, not their most potent declarations or deeply held beliefs can snuff out the longing of even the most deeply wounded heart.
You may have held the blade, but we all helped you drive it through her heart.
The trick, I find, to living with a pain that cannot be reconciled, a grief, or a fury, a rage that you think will burn you from the inside out, is not to dwell on all the reasons why your life has ended, but to wonder what it might become now.
