Title: Clytemnestra
Series: -
Author: Costanza Casati
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: 2nd March 2023
Pages: 470
Source: Purchased
Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰
CAWPILE: 9.43/10
Synopsis
There will come a time when songs will be sung about her, about the people she loved and the ones she hated...
Huntress. Warrior. Mother. Murderess. Queen. You are born to a king, but marry a tyrant. You stand helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore and comfort yourself with violent thoughts of your own. You play the part, fooling enemies who deny you justice. Slowly, you plot.
You are Clytemnestra.
But when the husband who owns you returns in triumph, what then? Acceptance or vengeance - infamy follows both. So you bide your time and wait, until you might force the gods' hands and take revenge. Until you rise. For you understood something that the others don't. If power isn't given to you, you have to take it for yourself.
A blazing novel set in the world of Ancient Greece and told through the eyes of its greatest female protagonist, 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.
Review
“Kings and heroes drop like flies, but queens outlive them all.”
I had been looking forward to this book for months, especially after hearing Casati talk to Elodie Harper about it at Waterstones Piccadilly on release night, and when I finally picked it up it did not disappoint. There has been a surge in Clytemnestra POV’s recently (though they do not focus directly on her) such as Jennifer Saint’s Elektra, Natalie Haynes’ Pandora’s Jar and A Thousand Ships and Claire North’s Ithaca. Yet none delved as deeply and as richly into the tale as Casati has, unsurprisingly as she is the title character for once.
The atmosphere and writing was just incredible, I really enjoyed how Casati made you truly feel as if you were in Sparta and Mycenae with vivid imagery. It felt especially impressive given it is her debut novel, but it is clear she has done a lot of research into the myths surrounding Clytemnestra and her family too.
It even taught me things I did not know, though I don’t claim to be an expert on Clytemnestra, I am familiar with her story from Agammemnon (ugh) onwards. So it was great to be thrust into her childhood and explore those familial bonds and ties, as well as the raising of Spartan women, something really refreshing as often Greek retellings can ignore that Spartan women were treated quite differently from Athenian women, though Casati still does not hide the underlying misogyny there too. But what really surprised me was her first marriage, to Tantalus whom I did not know of and had to double check was different to the other Tantalus (Agammemnon’s great great grandfather being punished in Tartarus and founder of the curse of the house of Atreus). This made the story incredibly moving and I really enjoyed not knowing what would come in that section.
“I'm saying that it is hard to find a man who is really strong. Strong enough to not desire to be stronger than you.”
Having talked about the familial bonds, I’d like to talk further on it. Casati really explored complex family relationships early on in this novel, from sisters growing apart as the reality of life sets in, to the relationships between brothers and sisters in a wider sense, to the realisation that the father who is supposed to protect will not. There are honestly more dynamics than I can name, but these immediately came to mind. But they all created so much depth to the story and especially to Clytemnestra’s character because you could understand her and her motivations. I honestly think her growing up was potentially my favourite part of the book.
Casati also does not shy away from the brutality at all during the course of the novel, from brutal deaths and assaults to takes on society and the realism for Ancient Greek women, there is a lot to digest. If you find yourself avoiding certain triggering topics I would take a look online to see if the book contains any as it can be quite graphic, though nothing I imagine you wouldn’t expect in a feminist Greek mythology retelling!
I also really liked Casati’s decision not to include more mythological aspects of the tale, though she does touch on some of the stories and the belief in them, there are no Gods here. It makes the story all the more devastating and interesting. I love that this trend is happening, as it emphasises how the heroes do things in the name of Gods who are not necessarily real, justifying things they just want to do for selfish gain or to make a name for themselves.
“There is no peace for a woman with ambition”
Clytemnestra has definitely secured Costanza Casati as an autobuy author for me and I’m really excited to see what she does next, I’m really hoping she’ll do more mythological retellings, historical or more mythological. The depth she gives her characters is incredibly, Clytemnestra will stay with me for a long time because of her. Her strength was awe inspiring and Casati made me feel like she was a real character, her writing so gripping that the book only took me a couple of days to get through. There is so much more that I could say but I won’t because you should honestly just read it for yourself as soon as possible. This is definitely one I will want to revisit in the future and a standout book of the year so far for me!
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