The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker - Published August 2018 by Penguin - ⋆⋆⋆
The Silence of the Girls is a retelling of an ancient story from a fresh perspective. It recounts the events of the Iliad, an epic poem that describes the ending of the Trojan War: a bloody conflict in which the Greeks attack Troy in order to retrieve Helen, the stolen Queen of Sparta. This brutal narrative has been retold countless times but always through the eyes of the men involved, with the many female characters often reduced to plot mechanisms and sex scenes, afforded passing glances as they are captured, killed and traded.
Barker goes in a different direction, bringing to life the character of Briseis, a Queen of Anatolia who is captured as the Greeks advance on Troy and given as a 'war prize' to Achilles. Through her eyes the sexual violence and moral devastation suffered by the captive women in the Greek camps is pulled into sharp focus. The women must find ways to survive, and that means serving, sexually pleasing, and sometimes bearing children for the men who have slaughtered their families and destroyed their homelands. We watch the major events of the Iliad unfold, but they are largely the backdrop to Briseis's experiences and her own emotional journey.
Barker writes in a wonderfully clear way. There's no attempt to dress up her novel in a high-brow style, nor does she try to make bloody war into glamorous poetry. Somehow Barker creates emotive scenes and poignant moments out of incredibly straightforward prose, and the simplicity of the writing makes it an easy and engaging reading experience. I loved the character of Briseis, and how she struggled with her strange existence, coming to deeply understand the people responsible for the murder of her family and the burning of her home. We watch her struggle to maintain an internal sense of self as she becomes nothing but an object to be used and traded. I rooted for her the whole way through, and found her incredibly dignified and resilient, while still being human.
Barker goes in a different direction, bringing to life the character of Briseis, a Queen of Anatolia who is captured as the Greeks advance on Troy and given as a 'war prize' to Achilles. Through her eyes the sexual violence and moral devastation suffered by the captive women in the Greek camps is pulled into sharp focus. The women must find ways to survive, and that means serving, sexually pleasing, and sometimes bearing children for the men who have slaughtered their families and destroyed their homelands. We watch the major events of the Iliad unfold, but they are largely the backdrop to Briseis's experiences and her own emotional journey.
Barker writes in a wonderfully clear way. There's no attempt to dress up her novel in a high-brow style, nor does she try to make bloody war into glamorous poetry. Somehow Barker creates emotive scenes and poignant moments out of incredibly straightforward prose, and the simplicity of the writing makes it an easy and engaging reading experience. I loved the character of Briseis, and how she struggled with her strange existence, coming to deeply understand the people responsible for the murder of her family and the burning of her home. We watch her struggle to maintain an internal sense of self as she becomes nothing but an object to be used and traded. I rooted for her the whole way through, and found her incredibly dignified and resilient, while still being human.
Unfortunately, however, this novel didn't quite meet my expectations. For all that Briseis dominates the first third of this novel, it seems as though the characters of Achilles, Odysseus, and the other mythical icons are too big, and begin to crowd her out. The story gradually melts away from this razor sharp account of women's survival into a soft-bellied portrayal of Achilles as a complicated hero with man-pain and mummy problems. I also felt disappointed that many other female characters from the Iliad appear briefly, but are never fleshed out.
I didn't hate it, I actually really enjoyed it, but as I was reading I kept feeling the ghost of the novel I actually wanted to read flitting around the edges. If you aren't already familiar with the story of the Trojan War, you would probably be less frustrated by the latter sections of the novel. I would recommend the novel for anyone wanting a pacey engaging read with lots to think about. Barker knows how to pull you in keep you hooked. It was just sad to see the book that I thought I was reading swallowed up by the book I actually got.
Let me know if you've read it, and what you thought. Thanks for reading!!
I've not read it, but that cover would totally catch my attention in a book shop! xx
ReplyDeleteGemmaEtc.com ❤️
Right? Absolutely stunning!
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