This review may contain spoilers for the book Elektra, however since it is based on Greek mythology you might already know about some of the stuff in here.
Ok so this book was kinda messed up but also good and educational. Filicide, matricide, patricide, cannibalism and some other pretty horrific stuff was in there. But I guess it can't be a Greek mythology retelling if it's not messed up.
The first thing I'd like to say about this book is that it actually gave me a really different view of the Trojan War. Every time I've learnt about the Trojan War, the Greeks were always depicted as the heroes and the Trojans as the villains. However, reading Elektra (especially Cassandra's perspective) made me realise that the Trojans were really the victims of the war in a way. The Greeks did not treat the Trojans well at all, and in a way the Trojans were just trying to pick up after the mess that Paris made.
I have also lost a lot of my respect for Apollo -- what he did to Cassandra was terrible. The Greek gods are so petty and immature sometimes. And very ungrateful.
So I really enjoyed Cassandra's perspective in Elektra. She didn't deserve anything that happened to her. I think her perspective is what really stood out to me as feminist in the book.
I remember, halfway through reading Elektra, I was wondering why the book was called Elektra and not Clytemnestra or Cassandra. But when I got to the end of the book, it finally made sense why it was called Elektra. I thought that was cool.
I also found it really cool how all three women's stories came together. Obviously Clytemnestra and Elektra were inevitably linked, but I found it really cool how Cassandra came into their stories -- even if it was only for a short amount of time. It always amazes me how so many Greek myths are linked. It's one of the reasons why I like Greek mythology so much.
I found it kinda sad that after everything that Agamemnon did, Elektra still loved him. One of the things that I found interesting about this book is that all the perspectives had different views on who was good and bad. I didn't know who was supposed to be truly in the right -- so I kinda just concluded that nobody was. I feel like the whole second half of Elektra (at least) was just people plotting to avenge people. It was like a chain of vengeance. And in the end, it ended up like that Oprah meme: YOU get murdered as an act of vengeance! YOU get murdered as an act of vengeance! YOU get murdered as an act of vengeance! YOU get murdered as an act of vengeance! EVERYONE gets murdered as an act of vengeance!
Another feminist element of the book was that I really think it humanised Helen more than most depictions of her do. She was kind, she made friends, she helped people, she had a sister who she loved, and she was just more than beautiful.
So yeah I think that's all I presently have to say about Elektra! It was very good and well-written. It was so different from Ariadne yet still really good. I think I preferred Ariadne more but maybe that's because I was still kinda in a book hangover when I started reading Elektra (I still am). Anyway, it was still really good and it taught me heaps!
Elektra by Jennifer Saint, 13+* ★★★★
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