Novel set across ancient GREECE and TURKEY

4th November 2022

Elektra by Jennifer Saint, across ancient Greece and Turkey (or Hellas and Anatolia in the day).

Of course I was drawn to this novel by the cover. Who wouldn’t be?

This period of Greek history was on the school curriculum and I should have paid more attention. So. The first job is to get a hang of the characters and their relationships. I am familiar with the names but less so with the familial relationships. The novel very much focusses on the female perspective, which is refreshing.

Elektra is the daughter of Clytemnestra, who is married to Agamemnon, currently away at war. Her relationship with her mother is difficult and Agamemnon’s return is eagerly anticipated by some, only for him to meet an untimely end. And there is Cassandra, Princess of Troy who can see the future (thanks, no thanks to Apollo) but has no credibility, is not believed as a woman (now, where have we come across that before?).

These three women chart the unfolding course of the Trojan War for the reader and each woman has a unique voice, making it easy to distinguish between individual their take on the situation. They are well thought through characters, whose drive and

There has clearly been phenomenal research and it is an engaging and informative read. The themes of life, to wit the loss, death, betrayal, revenge (to name but a few) are universal and relatable, and can find context in present day. The novel is rich in detail and description, there is colour and vibrancy, and the novel really brings to life this period of fictional history.

The novel is curiously titled Elektra. In fact centre stage, to my mind, is Clytemnestra but the former works better as a punchy book title, which is a shame for the latter – but whose name clearly would not work as a peppy title.

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