Ithaca: The exquisite, gripping tale that breathes life into ancient myth (The Songs of Penelope)

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With its well-written, fluid and elegant prose, even pacing throughout the novel, and themes of feminism, survival and loyalty Claire North’s Ithaca is an engaging read that I would recommend to fans of Greek Mythology and those fond of feminist retellings. But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women—and their goddesses— that will change the course of the world. There are main characters too, of course, who do have more onpage time, but Hera is fickle and arbitrarily decides who gets her attention best, favouring a character that's not Penelope. Many thanks to Redhook Books and NetGalley for granting access to a digital review copy of this novel. I taught the Odyssey for almost two decades, and I’ve always been curious about Penelope and her story for the twenty years Odysseus was away.

But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women—and their goddesses—that will change the course of the world. The Oresteia, which covers the lives and deaths of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon and their children, Orestes and Elektra, was also an integral part of this story. The plot was fascinating and I really appreciated the insight into what it means to be powerful as a woman - which in ancient Greece meant to be powerful in secret. It was as if the author had settled in to the vivid world she had created and let the characters speak for themselves.

Feminist twists to myths are now rather to be expected but I did enjoy the way the author constructed this one.

There was no real depth or development to them, and they felt like cardboard cutouts rather than real people. I can’t recommend Ithaca highly enough, especially to those who share my lifelong fascination with Greek myth. Each has very different interests and views, but each embodies a different aspect of power – including power which is threatened or changing by the world around them.In that sense, the sparse archaeological record was a gift – it’s harder to get things criminally wrong when we’re not entirely clear on what’s exactly right. But housed within that addictive pacing was deep and moving commentary on the lack of autonomy given to Grecian women and how cruelly they were often treated. And having Hera, frustrated and overlooked and put-upon Hera, be the way into this story ends up feeling extremely inspired. Along the way we meet Priene, Elektra and Clytemnestra, who were fierce and powerful women in their own right. In short, the geography is one of several things that you might sort of, to put it mildly, want to hand-wave your way through, all the while hoping no one is paying too much attention.

It, along with how old everyone is and the fact that a lot of the suitors have, to our ears, quite similar sounding names, is one of those Homeric legacies that you just gotta deal with. Thankfully, Penelope is incredibly clever, and she maintains this balance deftly and with astounding subtlety. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. But actually, very little time is spend on Penelope who waited for decades while her husband was off being a hero.I loved everything about Ithaca, except for the fact that it’s not the standalone I was for some reason expecting it to be.

Penelope, despite her son’s fault, despite his reluctance to treat his mother with any ounce of the respect she deserves, loves him nonetheless, which makes their relationship so heartbreaking. I've always enjoyed reading and learning about the classics, and many of the reimaginings that are released these days shine a light on the women that were so often only briefly mentioned in the heroic tales of the Greek men and gods. I’ve always disliked Hera, but in the past year or so I’ve read multiple books that showcased facets of her I had never considered.Although the focus is ostensibly on Penelope, it is actually Hera who commands the spotlight with her narrative voice, irreverent attitude, sharp tongue, and brutal honesty. It also shows how many women fought against their oppressors, some in stealthy and secretive ways and others in demonstrative and explosive ways. Even novices to the Greek myths and legends will be able to, with perhaps only a cursory check of Wikipedia, thoroughly enjoy North’s treatment of Penelope’s story.