Reviews

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

cleothebengal's review

4.0

Unique retelling of the Odyssey from Penelope’s perspective. Nice quick read full of justified female rage.

lidenek's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Unique take on the story from the odyssey told from Penelope, Odysseus’s wife and her maids in chorus .

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Rape

teamlarson's review against another edition

4.0

I thought this book would be all about Penelope and giving her a title other than husband of Odysseus. It wasn’t that, but more. The chorus lines from the maids were somehow powerfully feminist while maintaining a sense of humor. Reading this book definitely requires an understanding of The Odyssey. While not exactly what I expected, this novel is definitely worth reading and another great feminist story from Atwood.

ash_verma's review

reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Murder

dinah_yukich's review

3.0

Metafiction and enjoyable but also reads more like a paper on the feminist reading of Penelope written as a monologue than a fictional retelling… interpreted as such very solid…

ruthieru's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

dina_b's review against another edition

4.0

Penélope, a esposa do grande herói Ulisses, decide contar a sua história depois de morta e a viver no mundo de Hades. Adorei a Penélope, a sua ironia e o seu sarcasmo fizeram-me rir, representa os deuses e heróis como uns adolescentes irresponsáveis, até temos a rapariga popular, Helena de Troia com um séquito de homens atrás dela.
Não consegui parar de ler a história desta mulher astuta que através da esperta sobreviveu num mundo de homens.

bookperson_'s review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

jjjoaninya's review

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

scorpioangel's review

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

Like what other have said this would be five stars if it wasn't for the portrayal of Helen in this retelling. Loved so much of this, so really disappointed with the way Helen's story was done.