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proseamongstthorns 's review for:
The Women of Troy
by Pat Barker
This book felt so unnecessary. The Women of Troy isn’t really about the women of Troy, but about Briseis’ life now that she’s freed through marriage.
I said this in my review for the first one, but I do feel as if a book centred on ‘women’ should be voiced by them. Instead, it kicks off with a male narrator. And returns towel narrators throughout. If the novel didn’t claim to give voice to women, then I’d be able to rate it so much higher. But it certainly fails in that respect.
If you thought Briseis was dull in book one then prepare to find her even duller. In my opinion she just lacks character. She wants the captured women who are now enslaved to see her as one of them, but hates being a slave. She rejects her place of power through her husband but wants to have her position of power back. She loves other children but already feels no love for her own child. She achieves nothing.
And the plot? Well. It seemed to just rehash the end of Silence of the Girls; simply adding a little more detail and stretching it out. It lacked a key plot point to give the story momentum. It’s a slow, stagnant story about a group of people trapped after war.
What I wanted to see was Briseis attempting to stand up for and protect the other slaves, to attempt to make change. I wanted to see her as a mother. I wanted her to find her strength and use her husbands power to her advantage. Instead, like Hamlet, she spent the novel fretting and wishing people liked her.
Worst of all, was the way Briseis treated other women. A larger sized lady was locked repeatedly, called ‘lumpy’ and ‘ugly’. Briseis wondered why she’d even been chosen as a slave and when she was pregnant she commented how it’s hard to tell since she’s so fat. This disgusting treatment of someone who is not conventionally beautiful made me hate the book even more. Briseis is supposed to be different, she’s supposed to be the one giving women a voice and she uses it to shame others.
Once again Barker missed the mark here. Other books do this better and I’m not sure why people seem to think this is such an amazing representation. Fat shaming is never okay and it’s a repeated theme throughout. One that has no need to be included and had no bearing on the plot. For that reason alone, I would not recommend this book.
I said this in my review for the first one, but I do feel as if a book centred on ‘women’ should be voiced by them. Instead, it kicks off with a male narrator. And returns towel narrators throughout. If the novel didn’t claim to give voice to women, then I’d be able to rate it so much higher. But it certainly fails in that respect.
If you thought Briseis was dull in book one then prepare to find her even duller. In my opinion she just lacks character. She wants the captured women who are now enslaved to see her as one of them, but hates being a slave. She rejects her place of power through her husband but wants to have her position of power back. She loves other children but already feels no love for her own child. She achieves nothing.
And the plot? Well. It seemed to just rehash the end of Silence of the Girls; simply adding a little more detail and stretching it out. It lacked a key plot point to give the story momentum. It’s a slow, stagnant story about a group of people trapped after war.
What I wanted to see was Briseis attempting to stand up for and protect the other slaves, to attempt to make change. I wanted to see her as a mother. I wanted her to find her strength and use her husbands power to her advantage. Instead, like Hamlet, she spent the novel fretting and wishing people liked her.
Worst of all, was the way Briseis treated other women. A larger sized lady was locked repeatedly, called ‘lumpy’ and ‘ugly’. Briseis wondered why she’d even been chosen as a slave and when she was pregnant she commented how it’s hard to tell since she’s so fat. This disgusting treatment of someone who is not conventionally beautiful made me hate the book even more. Briseis is supposed to be different, she’s supposed to be the one giving women a voice and she uses it to shame others.
Once again Barker missed the mark here. Other books do this better and I’m not sure why people seem to think this is such an amazing representation. Fat shaming is never okay and it’s a repeated theme throughout. One that has no need to be included and had no bearing on the plot. For that reason alone, I would not recommend this book.