Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2436 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-04
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Observer
a feminist viewpoint of which Homer could nary have dreamt

Synopsis
In Homer's "Odyssey", Penelope - wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy - is portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife, her story a salutary lesson through the ages. Left alone for twenty years when Odysseus goes off to fight in the Trojan War after the abduction of Helen, Penelope manages, in the face of scandalous rumours, to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, bring up her wayward son, and keep over a hundred suitors at bay. When Odysseus finally comes home after enduring hardships, overcoming monsters and sleeping with goddesses, he kills her suitors and - curiously - twelve of her maids. In a splendid contemporary twist to the ancient story, Margaret Atwood has chosen to give the telling of it to Penelope and to her twelve hanged maids, asking: 'What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to?' In Atwood's dazzling, playful retelling, the story becomes as wise and compassionate as it is haunting, and as wildly entertaining as it is disturbing.

With wit and verve, drawing on the storytelling and poetic talent for which she herself is renowned, she gives Penelope new life and reality - and sets out to provide an answer to an ancient mystery.

Customer Reviews

Delightful
A delightfully witty take on a Greek Myth. Although it's a little short and I'd have preferred more, this is a excellent book - a must for any fans of the Odessey who have a sense of humour.

Atwood's re-writing sometimes put me in mind of Alec Rowe's excellent audio plays (Operation Lightning Pegasus and Odysseus on a Iceberg) but not as farcical, and from the perspective of Penelope.

Highly recommended.

thought provoking
The Penelopiad is a fairly short read, well paced and a very witty and ironic take on the Odyssey story from the point of view of the woman left behind. Leaving aside the wit and humour, it is very thought provoking in terms of the position of women , both high born and slaves , in what is always claimed to be the start of civilisation proper, and yet mortal women were virtually powerless, and left out of all the high adventure. As always margaret attwood's prose is a joy.

Laugh Out Loud Funny
I am not normally a fan of Margaret Atwood's writings. I often find that she is too dark or has too much edge. Not that it is not good writing, and she is probably currently the most famous of the living Canadian authors, she just isn't usually my thing. I cannot say that for this book.

The Penelopiad is a hilarious romp through a story that most of us know, but told outside of time. There is an old saying that "dead men don't tell tales" and that may be true, but in this inventive retelling, a dead woman and her chorus of dead girls do just that.

Atwood has turned this myth on its head and told it from the female perspective. Unfortunately, our heroine is dead and in Hades, retelling her story from across the river Styx. She is telling her whole story but especially the events around Odysseus' long absence during the war against Troy and that unfortunate event with her cousin Helen.

The story is written in the format of a Greek Tragedy but with the humor and temperament of a comedy. Our chorus is the twelve dead maids, hung strung together on a ship's rope by Odysseus. They appear from time to time, in song, dance, or mock plays and trials to re-enact events from their lives to punctuate Penelope's story.

The twists and turns in this story will make you laugh out loud. A friend of mine who read it stated, `It begs to be read aloud.' And I could not agree more. Pick up the book, get some friends together and read it aloud, over an evening or two together. Much fun will be had with the ghosts of our 13 dead ladies.

(First published in Imprint 2005-11-05 as `Myth Novels')