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The Women of Troy

By: Pat Barker
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Following her best-selling, critically acclaimed The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker continues her extraordinary retelling of one of our greatest myths.

Troy has fallen. The Greeks have won their bitter war. They can return home victors, loaded with their spoils: their stolen gold, stolen weapons, stolen women. All they need is a good wind to lift their sails.

But the wind does not come. The gods have been offended - the body of Priam lies desecrated, unburied - and so the victors remain in limbo, camped in the shadow of the city they destroyed, pacing at the edge of an unobliging sea. And, in these empty, restless days, the hierarchies that held them together begin to fray, old feuds resurface and new suspicions fester.

Largely unnoticed by her squabbling captors, Briseis remains in the Greek encampment. She forges alliances where she can - with young, dangerously naïve Amina, with defiant, aged Hecuba, with Calchus, the disgraced priest - and begins to see the path to a kind of revenge. Briseis has survived the Trojan War, but peacetime may turn out to be even more dangerous....

©2021 Pat Barker (P)2021 Penguin Audio
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What listeners say about The Women of Troy

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Amazing story!!!

I just couldn't put this down, I loved every second of this book, exemplary detail.

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History through a woman's eyes

Absolutely superb! The story is slow, but to hear about the life, suffering and hopes of the women of Troy was so fascinating, I could not stop listening in the end.
Kristin Atherton is the best reader ever, just a really talented performer with credible and distinctive voices, bringing the story powerfully to life.
I learnt a lot, brushed up on some blind spots in my knowledge of history but most importantly was deeply moved by what women in all ages had to endure. The lesson for me is: Sisterhood is the only thing which helps us overcome the deep disadvantages and obstacles still in place.
A truly marvellous and inspiring experience.

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A wonderful take on a familiar story.

A different light on the story I first came across in Classical Greek lesions at school, as much in the original Greek as in English translations. Enjoyed the narrative.

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A great follow up

I really enjoyed The Silence of the Girls and didn't even know a second book was coming for Briseis's story. I was worried that it wouldn't be as striking in comparison to the first book, but it didn't disappoint, introducing new interesting characters and story arcs, The Women of Troy was a great read/ listen I would highly recommend, especially if you enjoyed the previous book.

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Fantastic

Such a good book, stayed historically accurate while still making the plot interesting. Gave unbiased perspectives on each character. Made you feel like the characters were still alive and knew each other.

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Fabulous

Incredible writing, incredible narration, Kristin breathes crisp clarity and flowing life into these characters, hanging on her every word. Also a shout out to the producer, the quality of the book is of the highest, and a delight to experience!!

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3 people found this helpful

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Brilliant

An amazing retelling of Trojan Women and a perfect follow up to Silence of the Girls

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I absolutely love this

The first and second book are both equally amazing I’d definitely recommend.

It’s so easy to picture the scenes in your head when these are read.

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very enjoyable well written

while i enjoyed the book, there is something very offputting about the authors attitudes to womens bodies demonstrated within its pages.
the main character takes the time to fat shame a young slave in process of giving birth under extreme conditions. the running commentary of how disgusting the persons body is, is both incredibly distasteful and unnecessary.

it is a running theme through this book and the Silence of the Girls. in both books the authors own opinions on womens bodies shine through the main characters expressed incredulity on a few ocassions that a fat woman and a thin woman could possibly be friends. shes goes in to some detail to decribe "two women so wholely different" to each other but really the difference simply comes down to their differing appearances and potentially appetites. This hapoens in both books.

These passages stand out for their fat shaming and potentially demonstrate the authors own problems with body image.
very dissapointing in what could otherwise be referred to a feminist retelling.
additionally in both books the multiple english accents are distracting...while we have gotten used to a well spoken english accent as a kind of "default' or non-accent in theatre, adding in near-comical regional accents to demonstrate those of a lower class is both distracting to all listeners and Im sure insulting to people from those regions.

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Great

As per previous book, The women of Troy is a great story told in a way that makes compulsive reading
what a pleasure!

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2 people found this helpful