The horse entered the walls and the Greeks had their terror, Troy has fallen, and that is where this story begins.
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As with Silence of the Girls from Pat Baker, (this is a follow up but could work as stand only), this tale is largely narrated through Brisies, an ex women of Lyrnessus, ex slave of the great Achilles, and now pregnant wife of Alcimus, though Achilles son Pyrrhus also has some narrated chapters too.
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Both characters are given life and depth, they are conflicted, thoughtful and weathered. There isn’t much action in this book, but the people we meet are dynamic enough to keep you engaged, and once again Helen is delivered here as a someone that NEEDS her own well written story, as does the Cassandra that Pat has constructed, here not quite the meek girl I have seen her as in the past.
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However to echo the thoughts of others, this book is a little heavy handed on the modernism, and some don’t sit right in the backdrop of this drama, some descriptives are a little lazy (see my beginning quote), and I cannot bypass the use of the word retard in modern literature without mentioning how unnecessary it is, again lazy and offensive

The story picks up from where The Silence of the Girls left off and follows Briseis. However saying that it definitely would work as a stand-alone book as many of the references are explained in this book.

I enjoyed this more than the Silence of the Girls, I think that’s because I was more familiar with the characters, but both books were an easy 5 stars for me. I also felt it was a bit more gripping, with a few more twists and turns and actions.

I love the strong female characters and sisterhood in this book and Briseis really seems to come into her own.

Really well paced and well written. If you are a fan of Greek mythology and similar books, I can’t recommend this enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book to review.

The Women of Troy, the sequel to The Silence of the Girls, continues the story of Briseis, a Trojan women taken from her home and forced to become the slave and concubine of Achilles. I read The Silence of the Girls a few years ago, and while I did enjoy it, I happened to read it very soon after reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which follows the same series of events. As such, I think my experience of The Silence of the Girls was impacted negatively as I was constantly comparing the two, and I ended up rating it 3 stars.

In contrast, I was absolutely enthralled with The Women of Troy. Barker’s writing is brutal and blunt, which suited the story well, and there were many lines and paragraphs that impacted me emotionally. I also loved the cast of characters, and appreciated how Barker illustrated the different ways women could react to certain situations, such as war.

However, there were some things I wasn’t a huge fan of. Firstly, like in The Silence of the Girls, there were some sections that focused on the men, which I felt didn’t add anything to the story. Additionally, I didn’t like the use of the ‘r’ slur and fatphobic comments, although it is worth noting that I read an early copy and these may have been removed.

Ultimately, I thought this was a fantastic follow-up to The Silence of the Girls, and if you enjoyed the first book, I would definitely recommend picking this one up.

Content Warnings: death, death of a loved one, death of a child, animal death, dead bodies and desecration of a corpse, violence, domestic abuse, strangulation, stabbing, rape, pregnancy as a result of rape, war, slavery, suicide, claustrophobia, insects, vomiting, excessive drinking, repeated use of r slur, fatphobia, childbirth

Pat Barker picks up from The Silence of the Girls, giving continuing voice to the silenced women, after the Greeks have emerged victorious from the terrors of the war with the fall of Troy, with all the males wiped out and King Priam left unburied. Laden with the spoils of war, the treasure, the women and the weaponry, they are unable to set off, prevented by the weather, an expression of the gods unhappiness. The scene is set for tensions, conflicts, feuds, suspicions, violence and frustrations to arise among the men as they drink copiously. We get some insights into male perspectives, such as that of Achilles's son, Pyrrhus, an insecure boy, feeling the pressure of his father's legacy. This novel can feel a little underpowered in comparison to the previous book, but it provides a more nuanced picture that illustrates that the dangers of peace can be as unnerving and troubling as war.

Briseis remains the narrator, having been the prize trophy of the now dead Achilles, she finds herself married to Alcimus, carrying Achilles's child. She is now a woman of status, but feeling a connection with the enslaved women, doing what she can to bring them together, looking to forge alliances. The traumatised, despairing and grieving women, are feeling powerless, resentful, anger, fear, humiliated, struggling to adjust to their circumstances and Barker excels in portraying women who have complicated and differing responses. This is a story of Briseis, the practicality of her nature in dealing with all that that has been thrown at her, this is at the heart of her approach to her current position, of women, their resilience, their ability to survive the most desperate, harrowing and precarious of situations.

I have been a fan of Pat Barker since reading 'Union Street' and 'Regeneration' back in the day so I am a bit biased. I really enjoyed the 'Silence of the Girls' , I studied the Iliad at school many years ago and loved the retelling from a feminist viewpoint. So I was delighted to be given the opportunity to read the sequel 'Women of Troy'. I did not disappoint.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the opportunity to preview this book.

When I read that there was a sequel to Pat Barker's The Silence of the girls, I jumped at the opportunity to obtain an advance copy. It did not disappoint me. Yet again I was drawn into the narrative of Breseis as she weaves through the Greek camp getting to know the ins and outs of the captive Trojan women's lives following the fall of Troy.

The camp is atmospherically brought to life through descriptions of the inclement weather preventing the Greeks from returning home in the months following their success in overcoming the Trojans and murdering every male there.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to readers.

When I described this book to my daughter she said ‘that was nice of her to write a book for you’! She wasn’t wrong. I’ve loved several of Pat Barker’s previous books, including The Silence of the Girls. As always this was beautifully written and the setting was fully realised and very atmospheric. The only problem I had with the book was that it was set in the period between the end of the Trojan War and the Greek fleet sailing off. Necessarily, there’s much waiting around. In a lesser author’s hands, this would have been turgid. However, my attention was held throughout and I looked forward to picking it up.

I read and enjoyed The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker so of course I wanted to read The Women of Troy. I enjoyed it just as much as the Silence of the Girls. Pat Barker writes so vividly, I could see, hear, and smell the Greek camp outside Troy at the end of the war. A great follow up.

While I loved and thoroughly enjoyed this book, it doesn't hit quite as hard as the first one and it takes a while to hit its stride. Once it does, it is absorbing, fascinating and compelling. The writing is a joy, the language perfectly pitched. The suffering, sacrifice and strength of the women is shown without sensationalism - quite simply, the men are still wielding their power and the women still trying to survive. There are some amazing characters here - Amina, Andromache, Hecuba, Cassandra. Even the 'bad guy' Pyrrhus is presented as an intriguingly flawed and complex figure. As a reader who enjoys Greek retelling I have to say Pat Barker really does tick all the boxes and I highly recommend this book.

Following on from 'The Silence of the Girls', Briseis' story continues as she forges ahead carrying Achille's child, following the fall of Troy. This is a masterful retelling of a great classical story, brought back to life in all it's glory by a wonderful story teller.

I had been so excited to receive this book, having loved 'The Silence of the Girls' and it certainly doesn't disappoint. A wonderful story of women's strength and resilience, and when brought together in the midst of men's destruction, will always prevail.

It is no secret that Pat Barker is a master storyteller. Her way of weaving words into vivid imagery and immersive world-building is second to none. After loving The Silence of the Girls I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into The Women of Troy but my biggest issue with this book was the lack of scale. Both books are pitched as an introspective examination of the women behind the ancient Greek myths and admittedly they both do that but are paired with POV sections from the male figures, in The Silence of the Girls it is Achilles we read from, and in The Women of Troy, it is Pyrrhus. My question is: why not keep these books as a unique and bold take on Greek myth solely from the female viewpoint? If scope was something Barker wanted to portray I would have preferred the other POVs to be from women in the camp not from the men as I would argue they've had their time- for centuries. Unfortunately, since The Women of Troy is a direct continuation of the story from the first book it felt too similar in terms of plot and setting so much so that the story was repetitive and plotless. I was expecting to see more of Briseis' journey beyond the war encampment and her new life as a 'free' woman. Perhaps another book is to come which would explain why this book feels lacking and has fallen prey to the disappointing 'second-book syndrome'. Although the bones of the book are a bit of a letdown Barker still has a fantastic way with words and is capable of crafting an excellent picture of the brutality and horror of Ancient Greece.

The long anticipated sequel to The Silence Of The Girls and worth the wait. I absolutely ate this up. I don't know what it is about this re-telling that hooks me in so well but it does. Barker's prose is spare and elegant. It lays bare the brutal reality beneath the heady, purple poetry of Homer's epics and roots it in the dirt and the sand. It strips away all pretence of what it means to be noble and shows and the every day drudgery of what it's like to be an unwilling part of a community only connected by violence and war. Briseis is such a compelling narrator. You empathise with her predicament and there is such tension in the tightrope she walks between all the warring factions in the camp. This is stunning. I really hope this is a trilogy because I want to know what happens next.

After many centuries of neglect, the Women of Troy have emerged into the light and thankfully will remain there. The path was set, in some ways by Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles which brought to life the relationship with Achilles and Patroclus as well as with Achilles’ ‘prize’ Breisis. Natalie Haynes also made a terrific contribution in A thousand Ships, in bringing back the voices of the women of fallen Troy.

Pat Barker sets out her version of the story of Troy. Written as a sequel to The Silence of the Girls. The Women of Troy opens with the Greek Warriors hidden inside the Horse. She narrates the story from the point of view of Pyrrhus, Achilles’ son, (trying hard to live and justify himself in the shadow of his famous father), Breisis (Achille’s ‘prize’ and the cause of Achilles and Agamemnon’s infamous falling out) and the priest Calchas (who has fallen out of favour with Agamemnon and waits to be recalled). Through their narrative Helen, Cassandra, and Breisis amongst many others are brought back to life and given a voice. These are women, not simply the passive victims to be passed from one victorious man to the next, and in The Women of Troy, they voice they find is, sometimes spoken and, sometimes sung, but gloriously alive in the face of tragedy . The story of the fall of Troy and the war around the ‘ownership’ of Helen has launched a thousand retellings (or so it appears to me!). These tend to be stories from the point of view of the male protagonists, whilst the female characters are mainly victor prizes to be conquered by the male victors. Even in Stephen Fry’s. masterful Troy, Breisis speaks only once and that is to mourn Patroclus and to speak of his kindness. So it is wonderful to see a reimagining of what the women may have said, had the Homeric tradition thought them worthy of recording.

One thing I noticed was that whilst there are references to the Gods in the Women of Troy, they don’t actually appear. Indeed doubt is cast on whether it is the God’s who are speaking via the priests or if it is the will of the Kings being expressed through priestly interpretation. I won’t say why but it seems to me to be an interesting deviation from the standard retelling of the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed the read and highly recommend it, along with the others I mentioned.

This is the second instalment of Pat Barker's retelling of the trojan war. I was already a big fan of this author's work from her first book 'the silence of the girls' which I found to be a refreshing narrative on a very male-dominated world and this book did not disappoint either.

we still follow Bresis who is a narrator I love, she has a very resilient, refreshing and strong outlook on life and her situation, her quiet resilience is really enjoyable to read and I love how feminist themes are explored in this series and by the author. This book takes place almost immediately after the ending of the first book, something which I enjoyed and explored the time after the trojan war where the greek fighters we confined to the beaches unable to leave. Honestly, I am just a big lover of greek mythology so this book was always going to be a hit with me, I love the characters and exploring their survival, both the women and the men, and really hope to see more of if this author decided to extend the series.

the authors writing style is perfect in my opinion, it's easy to understand and race through while still being very thorough in telling the story of this myth and its characters. I cannot recommend it enough to lovers of mythology as Pat Baker is really a leader in the genre, especially for a feminist approach!

Excellent follow-up to Barker’s brilliant novel of the Trojan Wars, The Silence of the Girls, told from the viewpoint of the Trojan women as they are forced to put aside their feelings of hatred and despair and come to terms with their new lives as slaves at the mercy of their Greek conquerors. The Women of Troy opens with Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, inside the Trojan horse waiting to lead his men to victory, fully aware that at just 16 he is struggling to step into Achilles shoes and unable to despatch King Priam in the manner his father would have done if he’d still been alive. The heroine of the story is again Briseis, who is now married to Achilles’ friend Alcimus to protect Achilles unborn child. This gives Briseis a little more freedom to help the other women which soon leads to danger. Barker once again expertly takes us right into Troy with the tension ramped up as the Greeks squabble amongst themselves as they desperately wait for the wind to drop so they can finally return to Greece. Menelaus’s failure to punish his beloved Helen can only cause more problems, coupled with Pyrrhus’ unpredictable mood swings as he insists anyone who tries to bury Priam will die and the constant fights between rival armies quickly escalate. Not quite as gripping as The Silence of the Girls as Briseis now has a powerful husband’s protection, but this is still a marvellous piece of storytelling.

Loved this and can't wait for the next instalment. After the Silence of the Girls we meet Briseis and the captured women of Troy back on the sands of the invading Greek camp in the aftermath of the Trojan war. It's another captivating and heartrending story of how these utterly helpless women find small ways to keep their dignity and fight back to keep what is important to them safe and alive. You sit with them all through the story, horrified and desperate for them, hoping they find some way out of their misery and knowing all the time that fate has a different ending in store for them. Beautifully written.

This is the first of Pat Barker’s books that I’ve read, although not my first reading of Greek Mythology, nor my first modern retelling; despite how familiar I am with these stories, it still felt fresh and immersive. In her retellings, Barker gives so much depth and nuance to these women, many of whom wouldn’t have even been named in the original stories. I highly recommend this!

I received an advance copy of The Women of Troy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

The Women of Troy picks up from where The Silence of the Girls left off, with Achilles dead and Briseis pregnant with his child - given in marriage to Achilles' trusted friend and ally Alcimus and, finally, a 'free' woman - if any women in the Greek compound can be called that. She uses her independence to help the lives of the women around her, particularly those who have been taken from Troy immediately after the Greeks sacked it. She knows the emotional pain they are experiencing and tries to ameliorate their daily lives as much as she can - or at least keep them as safe as possible. However, there are some rebellious women in the ranks - ones who will defy their male captors and refuse to bow to their new slave status. Just as Briseis should be feeling safer in her role as future-mother of Achilles' son, she finds herself trying to keep restive Trojan women away from danger.

The novel opens tensely, from a male point of view - Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, is waiting inside the wooden horse, ready to wreak murder on the Trojans. Barker's language reflects the brutality of the imminent slaughter, and her prose deftly mimics whichever character's viewpoint we are experiencing the story from at any given time. Mostly this is Briseis, but occasionally we receive an insight into Pyrrhus, who is both blessed and cursed by being Achilles' son - blessed because he commands respect and admiration, cursed because Achilles' sandals are too big to fill. Unlike his father, he doesn't understand some of the unwritten rules of war and acts more impetuously, cruelly and savagely. This book is almost also about him learning to become a better man.

I very much enjoyed the follow-up to The Silence of the Girls. Both look at the effect of war on the innocent victims - the women and children, rendering the nature of the stories less epic and more a study of brutal pointlessness. Women are seen merely in terms of being servants - either to pour the wine and for sexual purposes - or as breeders. They are not given any credit for intelligence or skill by most of the men - though there are a couple who seem to shine through with their considerateness and courtesy.

The storytelling is rich and the scene-setting clever and engaging - though I sort of wanted a map of the camp to understand where everything was so I could picture it better - and I am normally not a big fan of those! My only small remark would be that there were a few cases where the language seemed to jar. I know that Pat Barker is not aiming for a modern-day Homer retelling, but there were a couple of sentences starting with 'I mean' - used as a sort of inflection rather than a definition (hard to explain - just as a throwaway comment as is found nowadays in modern speak) and a few 'We-ell' and 'Ye-es' which just felt out of place.

I love Barker's portrayal of Briseis. She is clever and resourceful and courageous in a quiet way - and seems to command a certain degree of respect not just by the women but also by the men. Barker portrays her mainly as a source of calm in an otherwise fidgety and restless environment - how she manages this, I do not know! However, this series of books is very much her 'war' or at least her survival of it and is quickly becoming, and deservedly, an epic of its own.

Thank you, NetGalley, for letting me read this book.

Pat Barker takes us to Troy, or at least the beach outside Troy. The Greeks have won, but they're stuck, waiting for the wind to change. For the Trojan women who are now slaves it's a grief filled, frightening, dangerous time. Briseis is pregnant with Achilles' child, married and no longer a slave, but still needs to support and protect the Trojan women around her.

The Greek army is frustrated, and getting harder to control.

Barker puts so much flesh on the bones of the old stories that we vaguely know. She gives us a living army; real, desperate women; real jeopardy. She's very much at home in army camps.

Briseis is a survivor. She doesn't always like herself for what she does, she questions and reflects, but she's such a strong character, and her predicament is meticulously depicted.

I was a fan of Barker's before, am an even bigger fan now. I loved this book, and its predecessor.

Real rating: 3.5 stars

The Women of Troy is a haunting and emotional tale, and it begins with the famed wooden horse that leads to the downfall of Troy, five months after the events of The Silence of the Girls.

Briseis, now married to Alcimus, is a free woman, respected as a wife - and bearer of Achille’s son. Although she is not the detached, frightened girl she once was, Briseis feels a sense of responsibility towards the other women now that's she's not a slave anymore. Although it begins due to some sort of survivor's guilt, she finds a sense of camaraderie and perhaps even purpose with them.

One of this book's biggest flaws, as it was with the prequel as well, is that despite supposedly being the story told from the women's perspective, it also lets us see some scenes from the men's perspective. In the prequel, Achilles. Now, Pyrrhus and even Calchas once or twice.

With that being said, I actually enjoyed Pyrrhus chapters quite a lot. To the women, he's a monster, a butcher like his father. In his own head, we can see that Pyrrhus wishes he wasn't there at all, he's never had a choice but to walk in his father's shoes, and what a pointless attempt it is to try and be anything like the great Achilles? He is drowning in expectations, detached from reality, spiraling... There are always two sides to a story and that is essentially the purpose of this retelling.

Once again Pat Barker's writing style is beautifully evocative; it paints such a clear picture of what is happening, with a bit of a lyrical quality to it as well.

Plotwise, there's not much to remark upon as this is a retelling, and therefore fairly predictable. Still, it was a bit slow, I was expecting a bit more towards the end. Plus, it ended was rather abruptly and it was too nonchalant.

Overall, The Women of Troy is an engrossing, interesting read and I enjoyed it. I recommend it to all fans of Greek mythology.