Her Complex

The author’s first novel, Ariadne, was pretty good and this one, I think, is even better. Thus, writes someone who has felt that the folder for feminist retellings of Greek myths is in danger of overflowing.

In Greek myth Elektra is the daughter who desires the death of her mother because she had murdered her husband, Elektra’s father. Of course, things are more complicated than that. The father also ordered the sacrifice of an elder sister; Elektra demanded that her brother be the agent of her mother’s death; and this dysfunctional family can trace its crimes back many generations into the past. The father is Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War; the mother is Clytemnestra, sister of the more famous Helen; the elder sister is Iphigeneia; and the brother is Orestes.

Jennifer Saint competes with other modern novels on the same subject, Colm Toibin’s The House of Names, Henry Treece’s Electra, and others. Like Toibin, the author employs the conceit of various narrators to tell the story: in this case Elektra, Cassandra (the Trojan prophetess), and Clytemnestra. She is respectful of the myth and its variations (more so I think than Toibin), and there is real feeling in the sections narrated by Clytemnestra. She is the character who attracts the most sympathy. The men in the story are mostly evil (Agamemnon) or weak (Orestes), or weak and evil (Aegisthus), or dreamily romantic (Pylades), or sacrificially faithful (Georgios), but I suppose these are aspects of the genre one must expect. My feeling, however, is that Elektra does not really deserve her happy ending.

Another mythology retelling, this time is Elektra's turn. I knew nothing about her so it was interesting and exciting to dig into this one; somehow, I found it more engrossing than Ariadne.

Very well written, it is told from 3 POVs: Clytemnestra, Elektra and Cassandra.

However, I would have preferred if this was told just from Elektra's point of view since is her name on the cover. I didn't feel she was more important than the others. I would have loved to see more of her, probably because I have already read a lot about Troy and its war. Moreover, these three voices sounded identical to me which made it a bit harder to follow up at times.

Good solid retelling of part of ‘The Oresteia’ myth concentrating on the stories of Clytemnestra, her daughter Electra and the Trojan Cassandra, daughter of Priam. Although I have read all these stories through my Classical studies, I am really enjoying these more modern retellings. Thanks to Netgalley.

I intensely enjoyed this book. I'm a big fan of greek mythology retellings which obviously helps, but I think anyone could find this story gripping and powerful. Switching between multiple viewpoints we follow the lead up and aftermath of the Trojan war from unique viewpoints, that aren't usually touched upon . Elektra, Agamemnons daughter, Clytemnestra, Elektra's mother, and Cassandra, daughter of Hecabe and Priam of Troy. We follow these three women, from Clytemnestra's childhood all the way until Elektra's old age, with many twists in between. I can guarantee that you will hate almost every character at some point throughout this book, but that made me enjoy it even more, a I was not particularly rooting for anyone but simultaneously enchanted and enthralled by the story Jennifer Saint spun. Filled with dark twists, complex relationships and powerful women I highly recommend everyone checks out Elektra, whether you're interested in greek mythology or not.

I see so much potential here. And I definitely liked the book. It was not boring at any point and kept the pages turning at a steady pace. I also liked the author's writing style. It does conjure the feeling of myth and magic and tragic poetry. But I would have really loved for Elektra to take the centre stage since she's the titular character. I felt like she didn't exactly play a pivotal role in the plot. Compared to her, Helen, Clytemnestra and Cassandra came off as more important players who were actually able to affect and direct the trajectory of the events.

I haven't read the author's previous book called Ariadne, but I have read a few reviews and I found readers having the same complaint with it that I had reading Elektra: it doesn't exactly live up to the spirit of a retelling. Retellings are necessary and important because they make space for characters and give voices to those who were marginalized in the original. They are subversive and challenging of the original. None of those things happened in Elektra. All the women were just portrayed as victims who despite their strong wills could hardly ever hold their own in a world of cruel men and violent Gods.

I loved Ariadne and was so excited about Elektra! And I wasn’t disappointed! Elektra’s story wasn’t one I was too familiar with so it was great to read something new. Well written and structured- a great read!

Elektra is the story of 3 women in the time before, during and after the Troyan war.
In the story, we meet
- Cassandra: The trojan princess, cursed by Apollo so no one believes her prophecies, later war trophy
- Clytemnestra: The wife of Agamemnon, sister of Helen and mother of Elektra, wishes to avenge Iphigenia's murder
- Elektra: Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, wishes to avenge her father's death
As said above, the story follows three different women and their struggles around the time of the Trojan war. The multiple povs let you know what happened in Troy and in Mycenae. And you want to know what happens next. The author did a great job interweaving the different voices and places.

I have always been interested in Greek Mythology, so to read a book about the Trojan War but from the POV of the women was fascinating.

This was a powerful and emotional book. Each woman's story really draws you into their life, their heartbreak.

Full of the history that you know, but from a POV you might not have thought of before, this was extremely entertaining and engrossing.

I fell in love with Jennifer Saint's debut novel "Ariadne" and when I saw there was a new book by her, I immediately wanted to read it.
Jennifer Saint did it again. She gives a new life to Greek myths which are not very popular and that's why her novels are curious to me. I'm familiar with the story of Elektra but the stories of her mother Clytemnestra and princess Cassandra were not in my field of knowledge very well.
Elektra is the daughter of King Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Her life is spent waiting for her father to come home from the Trojan War. But she doesn't know her father well. She lives with an imaginary vision of him. She lives with her mother and here I want to talk about her mother Clytemnestra, because she was the best character in that book for me. I saw her growing, I saw her struggling with some issues and that made a vengeful woman out of her. Her character is so well-made and I believed her. She is a real villain in the myth and in Sophocles' play, but in this novel I understand her decisions and her vengeful nature. Also, there is Cassandra and she was a very strange character to me. I wanted to see more of her. I wanted to understand her more but, unfortunately, that didn't happen. I really didn't like Elektra either. She was so childish in making decisions, so proud that she lost herself and that was bad for my connection with the character, but I appreciate the fact that Jennifer Saint is a very good author, which provokes the reader to be emotional and empathic.
So the book is full of bad and good characters, but they make an interesting plot, full of cliffhangers, interesting and intimate moments. The writing and the use of words is one big plus for the book as well.
Maybe I didn't like the really slow moments in the book because "Ariadne" was full of suspense and surprising moments.
I really liked the book and I'm excited about more stories by Jennifer Saint.

I loved this book as much as Ariadne.
The writing is sublime and keeps me constantly turning the pages
Although set so long ago the characters feel so real.
Definitely a book I'll be keeping forever to read again.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this masterpiece

Jennifer Saint writes about ancient women like they are her contemporaries – with a great understanding of complexities of their motives and feelings. Electra lives her life in a shadow of her beloved father, and when her own mother kills him in revenge for the death of Iphigenia, Electra’s life is consumed but one and only one task – to revenge her father. This is a story of obsession and despondency, the story of mother and daughter and other women whose lives were intricately linked by the violence of men and finickity of gods.
The book follows the story of Trojan war and the fate of Agamemnon and his family, but the roots of it go even deeper, and are the tool for the author to explore the moral conflicts that all the characters face. “Electra” is a great retelling of a myth, where the reader gets immersed in the narrative of motherhood and loss, duty and revenge, safety and punishment. Each of the female characters is used in the book, no one is safe to lead their lives the way they desire. Perhaps it is a perfect metaphor of our contemporary times, where women find themselves struggling to navigate the world which wasn’t built for them.

Myth, legend and the real world, seamlessly intertwined

There has recently grown up a whole genre of retellings of the Greek mythology, particularly giving a voice to the female characters, but ‘Elektra’ stands out head and shoulders. It’s definitely up there with Madeleine Miller’s ‘Circe’.

What really stood out for me is the way the author can put herself in so many different characters’ shoes – and we have a wide cast, both in Mycenae and in Troy. Just as we think, for example, that Clytemnestra is a monster (as well as a Bad Mother), the perspective shifts and we understand her motivation.

Similarly, we can see why the original daddy’s girl Elektra sides with her father Agamemnon, yearning for his love, and why she rationalises the enormity of what he does to obtain a fair wind for Troy, remembering a more domestic, loving father, finding in his embrace “never a safer place in the world”.

Although anyone familiar with the original will know what’s going to happen, and the story has the inevitability of a car-crash in slow motion, Jennifer Saint still manages to make us suspend our foreknowledge, to keep us in suspense right to the end. Her knowledge of the Classics is faultless, but she wears her learning lightly. We never feel force-fed the details.

I enjoyed Jennifer Saint’s debut novel ‘Ariadne’ and have bought it for friends of all ages; so I leapt at the chance to review ‘Elektra’ on NetGalley and will be delighted to post a review on Amazon as soon as this new novel is published.

I was already familiar with the events of the Trojan War and the Orestia (thanks A Level Classics) but I was really excited to see all the different strands of the story woven together in this book! It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting from the title but I feel like I got 3 books in 1 seeing the perspectives of Clytemnestra and Cassandra as well as Elektra. Saint manages to cover a lot of ground and so many pivotal points in this very complex saga yet nothing is glossed over, every poingnant moment is written with great care and emotion. I love how she explores so many kinds of relationships throughout the novel, siblings, marriages, parents and children, even mortals and gods. I also think an amazing job has been done of reconciling the many different perceptions of these characters from various sources into one well rounded portrayal. Ironically, Elektra was the character I liked least, but this may just be personal taste. On the whole I loved the book and absolutely hurtled through it, even though I knew the story I needed to keep reading on! My only gripe would be that the ending felt a little rushed, I almost wish the epilogue was either omitted and we were left with the looming presence of the Erinyes, or the book was actually longer and explored the aftermath and the final ending of the curse a little more

Very fun; the writing is a little lacking in places, and it's less historically accurate than other books in this genre. But an interesting take on a lesser known character from mythology!

🌿BOOK REVIEW🌿

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

“She was old enough to be married, but still young enough to believe I could solve any problem.”

In this mythology retelling we follow the lives of three women:
- Clytemnestra: the sister of Helen and wife of Agamemnon who is left behind while the war rages on becomes consumed by the idea of revenge
- Cassandra: the Princess of Troy who was cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks it, she is powerless even with her knowledge of the fate of Troy
- Elektra: the youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, she is desperate to escape her family and continue the good name of Agamemnon

WHAT A RETELLING!! I absolutely adored reading about the female perspective of the Trojan war from three incredible women with their own individual battles. So often when we think about the Trojan war we forget about all the women and families left behind as Agamemnon leads the way to Troy to bring back Helen.

I was really drawn to Clytemnestra’s story as it was packed full of so many emotions. She is heartbroken by the ruthless killing of her daughter by her husband in order to win a good wind from the Gods to reach troy that she falls into a depression. As she comes out the other side she becomes obsessed with the idea of killing Agamemnon to avenge her daughter. So consumed by this idea, she finds herself in a relationship with a man who would kill another one of her children if it meant a secure place on the throne.

Cassandra had a very interesting story as she could see exactly how this war was going to play out and yet no one would listen to her. I think it did a great job at showing how so often women are ignored and the ideas put forth by men are usually the ones acted upon.

Finally, Elektra! What a great character she was who grew up during this war, without her father, the death of her sister and the depression of her mother. She begins to feel suffocated by the castle and finds some solstice outside with a local farmers boy as she hatches her own plan to keep the good name of Agamemnon alive.

If you couldn’t tell already, I absolutely adored this retelling and would 100% recommend it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

⚠️CW// death, murder, misogyny, rape

I adore anything to do with legend myth and folklore and so I knew that I had to read this book and indeed anything by Jennifer Saint. Wow!! Just wow!!… This book is brilliant! More than brilliant, amazing!!!… Absolutely gripping, addictive and captivating…

It is pretty easy to win my heart with any mythology retelling, I'll be honest. Give me anything about gods and monsters and ancient tales and I'll be your biggest fan, I'm easy, I admit it.
But Elektra was actually great, too. I haven't read Saint's Ariadne (though it's on my tbr and sitting right there on my shelf) so I was very excited to see how she works with these old myths, especially one as complex as Elektra's story. And I loved it! Saint's writing is beautiful and sets the perfect tone for a retelling of this kind. But it's not just the beautiful prose that makes this a wonderful reading experience, it's the way she really spend a lot of time on these different women's unique perspectives.

No, I will admit this freely, Elektra is not the most sympathetic character. I don't think there's any way to make her one, really, the hate for Agamemnon is just too strong in all of us. But Saint manages to make her actions understandable, to make her feel for her even if we want to shake her and make her see reason. Her story is a tragedy, and she makes unlikable choices, but for her character they make sense.
Clytemnestra is fascinating and made me shed more than one tear when That Thing happened, and I was rooting for her most of the time. The changes Saint made to some parts of the myth made sense and fit Clytemnestra's story, the way it was told here, more. I quite liked them. And Cassandra, well, she's one of my favorite characters of Greek mythology and YES she needs her own book ASAP but I loved what was here anyway, even if she sometimes felt a little tacked on. There just to give us the Troy perspective for most of the book. I quite liked the way her death was handled here, as well. Also really liked how Helen was portrayed in this! Probably one of my favorite versions of her story.

All in all this was a beautiful read that focused on women that are, it seems, often forgotten in retellings of the whole Troy affair. I had a blast reading this, I was at all times emotionally involved and I now really need to read Ariadne. A new Must Read Author for me.

4,5 stars.

Thanks to Headline and Jennifer Saint for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5

This was fantastic – I enjoyed it more than Ariadne (or at least I certainly got into it faster). I love that Saint took three typically unsympathetic female characters and fleshed out their stories so that we can form our own opinions. Elektra, the title-character, remains unsympathetic and mostly irredeemable, but at least we are given the opportunity to explore her experiences and the circumstances within which she made her choices. Cassandra, prophetess and priestess of Trojan Apollo, is usually presented as ‘crazy,’ but Saint explores her character so wonderfully, you cannot help but really feel for her. For me though, Clytemnestra stole the show. Agamemnon is a detestable figure – always has been, always will be. But as a result, Clytemnestra is often lumped into the general sentiment towards the house of Atreus. However Saint really lets her shine in her own right. We are shown what can happen to someone’s worldview and relationships as a result of intense betrayal and grief. Saint explores her mental health in depth; her relationships with her children; her drive for vengeance. A character that was previously depicted as scheming and evil, somehow seems justified here. I loved this portrayal so much.

Clytemnestra might be my favourite character from Greek myth. She has the reputation of being the worst wife, yet Agamemnon doesn’t have the reputation of being the worst husband (though within Greek myth, he probably won’t even make the top 50. I love reading retellings of her story to understand her motives. To read a story where we also get her daughter, Elektra’s perspective as well as Cassandra. Three women dealing with the outbreak of war in different ways,

Elektra highlights how war can affect women and not just the soldiers on the battlefield.

The three perspectives help tell the story before the war, during and after. The three stories are tragic and devastating in their own way and I like how Saint explained why Cassandra was killed by Clytemnestra as this isn’t as easy to explain as her murdering Agamemnon.

Personally, I found it difficult to empathise with Elektra, but I have read another retelling of Clytemnestra’s story, and this is the best Elektra I have come across. She is less bratty and comes across as a daughter who was young when her father went away, and she still holds an idealised version of him in mind.

I enjoyed Ariadne but I would argue this is the better book. I did struggle to put it down and despite knowing how the story ends, you still find yourself hoping for a different outcome. I was desperate for people to believe Cassandra.

Elektra tells the story of the myths of 3 women. Elektra, her mother Clytemnestra and Casandra, cursed by Apollo to see the future and not to be believed.
I found that from theses 3 woman’s perspective you got a fuller grasp of what was going on. I have read a few books that tell the story of Troy but it was nice to hear it from the perspective of lesser talked about people.

I found that I enjoyed reading from Clytemnestra and Cassandra’s POV however I did not enjoy Electra’s as much. I found her to be unlikeable the further you got into the book. Her one track mindedness for me was her downfall, I felt she was repetitive and selfish.

I definitely preferred saints other book Ariadne over Electra. It flowed better than this book and I felt more connected to it. I don’t know if that’s because iv read so many retellings of Troy that this just felt to repetitive for me and that I could foresee events that were to happen due to my prior knowledge on the subject.

Overall though the book is well written and I’m sure many will enjoy it.