The Women of Troy

The Women of Troy (#1,015) follows Pat Barker's best-selling tale of the Trojan War The Silence of the Girls. (See my post of ).  In it, she continues the story of Briseis, a barely-mentioned character from The Iliad.  She was given to Achilles as a prize of war after his successful raid on her home city on the way to Troy.  As a slave living in their siege camp , she has been witness to the Greeks' triumphs and tragedies.  Pregnant with the great Achilles' child, she is given in marriage to Alcimus, one of his allies.  No longer a slave, but a wife, she has enough freedom to the unhappy women who arrive in the camp after the fall of Troy.  Marooned on the desolate shore by a constant and unnatural wind, tensions mount and the camp becomes a tinderbox of emotions, hatreds and rivalries.

Pat Barker puts you right in the middle of the action in her books.  It's not pretty or romanticized, but Briseis and the other women's plights seem so real, it's as if you are there, looking over their shoulders as they struggle with their new status (or lack thereof).  We meet the many familiar characters from the Iliad, but these are almost all men, though you will recognize Hecuba, Cassandra and Andromache.  This chapter of the saga ends as the last Greek ships are finally ready to embark for their home cities.  Who knows what awaits the women of Troy there? 

If you have a passing familiarity with The Iliad and The Odyssey, you can pick up The Women of Troy and enjoy it on its own merits.  If you're a fan of writers like Mary Renault, add this book to your shelves.