One of the most eagerly anticipated fall releases of 2021 is the novel by Pat Barker – The Women of Troy – the follow up to her acclaimed novel to The Silence of the Girls. Here, we uncover the significance of her novel. Pick up a copy of the novel here.
In recent years, there has been a burgeoning interest in Greek mythology, viewed through various lenses. In this landscape, Pat Barker has been an integral guiding force. Her novel The Silence of the Girls provided a new lens through which to view ancient history – a spotlight on the female voices who have been largely forgotten in the study of the subject. In her anticipated follow-up The Women of Troy, Barker continues this exploration. After the fall of Troy, the women of Troy have been left to fend for themselves, facing the loss of husbands and children through horrific means. They have witnessed the mutilation of their king Priam and are forced to navigate this new landscape, largely alone, not knowing who to trust or what their future will entail.
From Briseis, who is pregnant with Achilles child, to Helen of Troy herself, each woman’s future is as uncertain as the next. The story is largely narrated by Briseis, the narrator who was sidelined for the most part in the epic Iliad. What is more, Barker explores the after-effects of war, not afraid to avoid the dark underbelly of epic tradition – from rape to mutilation and violence. She does not couch the tale in romance or heroism. Instead, the women and men of the story are displayed flaws and all. Barker is a writer of intricacies, writing her novel through as rich a tapestry as those Penelope herself weaves – her writing is raw and immediate, adding to the real, unvarnished nature of the story itself. The main plot of the story revolves around the burial of Priam itself – a question of honour and its complications in the loss of war, and it is this novel addition that makes Barker’s story so intoxicating and interesting, adding herself to the pre-existingly rich tradition of Greek mythology itself.
