Claire North
Ithaca by Claire North is the first book in a trilogy about Penelope’s Ithaca as she struggles to hold the kingdom together during Odysseus’ absence. The narrative is replete with intrigue, spies, trickery, subterfuge, power plays, and betrayal. North takes the unusual step of telling the story through the first-person voice of Hera, the queen of the gods.
Hera is a formidable narrator. She is snarky, funny, sarcastic, and with a sharp tongue quick to spout contemporary idioms. She is fiercely determined to help Penelope without attracting the attention of the other gods. She observes the action from the vantage point of a goddess with a bird’s-eye view of Ithaca, zooms in to its more intimate spaces, and gives access to men only conversations and gatherings denied to women. She steers events unobtrusively, ridicules men, critiques male heroes and the poets who honor their exploits while completely overlooking the role of women in their successes, bemoans her position as a sister/wife of convenience to the king of the gods, and reserves her most scathing commentary for her relatives in the Greek pantheon.
North focuses her lens unremittingly on the world of women as they work in the shadows. They plot and scheme in secret, unobserved and underestimated by men who see them merely as objects for sexual gratification. Penelope is intelligent and skillful in navigating the labyrinth of obstacles and hordes of suitors plaguing her home. Clytemnestra is fiercely unrepentant. And Elektra is intelligent, clear-sighted, and articulate—in contrast to her brother who is portrayed as a dithery weakling. North also includes appearances by Artemis and Athena, as well as a wide array of female servants, priestesses, and a fearless Amazon warrior.
This imaginative and fascinating take on Penelope’s Ithaca is broad in scope, populated by resourceful females, and decidedly feminist in its orientation. A familiarity with the Greek pantheon and many of the stories in Greek mythology is essential to understanding Hera’s quips and barbs and references—the source of much of the humor in the narrative. The occasional shifts in point of view from first-person to third may be disconcerting for some. But the writing is fast-paced and engaging. The lens on women and their intelligent, behind-the-scenes activities under the very noses of men is intriguing. Although the focus is ostensibly on Penelope, it is actually Hera who commands the spotlight with her narrative voice, irreverent attitude, sharp tongue, and brutal honesty.
Highly recommended for its fresh and delightful take on a classical Greek myth.