Review: The Penelopiad
I love mythology in general, and The Odyssey in particular, so I was hoping to love this book. I did. Margaret Atwood’s retelling of the famous myth from Penelope’s point of view is brilliant and quite humorous. As she tells the story from Hades, we get Penelope’s take on her father, Odysseus, Telemachus, and Helen among others. You probably have to know the story of The Odyssey fairly well to really get the full impact, though. If you’re familiar with the original myth, you must read this re-telling.
This was my fourth Atwood, and I’m looking forward to reading even more of her work during the second Canadian Book Challenge.
2005, 198 pp.
Rating: 
Popularity: 32% [?]
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
I really can’t wait to read this one. I read The Odyssey last year and am getting into Margaret Awood in a big way. I don’t have the time to do the Canadian Book Challenge, but if I did I would read all Margaret Atwood and Charles de Lint for it!
[…] Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (2008, 333 pp.) 58. Bear by Marian Engel (1976, 141 pp.) 59. The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (2005, 198 pp.) 60. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (1974, 263 pp.) 61. […]
Masterpiece
Very good
Good
Just okay
Not for me
Definitely not for me
We read The Odyssey in my English class this past school year, and even though everybody else hated it, I absolutely LOVED it. I always wondered what Penelope was thinking while Odysseus was gone, and this sounds really good.
hope.