The Silence of the Girls

Books | Fiction / Literary

(1.1K)

Pat Barker

A Washington Post Notable Book One of the Best Books of the Year: NPR, The Economist, Financial Times Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award Finalist for the Women’s Prize for FictionHere is the story of the Iliad as we’ve never heard it before: in the words of Briseis, Trojan queen and captive of Achilles. Given only a few words in Homer’s epic and largely erased by history, she is nonetheless a pivotal figure in the Trojan War. In these pages she comes fully to life: wry, watchful, forging connections among her fellow female prisoners even as she is caught between Greece’s two most powerful warriors. Her story pulls back the veil on the thousands of women who lived behind the scenes of the Greek army camp—concubines, nurses, prostitutes, the women who lay out the dead—as gods and mortals spar, and as a legendary war hurtles toward its inevitable conclusion. Brilliantly written, filled with moments of terror and beauty, The Silence of the Girls gives voice to an extraordinary woman—and makes an ancient story new again.

Fantasy

Historical Fiction

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Author

Pat Barker

Pages

304

Publisher

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Published Date

2018-09-04

ISBN

0385544227 9780385544221

Ratings

Google: 3.5

Community ReviewsSee all

"this book is a really hard read, it had me wincing from page 1. but it’s a really stunning book that’s able to suck you in with the world building and characters. great for greek myth retelling fans. "

"while i enjoyed the book as it is another retelling of the iliad, the story does not falter or offer more insight into the story of briesis than the song of achilles until the last couple of pages"

Haley Nash-Thompson

"I really did not like this book. It’s makes me sad because I heard such great things about it! It read more of a love story between Achilles and Patroclus rather than a story about the women held captive by them and the Greek army. Meh. I think you’ll either love it or hate it. #greekmythology "

Melissa

"A more feminist version of the story of the Trojan War, with it being from the point of view of Achilles's slave girl, Briseis."

Josephine Horton

"I loved how the story of Briseas was told. Her pain. Her rage. Her silence. "

kaitlyn johnson

"Examines the violence and would-be realities of war and the women that suffered through them. Mythology is filled with voiceless female characters that are usually props meant to uplift male characters, this story gives them a voice."

Rachael Wilson

"If I had this to read alongside The Iliad in high school I probably would enjoy Greek history and it's writers a bit more. Right now I just cringed. So, I read this book on a friend's recommendations and I liked it. It was well written, engaging, and gave a different perspective of war in ancient Greece."

Jessica A

"refreshing retelling of the trojan war. offers a lens to analyze the gendered violence women experience in contemporary wars and genocides, absolute must read if interested in greek mythology or women's experience in history "

Isabel

"I love Greek mythology. And I loved this book!❤️"

Tracy

"Really liked the subject content talked about bit slow at times but really puts in perspective how those sort of thing went ya know the first and third parts were spectacular but the second part left me feeling lack luster "

M C

Mykenzee Clark

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