Daughters of Sparta: A Novel

I loved the way we are lead through to the events that started everything. We see the progression and how things were able to get so far and the way men could blame women just to blame them. It was so tragic but deep and understandable at the same time.

This was a fun read. The author makes up a good story to fill in the blanks in the Greek tale. It’s hard to take some of it seriously, but it’s entertaining.

What if the gods had very little to do with the Trojan war? What if it was started, not with goddesses fighting over a golden apple, but with an unhappy marriage and a vain spoiled Prince. Claire Heywood takes a classic Greek myth and tells the story in a simple way that's not driven by the will of the gods, but by simple human emotions, weaknesses, and greed.

Unfortunately, this was not a very enjoyable read. The author has moments of great storytelling, but she misses out on the strength and intellect that Homer imbues into his Helen.On the other hand . . . and isn't there always an other hand . . . she captures Clytemnestra quite well. The author explains as well as anyone why she murders her husband.

Daughters of Sparta is a view into the lives of Bronze age women of stature. It emphasizes the roles women were expected to play in a male dominated world and in that context I found my self frustrated by the bonds that kept them from fulfilling their potential. Kytemnesta is a strong and independent woman subjugated by her husband only finding freedom during war but the cost of that freedom was too great. Helen is portrayed as trapped by her beauty only too late realizing that she has always been a pawn and a prize to be exploited. If Heywood meant for the reader to be angry and frustrated at how these women were treated by their times, she has succeeded and in that I applaud her. The historical accuracy is fascinating and maddening. Modern women have no idea how emancipated we are, and yet still subjugated.

The beginning of the book did not impress me. It reminded me more of a fairy tale. But the more the story unfolded, the more I was attracted to the book. In the end, I discovered the deep message that this book carries. It is precisely this collapse of Troy and the high price paid by Troy women that makes one think. The history is such that the memory of the heroes is preserved, and the victims who paid the high price of the fighting are somehow forgotten. All these raped and murdered women of Troy, all their murdered children. Who even remembers them?

Daughters of Sparta does a wonderful job in showing the bond between sisters but does not make them perfect. It's hard to believe this is a first novel. I hope a sequel will come soon. Well done!

Has me interested in reading mythology again and reading. I would read more by the author to see consistency in writing.