Cultural Dessert

‘A Thousand Ships’ by Natalie Haynes

3 December 2021

I’ve written here before about my enthusiasm for BBC Radio 4’s ‘Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics’ (reviewed here in July 2020) in which the comedian and classicist Natalie Haynes takes a fresh look at the ancient world. I’ve now finally got around to reading ‘A Thousand Ships’ - Natalie Haynes’ version of the Trojan War through the eyes of the women. The book is a surprisingly straightforward retelling of all the familiar stories, albeit from welcome new perspectives. We get Clytemnestra’s take on her revenge against her husband Agamemnon, Cassandra’s frustration with having to live with the curse of her foresight and, best of all, Penelope’s increasingly exasperated unanswered letters to her absent husband Odysseus as he manages to take 10 years to return from his victory at Troy. These letters take a Joyce Grenfell-like approach to the Odyssey. Although she starts the book with the fall of Troy, Natalie Haynes fills in all the backstories in the way a sophisticated modern TV show would. ‘A Thousand Ships’ is, necessarily, very episodic - more a series of short stories - but by alternating between the various characters, and using flashbacks to create a non-linear narrative, keeps us engaged throughout.

Labels: Books

posted by Robin Simpson @ 3:24 pm