In this retelling of the Greek tragedy, the author takes a few detours and to some extent reinterprets the story. I found it an interesting take, given other adaptations I've recently read. The sacrifice of Iphigenia is brutal, taking place just after a graphic slaughter of cows, and with both her and her mother attempting to curse the men responsible. Clytemnestra is dragged away and placed in a hole behind a rock: although she saw someone whispering to Agamemnon just beforehand, it seems he must have had more warning of what his womenfolk were liable to do, to have prepared this entombing. Altogether, it is not surprising that she subsequently acts as she does.

The author departs from canon in having Orestes abducted by Aeschylus' men and held hostage, then escaping with Leander and another boy. I found the story of how they survive and the contrast in the character of the boys, plus how Orestes learns at such a young age to kill in order to survive, interesting and a little reminiscent of 'Lord of the Flies'. Electra is also different: she develops a network of men loyal to her and it made me wonder who exactly sent "Clytemnestra's men" to carry out atrocities against local opponents, when it was men in her guard who were actually working for Electra. Could she have done such a thing to harden opposition to her mother and further justify her mother's overthrow and murder? Far from being a doormat and a slavish supporter of her brother, she seems to view him as a useful expedient up to the point where he carries out the deed, then as a tool who can be used to legitimise Leander's nephew.

The brief appearance of Cassandra is also a departure from tradition. Far from being tragic and not believed, she is proud and vain. Although she is a 'prize', Agamemnon praises her help in assisting him in his military victories. And Troy as such and Helen aren't really mentioned: instead, Agamemnon's army are embarked on general conquest and plunder, it seems.

The gods, far from playing a dominant role, are actually fading. One of the themes of the book is the loss of their support and rule. Previously, people sensed their presence, especially if someone was about to die. Interestingly, Clytemnestra's actions are condemned because she failed to either take advice from counsellors or to act on divine edict. Given the history of atrocities in the House of Atreus, it seems her actions would have been justified and accepted by her people if a god had ordered her to carry them out. Ironically, Clytemnestra herself has lost all faith in the gods when they failed to prevent her daughter's sacrifice.

Altogether I found it an interesting and well-written interpretation and would rate it as 4 stars.

**** Notes for re-read *****

I read this again after reading 'Clytemnestra' by Costanza Casati to refresh my memory regarding the differences. The two things that stand out is that Aegisthus is a master manipulator in Tobin's novel while being deeply damaged in Casati's, and Clytemnestra is very unevenly written in Tobin's. She is a powerful and convincing character in the section from her own point of view early on, but when viewed by Orestes and others later, is vacillating, trivial and basically a pawn of Aegisthus. It's very uneven and possibly I should reduce the rating to 3 stars but I will let my original rating stand as I did enjoy the book. ( )

Colm Tóibín's re-telling of the events from the first two plays of "The Oresteia".

The story is stripped down to its essentials of characters and events. If you didn't know the story in advance, there is nothing really to suggest that we are in Bronze Age Greece rather than any other society before the invention of firearms. This made it curiously uninvolving emotionally for the most part and yet completely compelling. ( )

Blood soked as you would expect of the tale of clytemnestra & co. Starts strongly inside her head but gets difuse with too many narrator’s PoVs. And mixing up “avenge” and “revenge “ is unforgivable given the theme . ( )

Almost from the moment I picked up this book, it drew me in. It reads like myth or scripture, or ancient drama, the language evocative and the narrative flowing. As a student of Greek mythology the basic text—the story of Agamemnon, his wife Clytemnestra and his children Iphigenia, Orestes, and Electra—is familiar. But the source material is fairly thin and there are several variations on the story. Toibin fills it out, as he says, using imagination. Envisioning a society so wholly different from what the world is today is a monumental feat, and it is depicted as brutal but not senseless—indeed, all actions are done with determination and purpose. The characters are represented as figures of myth and drama, and some elements that were originally supernatural are rewritten as psychological—which is not to say that this novel lacks supernatural elements. Apparently in ancient times, ghosts walked among the living, and people were not surprised or dismayed to interact with them. In fact those relationships usually bring peace and reassurance. I did refer to Wikipedia several times as I read this novel, to refresh my memory of some of the details. But mostly I just immersed myself in this delicious text. ( )

Good character studies and an interesting take on the myths. Some sections were a little slow and too focused on introspection for my taste, but overall an enjoyable read. ( )