I didn't know much about Greek mythology before this, a little from TV, film and quiz shows perhaps, and hadn't considered it much. So what I loved, unsurprisingly, about this was the flipping of the hero narrative, for the story to be told by the silent women and girls in the tales - I was shamefully ignorant of them.
I was carried through the story by Briseis, her story coming in waves of pain, hope and strength - challenging me to expand my perception, and question narratives from now on.
It's also immensely readable and beautifully done, really enjoyed it.

Fantastic book - the legend of Achilles from Briseis's point of view. From a silent woman in history she becomes Achilles witness, his prize, his slave. Barker brilliantly depicts how women were property - wife, daughter, slave but never a person in their own right. Must read

The story of the Trojan Wars from a woman's perspective - Trojan queen Briseis who was captured by Achilles and made his sex slave. The book is about not the glory of war nor the men's roles but what it was for the women. We hear their voices telling their stories. I loved this book so much. The writing is just amazing. I felt immersed in the place and the life of Briseis. I cannot recommend it more highly.

I am really enjoying the MPG of retellings and this one is no exception. Pat barker has travelled far back in time to put a new slant on the Greek tale of Achilles and the fall of Troy. However not only does she modernise the telling but she also brings the women to the fore as they would never have been at that time. It is a tale of brutality unimagined and yet there are moments of real humanity that shine out from the narrative as told by Briseis. It encourages you to imagine how you would have coped in this situation, what would you have done and how would you have dealt with the impossibility to change your life.

It is a long time since i read anything by this author but the craftsmanship of this novel makes me want to go out and rediscover her other books.

I have reviewed this on Amazon but the link is being highlighted as wrong https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R226ON78YYTK8U

The Silence of the Girls is a retelling of Homer's The Iliad that brings in the stories of the women and girls who were, essentially, collateral damage in the Trojan War.

Briseis is the narrator. When Lyrnessus falls to the Greeks, she becomes a war prize for Achilles but quickly gets caught up in a dispute between him and Agamemnon. We experience life in the Greek's camp through her eyes and see all the injustices that take place. Barker's frank, gritty portrayal of a place swamped in stinking rats, alcohol and male ego is especially good in the first half of the book.

Whether intentional or not, the title calls to mind Clarice Starling from The Silence of the Lambs and her story about helplessly sitting by while the lambs went to the slaughter. It's an interesting parallel. Briseis recounts the atrocities of war and how they affect women, unable to help the women around her as they are abused, raped and traded like chattel. It's a dark story, to be sure, and I found it very emotional and effective for just less than half of the book.

I wanted to give it a higher rating, but I can't shake the impression that The Silence of the Girls offers a fascinating premise and then kinda doesn't know what to do with it. The strong start becomes something tedious and repetitive once we settle into camp life, and especially so when the author introduces Achilles' perspective in the second half. It's disappointing when books are strong in concept but quickly wither out in execution.

I'm probably underselling it, though. 3 stars is not really a negative rating and there's some excellent writing here. Achilles is a complex character, portrayed both through his own perspective and through Briseis's. His maternal abandonment issues, plus his relationship with Patroclus, are told well. It is strange perhaps that in a book called The Silence of the Girls, Achilles is still the most interesting and multilayered character. Or maybe that's the point- who knows?

Barker's writing is mostly smart and witty, powered both by metaphor and some of Briseis's sardonic asides, but there are a few jarring anachronisms. Her use of British slang like "knockers" for breasts feels weird and out of place.

It's really difficult to talk about this retelling of Greek mythology without bringing in Madeline Miller as a comparison. Well, I liked this one better than Miller's The Song of Achilles but less than her Circe. As far as books that give voices to the lesser-known women of ancient myths go, Circe still comes out on top for me.

This is a very good book. A poetic rerendering of The Iliad it focuses on the lives of the eternal underclass, the women.

The only reason that I haven’t awarded it five stars is that on a very personal level I didn’t connect with the characters particularly well. I found them all quite chilly. Nevertheless a fantastic novel.

When Madeline Miller won the Orange Prize in 2012 with The Song Of Achilles she started a trend for novels based on the Greek myths and legends. From Colm Toibin's House Of Names to The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes, reworked versions of these ancient stories have graced bookstores and been well received by both readers and critics. The Silence Of The Girls, Pat Barker's explicitly feminist take on The Iliad, shares much in common with Miller's debut: most notably, the placing of Achilles and Patroclus at the centre of the story. Barker's narrator, however, isn't a warrior or Greek hero, but instead a 'mere' girl: Briseis, a highborn Trojan enslaved and given to Achilles when her city is sacked by the Greeks.

The Silence Of The Girls may be about the Trojan Wars specifically but, Barker makes clear, all wars mean the same for the women caught up in them. Barker pulls no punches in describing the violence the women face, from the butchering of their male children to rape at the hands of their captors. Stylistically it is very different from Miller's work, too. Less poetic and whimsical, less beautiful, but in a way entirely befitting a novel about the horrors of war. Some readers may find her decision to have her Greek soldiers speak rather more like modern Brits jarring - their speech peppered with "mate" and their chants recognisable from football terraces - but I feel this worked well to underline her central point that the nature of war doesn't change over time.

This is a super read. It’s not like my usual choice of novel as it’s based on Greek Mythology, about which I know nothing and have little interest in. However, the context of the story is less important than the clever writing, telling of womens’ lives in the midst of war. It is so emotional, at times brutal and unforgettable. I thoroughly recommend it.

"In my experience men are curiously blind to aggression in women. They're the warriors, with their helmets and armour, their swords and spears, and they don't seem to see our battles - or they prefer not to. Perhaps if they realised we're not the gentle creatures they take us for their own peace of mind would be disturbed?"

This book is loud. It speaks volumes about the story of Troy, of Greece and of the men and largely of the women we have come to remember from prevalent stories of that time period. So often the story of Achilles and his conquests is romanticised, and the turmoils of war overshadow the atrocities women endured. There is usually a secret romance between Achilles and another, a star-crossed lover enamoured by him or a regrettable death that focuses more on the loss of a loved one rather than the reality: Achilles is not a romantic, he is a cold-blooded and vengeful warrior who killed without mercy and loved for convenience. The women he loved were not there by choice, gazing at him adoringly. And this book absolutely captures that and much more than I ever imagined it would from such an overtold tale.

The story is largely told from the point of view of a Briseis - a woman Achilles merely views as a war prize. And this is typically the point in which you might envisage a relationship, a romance, a deeply emotional side to Achilles that isn't captured on the battlefield. But no, Pat Barker fantastically portrays the ruthlessness of Achilles with perhaps only a hint of a compassionate sway towards Briseis, who quite frankly had no choice in the matter and couldn't care less about his fighting prowess and beauty.

The fantastic part about this book, or perhaps two fantastic parts are this: Achilles relationship with Patroclus (his "brother", comrade and friend) is exceptional, and perhaps the most genuine relationship reflected within this book. This relationship plays an enormous part in Trojan stories, and yet is very rarely represented well. This book is not like others of its kind, it perfectly explains the complexity of this relationship and the enormity of the impact Patroclus and his story has upon Achilles decisions. I also felt like Achilles relationship with his mother, and the mythology surrounding her heritage was really interestingly developed and showcased very well in Achilles behaviour throughout the book; he certainly felt an entirely fleshed out character considering we largely don't see his point of view.

Which brings me on to the second fantastic element to this book - Briseis. She is the perfect pair of eyes surveying the deplorable behaviour of some of the men. A slave from a much higher status prior to her capture, Briseis is the face of so many women in this time. Slaves forced to cater for the every whim of the soldier they had found themselves unlucky enough to be bedded with. The story is often vulgar, hard to read but also incredibly empowering - Briseis is strong, whilst being down-trodden, and I really liked her characters resolve. I also liked that she was able to recognise friend from foe, and didn't see her position as anything other than what it was - a terrible hand in a fixed deck of cards.

There is so much to be said about this book; it is exceptional. I would highly recommend it to anyone, even those not familiar with the mythology- it really doesn't matter because Barker does such a fantastic job of explaining this time period to suit everyone. If you buy yourself one historical fiction novel this year then make sure it's this one.

Mythological drama revisited - nicely done and original

The retelling of parts of the Trojan War seen through the eyes of Briseis is interesting and an original concept. The upshot is the lowly and pathetic role of women in ancient times as breeders and chattel. Achilles features greatly in this novel and, like most men, does not come out of it with much grace. For someone who already knew the story from an early love of Greek mythology, there are few surprises in the main story: it’s just the woman’s take on the tale which make the book different and interesting. Enjoyable and worth a look if that’s your bag.

I love Pat Barker’s work so I was thrilled to receive this ecopy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This novel ticked a couple of boxes for me before I even started reading – I love the story of The Iliad and I am always in favour of a retelling of any story from a new perspective. In this case, the legendary story of Achilles is told from the point of view of Briseis, his concubine. The story was really successful in showing the slave mentality, the women’s lack of worth and powerlessness. It is so brutal and isn’t for the faint hearted!

It would have been a five star book for me if it had gone a bit further, obviously it would be very difficult to tell the whole story from an outsider’s point of view but I’d have liked less of Achille’s and more of the women’s. Maybe more of the other women’s stories as well, there was definitely scope for expansion.

Unfortunately, I felt that my reading of Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles maybe was too recent and was stuck in my mind. The retelling from Patroclus’ point of view moved me even more than Briseis’.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Silence of the Girls and highly recommend it. A great achievement by an excellent author.

This novel is stunning. Simply stunning. The story follows Briseis, given to Achilles as a prize after her city is plundered during the Trojan war. I often find with novels set during this period that they are often interesting and enjoyable, but you are kept at a distance as a reader, both by the difference of life experience between yourself and the subject, but also by the language used which often tends to be quite archaic. This was absolutely not an issue with this book, it was just so immersive, and the characters were just so human that you couldn't help but become invested in them.
This is easily a 5 star read for me, and I think it'll probably be my favourite book this year. I love it, and have been recommending it to anyone who'll listen!

I loved this tale of Ancient Greece and the Trojan wars told from the womens’ point of view. For full review see https://joebloggshere.tumblr.com/post/177934393531/the-silence-of-the-girls-by-pat-barker-i-couldnt. - Highly recommend

Absolutely fascinating feminist take on The Iliad.
Told from the point of view of the character Briseis, a queen that was a prize of war awarded to the great Achilles.
I am a huge fan of Pat Barker's writing and she doesn't disappoint in this.
There is a huge resurgence of Classical tales being redone and this is one of the best I've read.

Ugh. I really wanted to like this book but it was difficult to get through. Partly because of the subject matter (barely a page goes by without describing or referring to rape) and partly because it the story became increasingly boring. This book is a retelling of key events in the Trojan war through the eyes of the mythical queen Briseis. When her city falls to the Greek, she is turned into a 'prize of war' and given to Achilles as his sex slave. Whilst, the ownership of her as a slave drives the plot of Homer's Iliad, she has no control over her own life, no real say in what happens (hence the title). She is simply something to be owned by Achilles and Agamemnon, and hence an observer to much of what happens. This could have made a retelling of such a classic story from her perspective very powerful, but sadly it was so boring I nearly gave up 3/4 of the way through. What a shame.

I was lucky enough to hear Pat Barker talking about this book at the Edinburgh Book Festival and so was very pleased to receive an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Hearing her speak about the thinking behind the novel clarified things that might have puzzled me otherwise.Although the book is set in Ancient Greece,the language is very modern,which might irritate some readers.However for me,it highlighted the fact that wars were equally devastating then as they are now,and having the characters speaking as we do now gave it a sense of immediacy that would have been lacking if they spoke in archaic language.
The treatment of the Trojan women reminded me of stories I have heard about the way women were treated in more recent wars and was just as shocking. The horror of war is not glossed over and the brutality meted out by both sides is presented in detail.
There are episodes which are moving and painful in equal measure ,such as when the old Trojan king Priam comes to beg Achilles to give him the body of his son Hector.
I think this is a very interesting,well written account of war,told mainly from the point of view of the women caught up in it.It recognised the futility of war and its effects on both the men fighting it and the innocent women and children whose lives are changed forever by it.

As a history buff how could I not enjoy The Silence of the Girls.. Greece and Troy lived again and the women, as women always do in times of war suffered but survived. Yet this was spoiled at times by too modern language the use of “mate” and other modern idioms spoilt it for me..

A comparison to women suffering was made in A Thousand Suns by Khaled Hosseini which was far more powerful. Worth a read..

In The Silence of the Girls Barker returns to the wartime setting she worked with so well in the Regeneration trilogy but with a few key differences: this time she is focussing on the events of the Trojan War and she writes largely from the point of view of the women whose lives are so brutally changed by the conflict. Life for women in this period is a bit of a mixed bag. The women of the upper classes have all the material benefits – palaces, jewels, beautiful clothes, the best food and wine – but they don’t have the freedoms we take for granted. They can’t walk around freely, they have to be heavily veiled, and they are not free. Even the women who are not slaves are the property of their fathers or husbands – the only women who are not property are the prostitutes and they are, effectively, treated as common property. Of course the main character, Briseis, Queen of a city near Troy, doesn’t realise that her life is as good as it will get. She is very young and feels dominated by her mother in law but this is nothing compared to her life once the Greeks have defeated her city. The men and boys are killed – even pregnant women are slain in case the child they carry is male – and the women are now become the property of the Greeks. Briseis is awarded to Achilles as a trophy – property once again, but now she has no power or status and, in fact, becomes a pawn in the struggles between Achilles and the Greek king Agamemnon.

The history here is told well – I don’t know the Iliad that well but I’m pretty certain Barker sticks to the events within it – but the real meat of the book is Briseis and the way she survives what life (and the Trojan War) has thrown at her. Her inner strength as she submits, in body at least, to the change from Queen to bed-slave; her determination to stay alive, even as some of the women who share her fate chose suicide; her certainty that, even though she must share the bed of a Greek hero, and may even grow to love or respect them, she is still a Trojan woman. And, thanks to Pat Barker, the voices of those Trojan women are silent no longer.

Not for me - beautifully written as you might expect from Pat Barker but strangely I just could not get interested in the storyline. The descriptive prose is a delight to read and if you can get in I am certain that you will love it

This book gives a fascinating angle on the great classical story of the fall of Troy, celebrated in the wonderfully successful 'Song of Achilles' by Madeleine Miller. This time we see war through the eyes of the normally silent witnesses, the women who must suffer the aftermath of being on the losing side of the glorious battles, in particular, Briseis, who views Achilles and his valiant counterparts in an entirely different light. The book is beautifully written in a style that is accessible to the modern reader, but which also conveys some of the classical importance of the original stories. It manages to place the reader firmly inside the mind of the defeated, almost invisible female protagonist, whilst recognising and understanding the feelings and motivations of the victorious men who hold her in their power. I was thoroughly gripped by the frank, uncompromising voice of Briseis who tells her own story with a range of empathy and emotion, determined never to be silenced or ignored through her resilience and inner strength. Wonderful!