This book picks up where Silence of the Girls left off. Briseis narrates the story after the fall of Troy. With Achilles dead and Briseis being pregnant with his child, she is married to Alcimus. She is now a woman of 'status', but despite this she still feels a connection and responsibility for the enslaved women because of her history.
This is such a powerful read and j loved learning more about ancient Greece & greek mythology through this novel.

The next instalment from the Queen of mythical Greek retellings is back with a vengeance.

In The Women of Troy we pick up from where we left off in The Silence of the Girls. Our protagonist Briseis is back, but now she's not quite a slave, but not quite free. Having already lost everything - her life, loves, freedom in the first book, she now has to face losing the one support system she knew in the camps - her friends.

Beautifully and hauntingly written - The Women of Troy takes all the amazing things about the first book and matures them even further. Yes, it is not necessarily as dark or as harrowing - or maybe I just became desensitised to it?! But what you get in this book is the reality of a life utterly changed, because there is no 'happily ever after' or 'when it gets better' for these girls, there is just the same awful everyday survival instinct, for the rest of their lives.

Pat Barker is one of my favourite authors, and I was excited to read this after enjoying "The Silence of the Girls" so much.

Briseis as narrator is once again fascinating, and the story updates the reader on the changes in her life since the last installment (married to Alcimus but pregnant with Achilles' child). The pacing is slightly slower this time around but it works for this story.

I enjoyed this so much that I bought a hardback copy as soon as it was released, and was lucky enough to score a signed copy from a local independent bookshop.

A wholly engaging novel dealing with the aftermath of the fall of Troy and how now that the Greeks have won they are awaiting favourable winds to sail home after all these years of war and seige with their spoils of gold, treasures, weapons and stolen women. This is a tale told through Brisis's eyes telling of the fate of these captured slaves who in another lifetime had been princesses, noblewomen and slaves and their courage despite the cruelty they suffered. Brisis has had a hard time as a slave but she is now marries to Alcimus but secretly carrying the child of the late Achilles. This ancient tale is brought alive through the events in the camp as the winds don't come to take them home and old suspicions, feuds and festering anger leads to a very dangerous situation in camp and one learns of young, but naive, Amina, the aged Hecuba and wild eyed Cassandra the unheeded seer who tries to warn them about what will happen next. Brisis endeavours to support the women but peacetime is a more dangerous time. Excellent retelling of the ancient tale by Pat Barker making it feel alive to the reader.

I’ve been really getting into historical retellings so was delighted to be accepted to read this one and found the premise enjoyable while being factual

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy for me to review

Pat Barker has a fantastic way with words, her lyrical story telling made this a joy to read.
The story was gripping and kept me interested throughout, it was also lovely to be reunited with Briseis, she was the best part of this book for me.

I adore Pat Barker's writing, and as expected this was beautifully crafted. As others have mentioned, however, I felt the focus was too male orientated for a feminist retelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved silence of the girls so was excited to pick this up. I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling! i’ll admit that my preference goes to the first book—Achilles as a character is far more interesting than Pyrrhus—, however it was a pleasure to be reunited with my beloved Briseis. Would recommend.

I was really disappointed by the male focus throughout this book that has been tapping into the "feminist re-telling" market. The writing was as beautiful as I have come to expect form Pat Barker, but I didn't finish the book as was consistently let down by the lesser focus on the women of Troy.

I love reading retelling of legends and this one is fantastic. Pat Barker's style is so lyrical and beautiful. She gives such a wide range of perspectives in a very perceptive way.

🌿BOOK REVIEW🌿

The Women of Troy by Pat Barker

“Only two Trojans in the camp? There were hundreds of Trojans in the camp; but they were women and women are invisible. An advantage, perhaps?”

Troy has fallen and the Greeks are celebrating their win of this arduous war, when they realise that they cannot return home as the winds are not in their favours as the gods have been offended. They must continue to stay in this ruined city and tensions begin to rise as their soldiers are desperate to leave. We see the aftermath through the eyes of Briseis as she supports the other slave women and seeks her own revenge.

My favourite thing about this retelling is it is about what happens *after* Troy falls, so often mythology stories end at the moment after the Trojan horse, or skip to when the Greeks go home with their loot. It was really interesting to read about this interim period where soldiers are exhausted, short tempered and want to go home, while the women of Troy are adjusting to being slaves.

My main criticism (that is the same as The Silence of the Girls) is that I don’t think the books benefited from any of the male perspective and I think it does take away from these as feminist retellings. Obviously, I know not everyone will agree but that is just how I felt.

This is a good follow up book from Pat Barker’s first novel that you should pick up if you are fan of mythology!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

⚠️CW// slavery, rape, death

I loved the first book in this series and was so excited to pick up this sequel, as it covers the time just after the Trojan War as the Greek ships wait for a break in the weather to enable them to begin their journey home. Once again, Pat Barker has brought a voice and life to these forgotten women as they deal with the trials of living as slaves or prisoners in the Greek camps. We follow Briseis, along with Cassandra, Hecuba and a slew of other women and I loved the interactions between them. I also appreciated seeing how the war had affected not only the women, but also those involved in the destruction. Overall, this was a fascinating and compelling read and I hope Barker continues to bring us stories from this time period.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Where should I start with this enchanting sequel ?

It is a retelling of the Illiad told from the perspective of a woman called Briseis who is one of the most beautiful woman, as she is being subsequently given to Achilles as a war prize to be his concubine.

Troy has fallen and the Greeks are eager to return home with the victorious prizes they gathered along with the victory. But the winning of the war does not come as easily as they might think since the Gods are offended and Priam's body (the king of Troy) is laying unburied and desecrated.

Many of you might think this book is boring, as it follows the post war logistics,  but reading this book you should be prepared for a whirlwind of emotions. From joy to sorrow to acts of kindness to diabolic ones, there are many themes one should pay attention of, such as motherhood in the times of war, love and betraying oneself in order to serve your people.

I think this book is such a gem, worth reading if you are in the mood for historical fiction or Greek retellings.

Many thanks to the guys at @penguinhamishhamilton for the gifted copy

I’m not sure if I'm being a little lenient with my rating of The Women of Troy, but I did enjoy this sequel. I think it had a lot more emphasis on the women which was a lot of people’s criticisms of the Silence of the Girls. It also felt a little more contained and focused, although not quite as exciting as the storyline with Achilles and I’m not sure the writing style worked quite as well in this context. Overall though, I think it was a strong retelling with plenty of emotional scenes.

I wasn't a fan of the silence of the girls, but I was intrigued to read the second instalment. Whilst there's nothing wrong with the presentation of the Trojan women, I feel like I'm just not a match with Barker's writing style: I find it quite limp and not captivating, which is such a shame. It's not a bad book, but it's not memorable as a piece of classical reception.

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Last year, I read The Silence of the Girls and it became one of my favourite retellings ever because I loved Briseis as the protagonist and I have a collection of Greek Mythology retelling books on my shelf, so this book was always going to be a hit with me 😍

Troy has fallen. The Greeks won the war. They return home with their stolen gold, weapons, and of course – the stolen women. They need good wind to set sail, but the weather doesn’t come because they have offended the Gods 😟

Briseis remains in the encampment while she carries Achilles child. She forges alliances with some of the women kept in the slave hut including Amina and Hecuba, and Calchus, the disgraced priest and begins to see a path of revenge. These alliances show such a range of personalities which is funny at points 😆

This was the perfect sequel and picks up almost immediately after the first one. It was fairly slow paced at times, but brought the same refreshing narrative about the war from a female perspective. Briseis remained as resilient as ever, and tried to help all the women as best as she could. It’s essentially a story of the women’s suffering, survival and resistance in the camps.

I liked that occasionally a male POV from one of the main characters was thrown in, because it shows the stark gender imbalance in power and freedom. Barker’s description of the camps creates such an atmosphere when you’re reading.

Pyrrhus was an absolutely terrifying character – he had something to prove which made him even more ruthless in his actions. He was selfish, fragile and insecure which manifested in violence. His fragile masculinity was expertly shown. He desperately tried to live up to be like his father Achilles but he knew deep down that wasn’t reality.

I’d definitely recommend this duology! – or will it be a trilogy? Idk but I really liked this one! Also this is out today!!! 😍

This book was #gifted. Thank you @penguinrandomhouse for the copy

The Women of Troy is the second installment of Barker's The Silence of the Girls, the retelling of the Trojan War. We follow Bresis, our narrator, immediately after the events of the first book, but we also are treated to other points of view throughout the narrative. The book is, still, about the women and the ways in which their lives changed as a result of the war, and the strength they needed to survive.

Barker's writing style is consistent with the style of book 1, and engages the reader throughout. The pacing was enough to keep you going but not too fast that you lost track of what was happening. I really felt like Barker's writing was a love letter to all of us who love Greek mythology, and her passion shines through the pages.

The Women of Troy we get to meet are all varied and interesting characters, some of whom we already know well - Helen, Andromache, Hecuba, Cassandra - and some we have never met before, like the female slaves of the city. Each of these women have a perceptibly different reaction to the events of the Trojan War, and what really struck me was the ways in which the women tended to apportion blame to Helen. I found Helen's character particularly enthralling, and it was a new feeling to get a sense of nuance for this legendary character.

Overall I think that Barker's writing has continued to improve - this book was certainly one that kept you wondering what would happen next. This is a fundamentally human story, one we can all relate to, set on the wonderful, mystical, tragic stage of the Trojan War. I can only hope that Barker continues to provide us with such tender, intimate creations as the world of these women.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for a review.

In my mind, there is nothing that Pat Barker cannot do. She gives a voice to these women and characters that for centuries have been swept to the side because of misogyny and the bull headed patriarchy.
I am highly invested in Greek mythology, and to have the resurge of popularity of it really brings me joy.
Truly fantastic addition to the first book Silence of the Girls.

THE WOMEN OF TROY covers part of the Troy mythos (and related stories like the Odyssey) that often doesn't get talked about; the bit between the messy, horrible war and the voyages back. HE WOMEN OF TROY is the story of women reeling in the direct aftermath of the burning city. It is what I'd call a "direct sequel" to THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS. Briseis narrates again, seeing the fallout and trying to help the women taken as captives as she was once helped when she went through the degrading, abusive first weeks and months of slavery.

It is every bit as brutal and unflinching about what the realities of life would have been like for the women caught up in the sheer idiocy and pride of the men. I liked that we saw Briseis reaching out to help as she was helped, seeing that cycle of kindness amidst the horror, and the slow growth of new friendship and sisterhood.

While Briseis is the main narrator, there are a few chapters from Pyrrhus (who is impossible to like. He's so pathetic and whinny, and holds too much power without regard) and Calchas (who is so layered and hard to work out - you'd need a whole book to understand him!) The contrast between the two men (and the men and Briseis) adds such an interesting dimension to the book, an understanding of the power dynamics at play as men who are outsiders in many ways perceive it.

It was an engaging read and I liked seeing an exploration of a lesser seen part of the story. I'm intrigued to see the next instalment, which feels like more of a companion than sequel, as it deals with Cassandra's story.

I have only read two of Pat Barker's books and yet I have already felt so moved and touched by her writing.
The Women of Troy is a continuation of "The Silence of the Girls", albeit set a few years later.

For me this second book was just as strong and you could feel the author's passion and fervour in telling these women's stories, that were forgotten and deemed unimportant to pin to page for so long.

As the reader you could appreciate the knowledge and expertise Pat Barker has in the background of classical myths and stories, yet it never oversteps into the realm of the author just trying to show you how much they know. There is no padding, her words and prose are direct yet lyrical.

Yet again such horrific and all too real occurrences and injustices were balanced with beautiful and striking prose. So much so that I read this entire book with a pencil in hand constantly to underline the quotes that hit home the hardest.

Barker not only manages to retell these women's stories but also manages to add flesh and bones to the women who have only had such brief mentions on the page for hundreds upon hundreds of years. For her to be able to make these women feel so present and tangible is astounding to me, yet also heart-breaking that so much of what these women faced is still all to relatable today.

I am addicted to hearing more of these voices and cannot wait for more from this author.