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 published in 2018, was part of this trend and, with The Women of Troy, she completes the story begun in that earlier book.

In the titles we are given a clue: if Briseis (a highborn Trojan enslaved and given to Achilles when her city is sacked by the Greeks) is a girl - one silenced and helpless - in the first novel, The Women of Troy finds her grown up. No longer a girl, but a woman. And it is for Briseis, given some modicum of power by her marriage to a nobleman after Achilles' death (and by the fact she is carrying Achilles' child), to deal with the aftermath of the war as the Greek forces find themselves still stranded outside the devastation of Troy.

On the one hand, you could say that not much happens in The Women of Troy - the soldiers get drunk, the women chatter, the wind blows - but this is a book rich with insight and characterisation and a more than worthy successor the The Silence of the Girls.

In this novel, as the title suggests, Barker focuses not on the men at the forefront of the battle for Troy, and its aftermath, but on the effects of the women. Briseis, pregnant with a baby she neither wants nor loves, because of who fathered it. Helen, hated by the women but just, in the end, a piece of meat for the victors to fight over. Amina, the doomed maid with a burning desire to do right, in her view, for her dear slaughtered king. Hecuba, mourning the latter and rejected, perhaps unfairly (perhaps not) by her daughter Cassandra - herself a victim of her sex, because no-one takes her prophesies seriously anymore, least of all she herself. Those, and other women who have to survive once their old home has fallen. Barker writes about with a sharp, sympathetic and convincing eye for detail. I found this an extremely enjoyable novel, and learned lots about the legend in the reading.

Brilliant writing and despite things .. motivations and self defeating reconciliations with their situations .. I still sensed encouragement at what might lie ahead.. very readable .. exist focus on themes that concern Barker
.

I guess I'm tired reading detailed expressions of the bad treatment of women .. warranted but here it's proferred as grim entertainment and I'm getting fed up with this fad.. of women's bad treatment as central focus. It's too gruesome.

Thank you to negalley and the publishers for this arc.
The story follows the women and Briseis again after the fall of Troy and their lives as slaves.

I liked reading this and was intrigued to read more after reading the silence of the girls, However I did find it to be quite slow and found it took me a long while to get into it.

Overall it was an enjoyable read and I always love reading retellings.

Such an amazing story about the women of Troy after the events of the Trojan war. A refreshing new viewpoint on some if the classic Greek tales, and the writing was gripping, beautiful, and detailed. An incredibly powerful book!

“I listened to the whimpering of the wind. At night, the roar that bullied and threatened all day sometimes died away to an inconsolable sobbing- like an abandoned child begging.”

Barker’s sequel to ‘The Silence of the Girls’ is just as good, if not better. The novel follows Briseis and other key characters such as Cassandra and Hecuba as they wait for the winds to drop on the beaches of Troy. The death of Priam and his burial is the main plot point and results in tension and murder in the camp. Barker continues to succeed in giving these female characters a voice and celebrates their strength and courage, particularly the females who are enslaved. I am already eagerly awaiting the next instalment!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for this ARC.

This was a really interesting read. I liked how it showed the different women and groups stuck in the camps around Troy. The writing was beautiful and I loved how it touched on many serious issues that are still affecting those who live in the present day. The action was good and this had several edge of my seat moments. I can't wait for the next book in the series to see where it goes next.

This was an intriguing insight into classical mythology, that doesn't just brush over the brutality associated with mythology. I think it can easily be read as not a lot happening, which can put some people off. Having said this, I enjoyed the story and characters and think if you read it after Silence of the Girls you may enjoy it more. Still recommend for anyone that loves mythology retellings.

The Women of Troy continues from Pat Barker’s Silence of the Girls. Barker completely catapulted me back into the centre of my love for Greek mythology. Yes, it's brutal, yes the ill-treatment and exploitation of women are difficult to read but it is stone-cold accurate and the rigorous research is discernable from the very first page. The book ticks all the boxes with its kaleidoscopic complexity. It’s an audacious and feminist retelling of The Iliad, told from the fallen women of Troy. It’s powerful and influential. So what exactly reeled me in?

A locked room full of human emotion.
Age-old sexism and the fight to have their voices heard.
Greek Mythology.
Angering of the gods.
Strong female characters.

The Women of Troy tells the story of what happens after the horse breaches Troy and is sacked leaving destruction and ruin in their wake. The Trojan war is over and the women lose fathers, brothers, uncles, and sons. They take their spoils, with the main protagonist Breisis being married off to Alcimus after the passing of Achillies. His son Pyrrhus, is a bit of a man baby that often takes his frustrations and the weight of his father’s legacy out on other people, namely the women. The Greek soldiers look forward to setting sail for home, with all the spoils of war. Treasure, riches, the women, and their newfound legacy. There is just one problem – they have angered the gods with the rape carried out in their temples and the desecration of their statues. Gale force winds stop them from moving until they rectify the situation.

There isn’t as much action in this book but the explosive and obsessive narrative had me reading just one more chapter. It's beautiful and captivating and had me instantly searching for more historical fiction set in ancient Greece.

The Women of Troy are the driving force behind the story. Their battle for survival, their principles, and their need to protect and nurture are never far away from the crux of the plot. Bresis, navigating a new marriage and a pregnancy that gives her hope for the future. Hecuba, widowed with the death of Priam, is aging by the day, never getting over the death of her children with only Cassandra surviving. It is predominately a character-driven story, the women of Troy being the real face of war. The blood, the anguish, and the grief playing the starring role. They depict the ravages of war and pillage upon their bodies, their families, and their friendships. It is a viewpoint that paints the Greeks as anti-heroes. It isn’t about the battlefield heroics that are so often read about in history books.

This novel is so patently heartfelt, a necessary read for everyone. Important with imagery that leaves you in the centre of the storm, you feel anguish. Just please go and read this now…it’s that good.

One of the best books of the year. Pat Barker has produced another brilliant book, this time on the aftermath of Troy after the death of Achilles. Her first book on the siege of Troy, The Silence of the Girls, might seem hard to follow but The Women of Troy was every bit as engaging - a rare achievement in a sequel. It is fascinating to explore this story from the perspective of the captive women of Troy and their changed fortunes and she has managed to achieve this without compromising the role of the dominant male characters. Immersive and outstanding.

Intriguing insight into classical mythology telling the stories as brutal as one can imagine.
Having adored Madeleine Miller's novels, I found this relatively hard going but may well venture into reading other books by Pat Barker.
Thanks to Penguin and netgalley for the arc.

This just wasn't for me. I found the characterisation of Helen to be completely inaccurate to the historical sources and I just didn't enjoy the writing style. Again, I don't feel like it really centred the women but was more of a general account of life after the Trojan war.

This was everything you want in a book - a perhaps familiar tale but retold in a way that makes you think about things from a completely different perspective. A wonderful re-telling of a classic Greek myth, it starts out from the viewpoint of the soldiers hiding inside the Trojan horse, following them through their journey into the walled city and the vicious battle that follows, before moving onto the wider population. There's much more focussing on the women who kept Troy going but who were never written about before,
It isn't a book to be rushed, and there were times when the names became confused in my head but it deserves time and concentration. It might be worth re-reading The Silence of the Girls first to get the most out of the story

Ok where do I start with this. I was already intrigued by this book based on the fact that it’s set AFTER the fall of Troy. I loved that concept in itself as I’ve read so many books that focus mainly on the war aspects and battle scenes. This was so different. The stories told about these women were heartbreaking and real and drew a very real picture of what life would have been like for those slave women on the wrong side of the aftermath. I was enthralled from page one and thought the stories were told with just enough raw emotion to make me feel everything I was supposed to, without putting me off. A very well written book!

The Women of Troy was disappointing after the brilliant Silence of the Girls. Narratively, it was much slower and the fat phobia that occurred for no particular reason, other than, I suppose, as a reflection of Pat Barker's feeling about fat people was depressing and unworthy of this writer.

‘As a woman living in this camp, I was navigating a complex and dangerous world’

In The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker gave women, who up until now were mostly ‘silenced’ with regards to the story of the Trojan War, a voice. She continues Briseis story in her follow up, The Women of Troy and, once more through the female characters who lie in the background of this ancient Greek epic, women continue to have their voice.

‘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, Achilles is dead and the Greeks are awaiting the weather to improve for their return journey home. Interestingly, Pat gives some insight into Pyrrhus, Achilles’s son, who is struggling in the wake of his father’s legacy. Although this instalment may appear subdued compared to the first, there is still nuance regarding the fallout and dangers of playing the waiting game.

‘I followed her gaze and saw, through her eyes, Troy’s black and broken towers, like the fingers of a half-buried hand pointing accusingly at the sky.’

Briseis was an incredibly well written character, demonstrating great strength and compassion to the women around her. A real sisterhood develops as they comfort and support one another. Briseis demonstrates great resilience in the face of such harrowing circumstances and is able to inspire and encourage those around her.

‘The watching women moved closer, gathering round her where she knelt on the filthy sand, joining their cries with hers – until they turned from women into wolves, the same terrible howl coming from a hundred throats. And I howled with them, horrified at the sounds I was making, but unable to stop.’

Once again Pat Barker's writing is exceptional as she delves deep into the motivations of her characters. This duology of books truly was the story that needed to be told - the women who were at the very heart of this iconic tale - whether vanquished or victorious - their story being brave and empowering.

‘Heroic deeds, atrocities – who’s to say where the line is drawn?’



This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

I absolutely loved Pat Barker’s ‘Silence of the Girls’ after picking a copy up for 50p in a charity shop, therefore I was really happy to get an ARC of this book, the latest in her series.

I am fairly new to Greek mythology and tales, but this book allows for novices to become absorbed into the world of Troy.


Troy has fallen. The Greeks have won their bitter war. They can return home as victors - all they need is a good wind to lift their sails. But the wind has vanished, the seas becalmed by vengeful gods, and so the warriors remain in limbo - camped in the shadow of the city they destroyed, kept company by the women they stole from it.

The women of Troy.

Helen - poor Helen. All that beauty, all that grace - and she was just a mouldy old bone for feral dogs to fight over.

Cassandra, who has learned not to be too attached to her own prophecies. They have only ever been believed when she can get a man to deliver them.

Stubborn Amina, with her gaze still fixed on the ruined towers of Troy, determined to avenge the slaughter of her king.

Hecuba, howling and clawing her cheeks on the silent shore, as if she could make her cries heard in the gloomy halls of Hades. As if she could wake the dead.

And Briseis, carrying her future in her womb: the unborn child of the dead hero Achilles. Once again caught up in the disputes of violent men. Once again faced with the chance to shape history.

This book is addictive, I found myself hooked from the outset, it reads like a film drama.
The ladies all have their own stories to tell, and I found myself just wanting to know more about each one of them.
Lovely infamous Helen - whose face launched a thousand ships..
Briseis- who now faces life as a single mother to her unborn baby.

After reading this, I ordered myself a special edition as I knew I needed to own a physical copy, as beautiful as the story itself.

Pat Barker writes in such a way that we are plucked from our lives, and dropped into Troy, and we watch the lives of the women unfold around us, visually descriptive, you can see the city, smell it.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Ancient Greek mythology, Far removed from the over done Gods and Goddesses, it weaves a beautiful story of the forgotten women of the infamous war.

This is the follow up to Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls and for me somehow it didn’t quite have the impact of the first. Having said that I thought The Women of Troy was very good indeed and as we expect from Barker, superbly told and rich in detail.
We witness the events of the fall of Troy through the perspective and vivid voice of Briseis, the widow of Achilles and now re-married. The events and experiences witnessed by all the characters, notably the women, are brilliantly portrayed and a real strength of the narrative. There are very moving and emotional scenes together with moments of heightened tension, so realistically written I felt as though I was an actual eye witness, such is the author’s attention to detail and skill.
I really hope there will be a sequel, as I feel there is further development of Pyrrhus’s character and perhaps Cassandra…
I would like to thank the publisher, Penguin General UK and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

such a masterpiece the first part of that series gave me chills all along the second does not disappoint. I could feel myself on that beach waiting for the wind to go away. Such a tense atmosphere and so imaginative and refreshing to see an historical/mythological event through women's eyes.

Continuing the story of Briseis and the other women of Troy after the fall of the city, this is a thoughtful, superbly written and very affecting book, and a worthy sequel to The Silence of the Girls. Barker explores brutal and violent themes from a female point of view and with a powerful but compassionate touch - highly recommended.