If you are a fan of Greek mythology and are curious to know what happens after books like The Song of Achilles or the Iliad, I think this is a great option. This book in my opinion is wayyy better than the first book from Pat Barker, The Silence of the Girls.

After finally sacking Troy, the Greeks are elated and can’t wait to go home to their families. But, after ten long years, they are halted by an intense wind that doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. The main character, Briseis, who was Achilles’ “prize of honor” in the first book, is now married to Alcimus and is expecting Achilles’ baby. Briseis makes it her mission to meet with all the women who were taken from the sacking of Troy and learn their stories while also making them feel a bit more at ease with their new lives.

When I read the first book in this series, I thought that it mostly focused on the men (specifically Achilles and Patroclus) and barely touched on any of the women there besides Briseis, so I was deeply disappointed. I’m happy to say that this book was soo much better!! There were hardly any scenes where the men were the focus, and if they were, it was because they were talking about the future of the camp as a whole or were discussing something that had to do with the women at the camp.

I thought that it was fantastic having the women be such an integral part of the story. With Priam’s body being mysteriously buried and none of the men suspecting a woman of doing it, hiding a pregnancy, and having women of all different statuses having their lives change so drastically, it really was a roller coaster. It really makes the reader see that, without the women, there would be no story. There were definitely some parts of the book that were a bore, but I’d say this book is much better than the first one in the series.

Briseis is such a complex and fantastic character, and Barker did a great job of showcasing her in this installment. I loved how much she cared for the other women and always put them first before any of the rules that the men had in place. The war and the losses that the women in the camp had to deal with all affected them differently, but Briseis is there to do the best she can in being there as whatever they needed; a friend, a confidant, or a sensical person to make them realize their new lives. The loyalty that these women have to each other was just so powerful to me and made me like this book much more than the first.

Side note: the funny thing is, in the review I did for The Silence of the Girls, I said that Achilles was tormented by his mommy issues. Well, this time, his son Pyrrhus has huge daddy issues. I think it’s pretty nice to have so many unlikable male characters for a book about war and slavery where the women are so deeply disrespected. The women are definitely highlighted here.

Overall, this book is much better than the first, and I recommend it to fans of Greek mythology!

I recently read the uncorrected copy of "Women of Troy" From Netgalley that long ago and it pains me to write this review because Silence of the Girl was a near-masterpiece, during the time of Madeline Miller's Circe. Silence of the Girl will put you through a range of emotions that even after reading it a third time you will think "why do I put myself through this?" Silence of the Girls was wonderful and inspiring. "Women of Troy" fails short. Briseis struggling to find a footing as the wife to her greek husband through a thrown-together marriage by Achilles. You can feel her struggle but besides that, there was no meaningful story among the women. It felt like a refresher from the first " Last time on Silence of the Girls" There were tons of repeated statements and scenes that felt copied and pasted. This is an uncorrected copy, yes but I would have loved to have read from other points of view like Helen, Hecuba, Cassandra, and even Andromache. Pyrrhus was interesting but he was not Achilles. Achilles had this magnetic energy that Pat Barker capture on the page. Pyrrhus is whining boy, she does this right but something was missing. Whatever Pat Barker did with the Silence of the Girl that made that story stick with me for nearly two years, wasn't here. I give it three stars because Pat Barker is a great storyteller. I will buy the final corrected copy and read it again. I sincerely hope that there will be a third book. I want to know how Briseis feels about her child after he or she is born? Will she be completely detached? Can we see Andromache with Pyrrhus or Even Cassandra, maybe even Helen. I would have loved to see those POVs.

The follow up novel to the outstanding The Silence of the Girls and this is a wonderful read, as well. A novelization of the Illiad, taking place after the fall of Troy, Barker captures the mood and excitement of the time. A glossary of the characters would be helpful at the end.

I had the same reaction to this as I did to Barker's previous book in this set, The Silence of the Girls: it's not very interesting. In the aftermath of the Trojan war, the Greeks wait for a wind to take them home. In the meantime, they set up camp and hold athletic games and plot. The women, stolen from Troy and raped and abused, create small communities of their own, trying to find stability amid the chaos. There have been a lot of retellings recently of the Odyssey and other Greek myth, and some of those have been imaginative and intriguing. This isn't one of those, and despite Barker's skill, she doesn't bring anything new to these stories.

I absolutely loved the Silence of the Girls and had high hopes for this book. Pat Barker did not disappoint! I was riveted to the continuing story and the character of Briseis. Definitely worth a read and a great choice for book clubs.

These comments are for an advanced copy of The Women of Troy, which I was sent in exchange for a review.
The sequel to The Silence of the Girls, I went into this novel with incredibly high hopes expecting some of that same magic. But, unfortunately, this is markedly less interesting than the original. Lumbering and frequently boring, Barker manages to somehow write well below her abilities here, making most of the characters into condescending and unsympathetic stereotypes. Then there’s the issue of problematic portrayals. Barker has an entire section dedicated to Briseis mentally fat shaming a side character who is apparently so large that her pregnancy goes unnoticed until delivery (to say nothing of several characters being identified as being “retarded”). So. There’s that.
Briseis still delivers a coarse presentation of women’s experiences in the aftermath of the Trojan War (gritty and horrifying, complete with the anachronistic language idioms readers of The Silence of the Girls would expect), but she now comes across as more of a shallow reflection of the world happening around her, never really offering the depth of characterization that was expected. Pyrrhus, the least likable character by far, somehow comes out of this as the most complicated and fully developed.
In the ever-growing pantheon of myth retellings (The Song of Achilles, Circe, A Thousand Ships, The Witch’s Heart, and on and on), this highly anticipated entry misses the mark and was, ultimately, pretty disappointing.

What a fantastic follow up to the amazing The Silence of the Girls! Pat Barker's work focusing on the women of the Trojan War is spectacular and important. She writes about their constant changes in status -- from queens, to slaves, to concubines, and sometimes to queens again -- with insight and grit that gives fresh insight to these old stories. I'm excited to see what Barker has up next and will be doing a full review of this closer to its publication.

I thought The Silence of the Girls was outstanding and was anxious to read The Women of Troy. Initially I did not like it as well. But after further thought I realized that much of what made me love the first book is present in this one. Pat Barker has again made the characters of myth real and human. She has shown both the helplessness and the power of women in the aftermath or war. Once again she opened my eyes to the life behind the scenes, the life of women both in ancient times and today.

I read Pat Barker’s last book and this one is no exception it’s absolutely a masterpiece. Lyrical language and perfectly put together this one is a winner.