Clytemnestra is a masterpiece. I've been searching for the feeling I get when reading Madeline Miller's books, but nothing has compared until I read Costanza Casati's new novel. Clytemnestra, princess of Sparta, sister of Helen, warrior, mother, and Queen of Mycenae, was an incredible character and a joy to follow. At its core, Clytemnestra is the revenge story of powerful women. This novel has solid and overt feminist themes.
I recommend it to anyone who enjoys feminist theory, myth, retellings, or wants to be sucked into an engaging story with a beloved central character. I can't wait to see what Constanza Casati does next.

As with most Greek Myths, this book contains trigger warnings for violence and rape.

Huge thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks, and Costanza Casati for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Clytemnestra is an engrossing work of historical fiction. The novel is beautifully written, and features such compelling characterization, that I read it in one sitting.


The plot: Clytemnestra is an infamous figure in Greek mythology, but often known solely in relation to her actions against her “hero” husband Agamemnon. This novel traces Clytemnestra’s life since her Spartan childhood, growing up alongside the golden Helen (later, of Troy.) Clytemnestra’s complex character is brought to life, showing her intelligence, strength, and force of will - plus, of course, her tendency to violence. We see her grow from adolescence to her promising marriage to the intriguing foreigner Tantalus, rooting for her despite her flaws as she enters motherhood. When tragedy strikes in a blink, Clytemnestra is torn from this happy season of life, betrayed by her father to become the reluctant bride of Agamemnon. From there, misfortune continues to befall her throughout her journey to become the ruling queen of Mycenae.

My perspective: This book made me feel so many things. The writing was incredibly beautiful, and felt fresh despite nods to lyrical mythology. As an English student and frequent reader of Greek mythology, I learned new things due to the characterization Casati brought to familiar figures. Clytemnestra, Helen, and their others sisters (such as Timandra) were fully explored rather than portrayed as the one dimensional archetypes we typically see them as. I loved this book and read it in one sitting! My only constructive criticism is that the time jumps for Clytemnestra felt rushed - I would like to have seen more from her, for example, right after Iphigenia’s death. I felt we mostly saw her years later after the wound was not as incredibly fresh, missing some of her immediate emotional journey afterward. Overall, I highly recommend this novel and can’t wait to see what Casati writes next!

Thank you Costanza Casati and Sourcebooks Landmark this ARC!

#Clytemnestra #NetGalley.

A great read on my thematic groove of mythology reading. Clytemnestra was a strong novel of a flawed, clear-minded heroine handling the life she was dealt with in a way I'm sure many can relate to. Some heroines I'd enjoy being friends with while in this case, Clytemnestra is one that I would deeply respect though not necessarily befriend.

The patience she had throughout the course of her life is something to be admired. Knowing how her story ends in general made her life story all the more fascinating from her childhood as sister of Helen to wife of Agamemnon and mother of Iphigenia. The commonalities of her mother Leda with her own story felt circular and similar in terms of a mother/daughter relationship.

There were a few narratively lose moments for me; understanding this is a debut novel makes me look forward to more of Casati's writing.

Even though I have always been a sucker for Greek mythology, I had no idea who Clytemnestra was before reading this book. Early on, the only character I recognized was “Helen of Troy,” but I had never given much thought to what occurred before she took on that title. Until reading this novel, I had no idea what went on outside of the infamous war. And I think not knowing the events that led up to that war kept me invested in this story. Beginning with her childhood in the palace of Sparta, you get a good feel for the environment Clytemnestra, Helen, and their siblings grew up in and the impact their upbringing played on their lives later on. Clytemnestra especially is the product of the people around her and what has been done to her.

The way Clytemnestra is presented throughout this story makes it impossible to not root for her. She spends most of her life at the whims of others in the worst possible way, but her strength and, for a lack of a better way to describe it, just pure rage allowed her to keep her feet underneath her despite all of that. Her resilience is inspiring. She is far from perfect, and it is easy to see how she could be turned into a villain.

I greatly enjoyed how Casati presents a timeless story through the lens of an often hated character. If you enjoyed books like Miller's Circe and The Song of Achilles, this book is right up your alley. I greatly enjoyed Clytemnestra’s journey and look forward to doing some more research on such an interesting character.

I liked the story of Aeschylus's Agamemnon which was pretty much the extent of my knowledge about Clytemnestra, so I was pretty excited to read this! I liked Clytemnestra as a character and Agamemnon's cruelty is so vicious so I was curious to see how Casati's retelling would go.

While this was rather slow-moving and the pacing didn't work out for me, I loved diving deep into Clytemnestra's character history, especially her early life and her relationship with her sister Helen. Agamemnon was just as vicious as I remembered and it makes for a powerful story about the capability of women's power. The second half, and especially the last quarter, I started to feel like I was losing my grasp on the story. But I think the last couple of chapters were great!

I'd recommend this if you're looking for another Greek mythology retelling focused on women in the mythos, revenge, and justice.

Since I'm a sucker for anything Greek mythology, I instantly added this to my TBR and was very excited for it. Sadly, it was a bit of a letdown.

As familiar with Greek mythology as I am, I was waiting to see some expansion of Clytemnestra's story that I didn't already know. She'd been wronged, she hated Agamemnon, she plotted against her husband - these were all things that I knew, and I kept waiting to see if Casati would add any interesting twists to Clytemnestra's story. She didn't. This read like an account of what happened exactly, according to the myth, and I didn't pick up a novel to rehash a story I already knew. (This was one of my main issues with another Greek retelling, Ariadne.)

Clytemnestra certainly was not portrayed as a hero, but barely anything she did made me support her. I did at times, but that was because everyone around her was even worse.

There are random time jumps that occur throughout the book. They're always placed right after tragedies and frankly seem like a cop-out to portraying Clytemnestra's grief.

Clytemnestra survives, but I honestly don't see her being the clever princess and queen that everyone calls her. The only thing she kind of did was throw Aegisthus in the dungeon to trick Agamemnon. I suppose I was also meant to think her clever when she deduced Aegisthus' identity instantly, but seeing as I figured it out the moment he appeared, I wasn't as impressed. Clytemnestra also barely manages to kill Agamemnon, and I was left feeling confused that her plan was simply to stab him. Hadn't she already tried that once?

Lastly, I felt cheated by the ending. In the myth, Clytemnestra killed Agamemnon as revenge for Iphigenia, and is thus killed by Orestes to avenge his father. In this book, Clytemnestra kills Agamemnon, becomes reigning queen of Mycenae, and the curtain falls. She's triumphant. She gets everything she's been working towards. The only hint is Electra spitefully telling her mother that Orestes will kill her for this, but seeing as the author tried to get us to dislike Electra, I don't think it's meant to carry much weight. (As a side note - I thought it was funny when Electra first says "Agamemnon treated all of his children the same" and then later says "Agamemnon made her feel special.")

Clytemnestra doesn't win like that in the myth, and I found it distasteful to end the novel pretending she doesn't die by the hand of her son. Yes, it's retelling, and yes, it's a work of fiction, but Electra is right, and the themes of familial (especially fatherly) loyalty were established early on.

I might pick up another book from this author, depending on the synopsis.

Clytemnestra is the daughter of the king of Sparta, the sister of the infamous Helen. When her husband Agamemnon sacrifices their daughter to the gods in return for fair winds, she begins to plot against him - for this is by far not the first ill he's dealt her.

I thought Clytemnestra was an odd choice as heroine, even within the recent trend of novels centering women in Greek mythology - but I read this book because I was excited to see how it would be done.

Clytemnestra is immediately established as a compelling heroine, as despite her perspective on events being way off center from the usual narrative of the Iliad. The author did a really good job of making the reader throw their lot in with Clytemnestra and feel that the things she does are inevitable considering how she has been wronged. Despite the book being crowded with fascinating characters, Clytemnestra holds center stage.

However, I did think the story began to crumble in the second half, as we move onto the events of Iphigenia in Aulis and Agamemnon's return. There are large time skips in this section, and I did not understand why we didn't see much of a change in her perspective despite the long periods missing - it was as though her character did not develop off screen.

Huge thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks and Costanza Casati for this ARC. I read this book at the tail end of a mythology binge, and I loved this one. This book is all about Clytemnestra’s story, from details of her childhood in Sparta, all the way up through the end of the Trojan war. I went into this book knowing a lot about this story and specifically the women of the Trojan war. Even though I knew the story, the artistic take on this story still left me surprised and on the edge of my seat. I felt so emotionally attached to the story and every scene, even though I already knew the ending, which is something so special and so hard to do. I specifically loved how much of the book was focused on Clytemnestra’s life and childhood in Sparta. In my personal life, my mother told me and my sister stories of the strong and powerful women in Spartan lore. So reading more about the Spartans in this book really touched me in a way that I felt connected to the stories from my own mother. This book was powerful, emotional and empowering. I loved this take on Clytemnestra’s story and would recommend this to anyone who wants to read more Greek mythology.
(4,5 stars rounded up)

If you’re into Greek mythology retellings, this is the book for you.

The reader is taken on a journey through Clytemnestra’s life starting as a child. This book covers a lot of ground and, at times, can drag on.

Because there is so much time and details to cover, the flow of the book can seem disjointed depending on what parts of the narrative speak to you.

This book covered everything from the death to politics to war and will certainly be included on lists of Greek mythology retelling books.

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley.

In "Clytemnestra", Costanza Casati has taken a woman who's frequently villainized in Greek mythology and given a fresh and complex take on her life and story.

Clytemnestra is frequently remembered for her role in murdering her husband Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, after his victorious return after the Trojan War, but many forget that she's the sister of Helen of Troy. In this retelling, Casati starts at the beginning of her childhood, crafting a fiercely strong and protective woman who readily defends her siblings in wrestling matches - a common occurrence for both women and men and Sparta. She falls in love with and marries Tantalus, King of Pisa, and gives birth to their son, but her life is upended when her father, Tyndareus, enters into a scheme with Agamemnon and Menelaus of Mycenae. Tantalus and their son are brutally murdered by Agamemnon, and Clytemnestra is forced to marry her husband's and son's murderer; Helen is similarly coerced into a marriage with Menelaus.

In the years that follow, Clytemnestra works to solidify her position as Queen, juggling the roles as ruler, mother, and unwilling wife to a man she never loved. Her physical prowess and intelligence make her a respected and feared leader, but we get to see her moments of weakness when it comes to helping her siblings and the love she has for her children Iphigenia, Elektra, Orestes, and Chrysothemis. When her sister Helen leaves Menelaus for Paris of Troy, she prays that her husband will die in the future battle - but is once again has her world fall apart when Agamemnon tricks her and Iphigenia, and sacrifices his own daughter for a "little bit of wind" to allow their ships to sail. Clytemnestra has to deal with this loss alone, and in Agamemnon's absence, finds respite in Aegisthus, a traitor to Agamemnon's and Menelaus's family. Upon Agamemnon's return, she finally acts on the wish she's harbored for decades, having to face the repercussions of her actions.

I'm incredibly impressed that this is Casati's debut novel; the writing was beautifully crafted, descriptive, and flowed across passages and chapters. She took on the perspective of Clytemnestra, highlighting the complexity of her character, emotions, and thoughts thoroughly, and created a woman who felt real-to-life that many of us could connect and empathize with. Instead of a devious, traitorous queen, we're presented with a woman forced into a life against her will, having faced incalculable loss over her life, doing her best to protect her loved ones.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone, especially fans of Greek mythology retellings, and can't wait for its release in March 2023!

Everything you could want from a mythology-based fantasy. In the vein of both Jennifer Saint and Natalie Haynes, fans will absolutely love this one too. I would venture to say that her name will soon be added to theirs when people are comparing books within this sub-genre of mythological/historical fantasy.

Clytemnestra is beautifully portrayed, strong-willed, fierce, unapologetic, and independent. Traditionally one of the most hated women in Greek mythology, this story brings a new light to her life. From her childhood through to adulthood, we see how trauma has shaped her life and her personality, and the effects that it’s had in the course of her life and on the decisions she makes. You will feel her anguish, burn with her rage, and vie for revenge right alongside her.

The story is full of complex relationships. It conveys the strength of bonds between family and friends, and the ramifications of betrayals. The ambient prose paints the setting vividly and builds the state of the world around you, in a time dominated by men, where women were consistently underestimated and wrongly treated. This story has a profoundness to it. It becomes an evocative experience, drawing you into the plights of the characters.

This book had me from the start and never let go. If you love Greek mythology, its fantastical stories, and the stark reality of its dark nature, should definitely read this one.

[As a side note, I have to point this out in the hopes that someone on the editing team catches it. I would consider using a search tool to look up how many times the word “frescoes/d” is used in this book, because it’s quite a lot. I know we all have our crutch words in writing (seriously, the amount of times I have to go back and delete the words “just” and “actually” in my own writing is appalling) so it’s totally understandable. But I think (if it is still possible at this stage) it would be worth it to either find places to delete this word, replace it, or find some other way to describe the setting instead because it got a little distracting. I kept finding myself being pulled out of the flow of the story when noticing that word repeated on every other page. (I will not be adding this to the reviews I share elsewhere. I’m only including here on Netgalley with the intention that it could be helpful feedback for the publishing team.)]

Oh how I wanted to love this book! The title, the cover, the description—all of them were enticing.

But this book is not for me, even though I love books set in ancient, mythical Greece. The reason is simple: the characters felt flat to me. At no point did Clytemnestra seem fully dimensional to me. Nor did Helen or Agamemnon or any other characters. There was a good bit of war and political talk, but, nothing felt like it was truly happening, at least not for me. I hate giving a short, negative review, but I have no more to say.

I did give it three stars, because I do think the writer has a strong voice, and I will give her another book of hers a try in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book.

CLYTEMNESTRA
BY: COSTANZA CASATI

Costanza Casati has written a masterpiece called, "Clytemnestra," that is every bit as fantastic as my favorites called, "Circe," by the great, Madeline Miller. That is a masterpiece also, so this accomplished and ultra talented Author deserves the highest of praise for this novel. I love Greek Mythology, but so few can enchant and make you never want the book to end. That this is right on par with, "Circe," is a testament to how outstanding this retelling of "Clytemnestra," is. Reading it made me feel like I was hypnotized by its poetic prose. It is so addictive I felt like I was bewitched by Costanza Casati's siren song. I LOVED IT! It is also a favorite that I know that I will be recommending and talking about the fantastic reading experience I had to everybody.

Please do not change the beautiful cover, because I plan on purchasing the hardcover for my special collection. This will make a beautiful gift to friends and family. It far exceeded my expectations! I already knew "Clytemnestra's" story from reading "Helen had a Sister," by Penelope Haines, some time ago, which was my introduction to learning about Clytemnestra's life. Although, I enjoyed it immensely, it wasn't as comprehensive and as epic in scope as this one was. This lushly written account is far more detailed, and I don't want to sound unoriginal by saying that this chronicles Clytemnestra's life from the young Princess of Sparta, where she grew up. She was Helen of Troy's sister and this novel illuminates how much they loved each other and, how extremely close they were.

I had no idea that Clytemnestra had a first husband and child. I still don't know for sure if that was this Author's imagination and creative license. I am the type of reader who looks up everybody in this thrilling story and, I couldn't find a record of her first husband and infant son being in her life. Her first husband's name in this retelling is called, Tantalus. Although, this Author has a glossary of all of the characters in this story and she says he was King of Maeonia, and first husband of Clytemnestra. My research revealed him to be a Lydian king, son of Zeus and father of Pelops. It went on to say that as punishment for his crimes (which included killing Pelops), he was forced to remain in chin-deep water with fruit-laden branches over his head, both of which receded when he reached for them. His name is the origin of the word "tantalize". My research has no record of the kind first husband of Clytemnestra who bore her first born infant. Who both were murdered by Clytemnestra's father, Tyndareus, (King of Sparta), who conspired with Agamemnon to kill them, so Agamemnon could have Clytemnestra. In this retelling her father forces her to marry Agamemnon, who she hates for what they did to her first husband and her infant son. This Author may have decided to invent this using her creativity or maybe she knows more than I do. This is my only small quibble with this mesmerizing tale. Not knowing which version is correct.

Clytemnestra marries Agamemnon and it is not a spoiler to reveal what I have written about so far. I love and admire her strong will and goodness except to the ones that wronged her. I knew of her to become the Queen of Mycenae and that she goes on to have more children with King Agamemnon who its common knowledge--that he becomes commander of the Greek fleet during the Trojan War.

What he does is tragic to Clytemnestra and somebody close to himself and further inflicts the worst kind of heartache onto Clytemnestra to incite her to hate him even more, if that is possible. I agreed with her feelings of hatred towards him and was heartbroken as much as she is. Clytemnestra is a wise and loving devoted mother. Helen marries Menelaus, Agamemnon's brother who becomes King of Sparta.

That is all that I will disclose, but this is so filled with a beautifully written story of a fearless, yet compassionate coming of age story that encompasses Clytemnestra's young life as a warrior who could fight successfully. It includes her family of origin and her reign as Queen at a time when most men didn't respect women. She successfully rules as she is left for nine years while Agamemnon is off fighting Troy. This war begins because Paris, Prince of Troy, entices Queen Helen to leave her husband, King Menelaus and her young daughter in Sparta. I never knew that Penelope who marries Odysseus of Ithaca, was Clytemnestra's and Helen's cousin.

It bears repeating that the atmospheric imagery and the poetic prose is so suburb, that it is equally as spectacular as Madeline Miller's masterpiece, "Circe." This is a masterpiece and I feel grateful for the serendipity of my discovery of it being offered as an Advanced Readers Copy on Net Galley. You can't imagine how excited I was to see it on my Dashboard as approved to read and review it. It was pure bliss reading this and my fear is that I have read all of my favorites already and everything else will pale in comparison. If you have any interest in the Classics and in this case Greek Mythology you will absolutely love this as much as I did. You don't need any prior knowledge because the Author lists in the beginning of this all of the characters and what their significance is, with their backgrounds. I didn't need to memorize it because this very talented Author, Costanza Casati explains things so well into her narrative. I will definitely read anything that she writes in the future. If I could give this One-Hundred Golden Stars I would. I highly, highly recommend this! It is definitely a Favorite! Haunting! Poignant! Intimate! Unforgettable! A story that pulls you in at the very beginning and never lets you go. The sights and sounds are a feast for all of your senses.

Publication Date: March 07, 2023

Thank you to Net Galley, Costanza Casati, and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. I was not required to leave a positive review, but my enthusiasm is because it is a great book!

#Clytemnestra #CostanzaCasati #SourceBooksLandmark #NetGalley

This book was a great read, I really love this era of telling about Greek queens from their point of views and this did not disappoint

“Clytemnestra” is a Greek myth retelling debut novel by Costanza Casati. Clytemnestra wasn’t a beauty like her sister Helen, she wasn’t as people smart as her cousin Penelope, she wasn’t male (and able to have adventures like her brothers Castor and Pollux), and overall she would’ve been “forgotten” except for killing her husband and, eventually, her child killing her. But just like Madeline Miller made me sympathetic toward Achilles (“The Song of Achilles”), Ms. Casati made me sympathetic toward Clytemnestra. I enjoyed the writing, though in a few cases I felt it could’ve been tightened a bit but as this is a retelling of myths, being faithful to the Homeric poems could have been her intent. What I rather enjoyed was the weaving in of multiple versions of the myths, not only about Clytemnestra but also her family and her husband’s family. Overall, if Greek retellings is something you enjoy, give this book a read. Additionally, if you want to read a different take on Clytemnestra where she’s more than just a power hungry Agamemnon hating wife, this book may be one you enjoy.

This book has so much packed into it. I don’t usually read historical fiction, so this took me a minute to get into, but once I was into it, I was very much into it. I was pulled into the story. I didn’t know anything about Clytemnestra going into this book, but I was so fascinated by her that I had to continue the book and read more. After finishing it, I want to research and read more about her. There were some parts that I didn’t think were necessary to the story, but it wasn’t many, and it didn’t take away anything from the overall book. I had trouble putting this book down. I did love the story, and it left me wanting so much more; I will be checking out more from this author.
Thank you, Sourcebooks Landmark, for entrusting me with Arc! I loved it

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy to read and review. These thoughts are my own!

I’m a big mythology lover so when I seen this book; I knew I had to request it.

I really love having a woman’s point of view because most mythology retellings are from a man’s stand point and you don’t get to see the woman’s side or perspective. I hadn’t known much about Clytemnestra because she hasn’t been a main character in any of the stories I’ve read or research I’ve done. She’s very interesting that’s for sure. I’m not sure I’d compare her to Cersi though. I hated Cersi; I didn’t hate Clytemnestra.

This book was lengthy but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There were parts of the book that drew me in and I didn’t want to put it down but then there were also parts that kind of bored me and I just wanted to either rush through it or just put it down. I think all in all, it’s a decent book. Would I have shorten the book, yes but then again it’s not my book. I would definitely buy an actual copy to put with my mythology collection. It’s a great read for people who love mythology retellings.

4 stars!

Told through the eyes of Clytemnestra, ancient Greek’s huntress, warrior, mother, murderess, and queen.

If there’s one story I could read retellings over and over of, it’s the Trojan War. They are always focused on Helen and Paris. I’ve always known Clytemnestra and been curious about her. I absolutely loved this look from her perspective. Helen is a secondary character, and really not all that interesting compared to her big sis. Clytemnestra is the perfect portrayal of revenge and female empowerment in a time when they had none. Even though I knew everything that was going to happen, it wasn’t any less intriguing. I wish this book never ended!

“Gods do not care about us. They have other concerns. That is why you should never live in the shadow of their anger. It is men you must fear. It is men who will be angry with you if you rise too high, if you are too much loved.”

“Lately kings and heroes have dropped like flies, but, just as her grandmother predicted so long ago, queens outlive them all.”

Clytemnestra comes out 3/7.

Clytemnestra gave a much more detailed and nuanced view of the titular character than has been given in the traditional mythology. Told from her perspective, her actions and choices are colored in a completely different way than in other tellings.

I really felt for what she went through; the way that grief and loss can shape a person’s choices. This was a super interesting read, especially if you’re already familiar with mythology!

I really enjoyed this read so much I read it all in one sitting couldn't seem to put it down will definitely recommend to others to read as well thank you so much netgalley for approving me for this arc