Christa Wolf

A recreation of the myth of Cassandra, journeying to her foreseen death and reflecting on her own history, is accompanied by essays that touch on such diverse issues as nuclear war and the role of women, linking them to the interpretation of Cassandra

A Novel and Four Essays

Cassandra

Cassandra, daughter of the King of Troy, is endowed with the gift of prophecy but fated never to be believed. After ten years of brutal war, Troy has fallen to the Greek army, and Cassandra is now a prisoner of war, shackled outside the gates of a foreign fortress, Agamemnon's Mycenae. Through memories of her childhood and reflections on the long years of conflict, Cassandra pieces together the legendary fall of her city. A woman living in an age of heroes, Cassandra reveals the untold personal story that has been lost among the triumphs of Achilles and Hector.

arwen

the letter at the end was better than the actual book

Cait🪼

Few authors have captured Cassandra's perspective as well as Christa Wolf does in this book. There is so much to be said for the way Wolf conveys Cassandra's situation as both a woman at war and a woman in love. The two beautifully juxtapose - such a good read!

Jade Flynn

I feel like some fluidity was lost in the translation.

Molly M

Alessandra Del Nero

Joshua Line

Giorgia Di Donato

Moray Lyle McIntosh

In this volume, the distinguished East German writer Christa Wolf retells the story of the fall of Troy, but from the point of view of the woman whose visionary powers earned her contempt and scorn. Written as a result of the author's Greek travels and studies, Cassandra speaks to us in a pressing monologue whose inner focal points are patriarchy and war. In the four accompanying pieces, which take the form of travel reports, journal entries, and a letter, Wolf describes the novel's genesis. Incisive and intelligent, the entire volume represents an urgent call to examine the past in order to insure a future. In this volume, the distinguished East German writer Christa Wolf retells the story of the fall of Troy, but from the point of view of the woman whose visionary powers earned her contempt and scorn. Written as a result of the author's Greek travels and studies, Cassandra speaks to us in a pressing monologue whose inner focal points are patriarchy and war. In the four accompanying pieces, which take the form of travel reports, journal entries, and a letter, Wolf describes the novel's genesis. Incisive and intelligent, the entire volume represents an urgent call to examine the past in order to insure a future.

Cassandra A Novel and Four Essays

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