Jennifer Saint

A spellbinding reimagining of the story of Elektra, one of Greek mythology’s most infamous heroines, from the author of the beloved international bestseller, Ariadne Three women, tangled in an ancient curse. When Clytemnestra marries Agamemnon, she ignores the insidious whispers about his family line, the House of Atreus. But when, on the eve of the Trojan War, Agamemnon betrays Clytemnestra in the most unimaginable way, she must confront the curse that has long ravaged their family. In Troy, Princess Cassandra has the gift of prophecy, but carries a curse of her own: no one will ever believe what she sees. When she is shown what will happen to her beloved city when Agamemnon and his army arrives, she is powerless to stop the tragedy from unfolding. Elektra, Clytemnestra and Agamemnon’s youngest daughter, wants only for her beloved father to return home from war. But can she escape her family’s bloody history, or is her destiny bound by violence, too?

A Novel

Elektra

Holly

I thought this morning when I rose, intent upon escape, that the only gift I could give my children was for me to be gone from them forever.

I have nothing to comfort me, nothing at all except the tiny spark of revenge I must nurture in my breast until the time comes when I can let it rage and burn everything I loathe to ashes.

And then I'm screaming again, choking on the harsh scrape of my own howls, back at the locked door. There's nothing I can do but hope that he hears me, hope she doesn't somehow manage to cut him down outside the palace before he even gets inside. I scream as long and loud as I can, pounding against the door in the desperate hope that he'll hear my warnings, but my voice is swallowed by the solid oak, and no one comes.

I hope that among the gloomy shadows of the Underworld, she knows what I will do for her, and that, in the dark, she will smile again.

I wouldn't give these men the satisfaction of refusing the pleas of a Trojan princess.

Our city would only exist in our memories;

... the grief had split her soul apart ...

... to change places with a slave who had nothing except the thing I wanted most of all in the world. My father's arms around her.

What was the loss of a parent compared to that of a daughter?

... his beating heart exposed to me, mirroring mine. The shriek of agony in out souls, that could only be soothed by one thing. Revenge.

... how hatred crystallised the world, how it made everything so simple.

I wanted no more tender memories to shred my heart when they too were taken from me.

I had not dreamed I would bring my children into a world that could drain their blood in the light of dawn before they'd had a chance to live at all.

I had gone everywhere before her; trodden the paths I sent her down to make shre they were safe before I let her go.

Gone was the gentle, worshipful lover that had been so glad to win her; here instead was a vengeful, embittered, humiliated king with all the armies of Greece at his disposal.

His grief embarrassed me. I hated to see a man so shattered, and the words of comfort that I sought wouldn't come.

... but the terrible jangle of despair and fear was beginning to separate into distinct notes...

... but I knew this man carried the collapse of the world with him.

Such was the power of Apollo: he could shatter my existence from beginning to end.

A nightmarish landscape that swelled up and shrank again...

He had breathed it into me; a gift I was sure I would not survive. Prophecy, the prize my mother had warned me never to ask for.

... I had thought no man's intellect could ever be a match for hers.

The House of Atreus is cursed. A bloodline tainted by a generational cycle of violence and vengeance. This is the story of three women, their fates inextricably tied to this curse, and the fickle nature of men and gods. Clytemnestra The sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon - her hopes of averting the curse are dashed when her sister is taken to Troy by the feckless Paris. Her husband raises a great army against them, and determines to win, whatever the cost. Cassandra Princess of Troy, and cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks of it. She is powerless in her knowledge that the city will fall. Elektra The youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, Elektra is horrified by the bloodletting of her kin. But, can she escape the curse, or is her own destiny also bound by violence? Praise for Jennifer Saint and ARIADNE: 'A lyrical, insightful re-telling' Daily Mail 'Relevant and revelatory' Stylist 'Energetic and compelling' Times 'An illuminating read' Woman & Home 'A story that's impossible to forget' Culturefly

Ellie 

The ache in my chest is still there, but it hurts only with the memory of the wound, It's healed enough that I can think of her as well, if I make myself. Drifting along in a dim and shadowy cavern, silver ripples darting across the surface of the dark river, the shadow of a girl at her side.

wren

Jennifer Saint is a great writer who breathed life into this retelling. Elektra is a wonderful narrator and I really felt for her all the way through, and the same can be said for Cassandra (I cared little for Clytemnestra), but the very mention of these two C-named women brings me to my burning question—why is this book called Elektra?

Although she is the heart of the story, Elektra is not the forefront in my opinion. It's important to read about Cassandra to get context of the war in Troy, but then it's less about Elektra and more about her father and family and the war. I don't understand the trend of some Greek myth retellings being named after singular people and then they're split across multiple narrations. That only works when the story is broadened, but if this is supposed to be about Elektra (as in the title suggests), then I fail to see why the C-women (too lazy to keep writing their names) are here if not to pace the story to 300+ pages or to tell a bigger story. Maybe I'm just not seeing the vision.

While the writing is pretty and the story itself at face value is interesting, this book went from being boring to good to slow to boring to good to great to slow to boring...I felt like I was forcing myself to continue and constantly kept checking how many pages I had left. I was glad to be finished.

I liked Saint's writing enough to be intrigued by her other works but I have a feeling her other works like Atalanta and Ariadne will follow the same narrative structure (although I hope I will be pleasantly surprised).

In general, it wasn't a bad read, but it didn't hold my interest for the entirety.

Jennifer Saint is a great writer who breathed life into this retelling. Elektra is a wonderful narrator and I really felt for her all the way through, and the same can be said for Cassandra (I cared little for Clytemnestra), but the very mention of these two C-named women brings me to my burning question—why is this book called Elektra?

Although she is the heart of the story, Elektra is not the forefront in my opinion. It's important to read about Cassandra to get context of the war in Troy, but then it's less about Elektra and more about her father and family and the war. I don't understand the trend of some Greek myth retellings being named after singular people and then they're split across multiple narrations. That only works when the story is broadened, but if this is supposed to be about Elektra (as in the title suggests), then I fail to see why the C-women (too lazy to keep writing their names) are here if not to pace the story to 300+ pages or to tell a bigger story. Maybe I'm just not seeing the vision.

While the writing is pretty and the story itself at face value is interesting, this book went from being boring to good to slow to boring to good to great to slow to boring...I felt like I was forcing myself to continue and constantly kept checking how many pages I had left. I was glad to be finished.

I liked Saint's writing enough to be intrigued by her other works but I have a feeling her other works like Atalanta and Ariadne will follow the same narrative structure (although I hope I will be pleasantly surprised).

In general, it wasn't a bad read, but it didn't hold my interest for the entirety.

i liked the book itself but I HATE ELEKTRA UGHHHHH 

i understand where she's coming from and all but honeslty clytemnestra did her best.

matti horckmans

i liked the book itself but I HATE ELEKTRA UGHHHHH 

i understand where she's coming from and all but honeslty clytemnestra did her best.

Really good, just sometimes I was annoyed with some of the characters. 

Jodie Reads

It was entertaining enough, and I love Greek myths, but don't think this stacks up to other modern retellings like what Madeline Miller writes. It is a tragic story, and I enjoyed seeing each woman's perspective.

Caroline Piephoff

This book talks about the three main woman that had some type of role within the trojan war, Cassandra, Elektra, and Clemnestra. Each woman had a different experience of the war, Clemnestra lost a daughter to a cold husband, a sister who seemed to only think of herself yet she idolized her as well as envied as she still had her daughter. Elektra youngest daughter to Clemnestra and Agamemnon, she looses a sister, a mother, a father, and her childhood, she anticipated the father she idolized to come home and hold as he did as a young child, she wanted things to go back to what they once were. Cassandra given a blessing that was turned into a curse by the god Apollo. She was a pawn within a war between the gods and man. It carried so much hate and sorrow it flows through the words and strikes the heart, twisting and showing the pain that women went through during this war.

Kaitlyn Johnson 

As much as I get what the intended point of this book was, it took so long to get there that I had to make myself finish it. overall the plot was good and the emotions of all of the characters were well written but the book as a whole just felt long and drawn out

Soph

Gem Koeman

The Greek myths have never really stuck in my head before reading these books but I'm really glad I decided to pick them up. Will be picking up Atalanta when it comes out in April for my next Greek retelling fix.

Anna

Une lecture qui prend une position féministe sur les figures féminines de la mythologie grecque durant la guerre de Troie. Exactement comme « A thousand ships », un livre qui m’avait énormément touché et permis de prendre beaucoup de recul. 
Pour moi, Elektra complète ce livre puisqu’il aborde le point de vue de femmes différentes mais toujours en lien avec cette guerre. Nous avions dans « A thousand ships » des femmes comme par exemple Hecabe ou Briseis. Ici, le livre se concentre sur 3 femmes : Elektra (que je ne connaissais pas du tout), Cassandre (qui m’intéressait vraiment mais alors vraiment beaucoup) et Clytemnestra (laquelle on avait déjà eu un point de vue dans « A thousand ships » mais de façon très bref, ici c’est extrêmement développé et complet donc c’est super).

Bref, ce livre est, comme à chaque fois que je me plonge dans un livre sur la mythologie, incroyable. J’ai vraiment eu ce sentiment que le livre était parfait à lire après « A thousand ships ». Il nous apprends en détails le point de vue des 3 femmes abordés. Comme d’habitude, les livres féministes sur la mythologie sont à la hauteur des attentes que j’ai. Et heureusement pour moi, il me reste quelques livres dans ma liste sur ce thème pour me faire plaisir !

Another really captivating book by Jennifer Saint. She gives a wonderful description of these three females that would've otherwise have been forgotten. These three females have stories that are intertwined and complex. This book, like Saint's debut novel Ariadne, splits the narration between her main characters. This gives the book a lot of dimension and kept me on the edge of my seat. 

Paige Leitner

Claire Watson

Had to force myself to get through some of the bits in the middle but overall an interesting perspective of the trojan war.

Celeste Richardson

Nothing reeks of trauma and death and shattered dreams quite like a Greek tragedy. Even the more heroic epics, such as The Iliad, often see the heroes victorious but slain among their enemies. But what of those left behind, those doomed to pick up the pieces in the aftermath? What of those stepped on and over by these so-called heroes on their path to glory? What of their “prizes,” those they claim as trophies after their victories? In other words, what of the women?
“Can’t you see that it just goes on, over and over? The gods demand their justice, but we suffer for it, every time.”
Elektra had a much clearer message than Saint’s debut novel, Ariadne. Ariadne did bring forth the plight of women in the ancient world, and demonstrate that heroes often come with a dark side, but that was about it. This novel, however, speaks of violence begetting more violence, of revenge being cyclical and all-consuming and never as fulfilling as one hopes. It speaks of obsession, and how that obsession can skew one’s views of events. And, most of all, it hammers home the saying “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” What the two have in common, and what I like the most about them outside of their setting and status as Greek retellings, is a distinctly feminist take on historically masculine stories.
“To be surprised, you had to have a belief that the world would follow its rhythms and patterns as it had always done.”
Our story is told from three perspectives. Elektra, our title character, actually felt like the least important of the three, though she is the last woman standing. Youngest daughter of Agamemnon, the king of all Greek kings, Elektra is fiercely loyal to her father, and yearns for nothing more than his safe return from Troy. Her devotion is religious, and almost even romantic in nature. Because she was so young when he left for Troy, she has idolized him in such a way as to propel him into near godlike status in her mind and heart. She would do literally anything for her father and her king, up to and including allowing herself to be sacrificed to the gods if he requested it of her.
“The shriek of agony in our souls, that could only be soothed by one thing. Revenge.”
Which brings us to our second perspective character, Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon and mother of his children. Including the eldest daughter he so callously sacrifices to the gods in exchange for a fair wind to sail his ships to Troy. Clytemnestra is shocked, appalled, devastated by the suddenness and cruelty of the loss, and yearns for nothing more than Agamemnon’s safe return from Troy. So she can kill him herself. So obsessed is she with her loss and her plot for vengeance that she can see nothing else. Including the three children left to her.
“We would lay down our lives for our children, and every time we faced birth, we stood on the banks of that great river that separated the living from the dead. A massed army of women, facing that perilous passage with no armor to protect us, only our own strength and hope that we would prevail.” 
Our last perspective character is Cassandra, princess and doomed prophetess of Troy. She is a priestess of Apollo but, because she spurned his romantic advances, she is cursed to always see what horrors the future holds and never find anyone to believe her. When Agamemnon brings the Grecian armies to Troy to reclaim his brother’s wife, Helen, Cassandra sees the devastation to come. And when her unheeded prophecies come true, she is taken as Agamemnon’s own war prize. Which means that she sees his doom coming.
“Don’t think about what he did. Think about how we’ll punish him for it.”
I didn’t find any of these perspective characters likable. But I actually didn’t mind that in regards to this particular story. When you know how things are going to end before the story even begins, you don’t mind not forming an attachment to the characters. However, while I didn’t find these women very sympathetic, I did find them interesting. If I had to choose a favorite, it would probably be Clytemnestra. Her single-minded focus on vengeance might be a flawed one, but you can’t help but respect her for following through. She’s the most interesting character in the Oresteia, in my opinion, and I enjoyed her portion of that story as told in this novel. I’ve always been a bit fascinated by Cassandra, whose wretched existence has become such a popular archetype. (For example, Professor Trelawney from Harry Potter has a Cassandra complex.) 
“Why would I be afraid? You can only fear if you have something to lose, and I have nothing.”
Outside of the main characters, my favorite was actually Helen. I loved this portrayal of her; it didn’t excuse her actions, but it gave her more character and empathy than I’ve witnessed in other interpretations. The most despicable character in this novel is Agamemnon, without a doubt. One thing that every retelling of The Iliad and related works seems to agree on in that Agamemnon was simply a terrible human being. Which made Elektra and her devotion to him my least favorite of the three perspectives in the book. 
“They hated her because she was so beautiful and because she made them want her so much. Nothing brought them more joy than the fall of a lovely woman. They picked over her reputation like vultures, scavenging for every scrap of flesh they could devour.”
Over the past couple of years, I’ve consumed multiple retellings and translations of The Iliad and this is the first I’ve read that focuses on the women in the background. I know that there other others, specifically The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker and A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes, but I haven’t yet gotten around to those. And I’ve never come across a retelling of the Oresteia, so I really enjoyed that aspect of the story.
“I have become the master of my passions, and I know now that however strong the grip of agony, however fiercely it squeezes me in its terrible embrace, it can never break me.”
Elektra is not a happy tale, but if you know that going in, it’s a very interesting one. Saint’s writing in this novel was lovely, and captured her characters well. I still can’t help comparing it to Madeline Miller’s work, which I think is simply stronger in philosophical depth and character development and poetic prose. But that’s a subjective stance. I will say that I enjoyed Elektra more than Ariadne, and could see true growth on Saint’s part between the two novels. I will definitely be reading anything else she publishes in the mythological retelling vein.

You can find  this review and more at Novel Notions.

The House of Atreus is cursed. A bloodline tainted by a generational cycle of violence and vengeance. This is the story of three women, their fates inextricably tied to this curse, and the fickle nature of men and gods. Clytemnestra The sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon - her hopes of averting the curse are dashed when her sister is taken to Troy by the feckless Paris. Her husband raises a great army against them, and determines to win, whatever the cost.CassandraPrincess of Troy, and cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks of it. She is powerless in her knowledge that the city will fall. ElektraThe youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, Elektra is horrified by the bloodletting of her kin. But, can she escape the curse, or is her own destiny also bound by violence?Praise for Jennifer Saint and ARIADNE:'A lyrical, insightful re-telling' Daily Mail'Relevant and revelatory' Stylist 'Energetic and compelling' Times'An illuminating read' Woman & Home 'A story that's impossible to forget' Culturefly

A beautifully written and female-focused retelling of the events of the Trojan war by the women who were left behind or who could only watch from the walls while under siege. Clytemnestra, Elektra and Cassandra give perspective from both the Greeks and from within the city of Troy. Helen and Clytemnestra are twin sisters, and we see their bond of sisterhood and how it gets stretched and tested when Helen provides the incitement for war. The thing that they could control was to wait and then to act on their determination for revenge. Poisonous family dynamics, grief, curses, prophecy all lead to classic Greek tragedy. Jennifer Saint explores the high cost of revenge and what those fires of hate and anger consume in a person. Things must be sacrificed to feed those hungry flames over so many years. We see the exhaustion and repetativeness of cycles of violence. The gods require much from humans but care nothing because they do not pay any of the cost.

Cheryl Hedlund

It was an amazing book i think everyone should read it. 

 Elektra was yet another retelling of the Trojan War from the female perspective. I say this because it didn't just focus on the titular Elektra and included POVs from Cassandra and Clytemnestra. I didn't feel as though it added much to Clytemnestra's myth, but I liked her character nonetheless. I especially enjoyed Cassandra's narrations and felt she was given more depth than I've come across in my readings thus far. Elektra was not a perfect character, and I found myself disliking her more and more, though I understand the original myth portrays her much the same. She was still compelling to read about. 

I felt like the author did a good job of sharing Clytemnestra and Elektra's feelings and motivations, yet she repeats the same information constantly. We hear about Clytemnestra's grief over and over, without anything new being said. It was just rephrased as much as possible. Elektra's rage is portrayed much the same over the entire course of the novel. It was repetitive and became almost annoying as the novel progressed. 

If it wasn't for Cassandra's POV, I probably wouldn't have liked this book as much as I did. I felt it was a bit bland and didn't add much to the original myths. And as I said, while it may not have bothered anyone else, toward the end I could not stand the constant references to Iphigenia and her mother's grief, or Elektra raging over her father's death. The same feelings were repeated over and over, and I felt this wasn't necessary. It slowed the book down. 

I hate that I didn't enjoy this book like I wanted to. I feel the same about Ariadne, the author's debut novel. I will keep reading her works, but my expectations keep getting higher. 

Amanda

3.75 stars Elektra was yet another retelling of the Trojan War from the female perspective. I say this because it didn't just focus on the titular Elektra and included POVs from Cassandra and Clytemnestra. I didn't feel as though it added much to Clytemnestra's myth, but I liked her character nonetheless. I especially enjoyed Cassandra's narrations and felt she was given more depth than I've come across in my readings thus far. Elektra was not a perfect character, and I found myself disliking her more and more, though I understand the original myth portrays her much the same. She was still compelling to read about. 

I felt like the author did a good job of sharing Clytemnestra and Elektra's feelings and motivations, yet she repeats the same information constantly. We hear about Clytemnestra's grief over and over, without anything new being said. It was just rephrased as much as possible. Elektra's rage is portrayed much the same over the entire course of the novel. It was repetitive and became almost annoying as the novel progressed. 

If it wasn't for Cassandra's POV, I probably wouldn't have liked this book as much as I did. I felt it was a bit bland and didn't add much to the original myths. And as I said, while it may not have bothered anyone else, toward the end I could not stand the constant references to Iphigenia and her mother's grief, or Elektra raging over her father's death. The same feelings were repeated over and over, and I felt this wasn't necessary. It slowed the book down. 

I hate that I didn't enjoy this book like I wanted to. I feel the same about Ariadne, the author's debut novel. I will keep reading her works, but my expectations keep getting higher. 

Skyler Hess

Thank you to Jennifer Saint, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I just wanted to start this off by saying that I am a sucker for any Greek Mythology retelling--especially ones that focus on the women that are often overlooked in ancient epics. Beth Eyre, Jane Collingwood, and Julie Teal all did an amazing job narrating for and giving life to Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and Elektra. I was initially confused as to why this book was named "Elektra" when there are two other perspectives being shown throughout the story. However, without revealing any spoilers, it all makes sense in the end. 

Elektra tells the story of these three women before, during, and after the Trojan War. I minored in Classical Studies in college, so it was interesting to see the events that I am familiar with from the perspective of these women. While it took a while to associate each respective narrator with their character, once the story got started, each character/voice became very distinct. 

The writing style itself is quite exquisite and somewhat flowy. I quite enjoyed seeing how the events played out, and how the women's different perspectives inevitably cross over. The perspectives of mother and daughter, Clytemnestra and Elektra, and their differing motives were very satisfying to read through. While I know that Cassandra's perspective was ultimately needed for this story, I did feel like she was a pawn or afterthought in someone else's story in the very end (just like in Greek Mythology in general).

Ultimately I loved how this audiobook turned out, and would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in a fresh perspective on the Trojan War or just a great read in general! Elektra as an audiobook is definitely the perfect way to digest this story due to the effort put into giving a voice to these characters.

Heather Harrington

I was familiar with the story of Clytemnestra and Elektra, so I was intrigued to see how Saint was going to put her spin on it. I thought she did a fantastic job. I read Ariadne and fell in love with the mesmerizing way Saint has of retelling these myths, and this was no exception. Her writing is so vivid and lush that it feels as if everything is playing out in front of you. I loved following all three women on this journey. They're all so different, but have each been affected by this war in such traumatic ways. You feel for each one, and your heart breaks for them. The only issues I had were that I would've liked to have seen a little more from Cassandra's point of view and that there were times the pacing felt a bit slow, but neither lessened my enjoyment any. I thought this was a beautifully dark story of family and revenge and would recommend checking it out if you love Greek mythology retellings.

Seher Mohsin

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC!

My 4 stars are a very picky four stars, because while Jennifer Saints writing is insanely good (lyrical but also clean), she cannot make me love or feel sympathy for Elektra. But Elektra has always been a tough character to take on and this was an ambitious project for Jennifer Saint. 

Yet, I do feel like Jennifer Saint was able to make us understand her a bit more, if not love her. Elektra, is like her mother in that sense, she does not need our sympathy or our love, she condemns her siblings, and like Clytemnestra, gives more time to the dead than those who are alive. Her entitlement is that of her fathers, for example her poor friend who supported her unconditionally was tossed aside the second she could find a suitor of rank. She assumes that Cassandra would have told her wonderful stories of her father, without the slightest thought of the fact that he had killed her family and assaulted her. Elektra belongs to another time, the time where you were supposed to revenge your fathers ghost and be glad that he has slaves (she says that her mother would deny her father the comfort of slaves in that sense*), and a sacrifice for the gods (the sacrifice of Iphigenia) is perfectly necessary and appropriate, and she represents that thought fully. I feel like she can be appropriately compared to Ajax, from the play by the same name by Sophocles in the sense that the death of Ajax can be compared to the death of a particular style of hero. The death of Clytemnestra and Menelaus’s subsequent refusal to support Orestes and Elektra, and also not take revenge for the sake of Agamemnon, feels like the end of the curse, especially with Orestes and Elektra purified as well. But Orestes rules, and Elektra who has demanded this, hides away and presumably never really gains power again. Her hiding away parallels Ajax’s death; and her style of revenge, the ways of the old die with her even if the family line continues.

The book has three POVs, Cassandra, Clytemnestra and Elektra, and does a fantastic job of complicating each woman. We have doses of Helen, she is the daughter of Zeus, and entitled to her share of bloodshed, but she’s also kind, warm and loyal, and able to see past the curse of Apollo.

All this being said, the book does have esome flaws. Jennifer Saint hurried the ending up far too much! I don't meant that as oh it's so shirt J would have lived more, I mean that the ending didn't live up to the rest of the book! 

Elektra A Novel

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