Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati grabs you from the moment you begin reading without letting go through its entirety.
A phenomenal book, this is an excellent, savage retelling filled with wisdom and insight.
Casati seeks to reclaim Clytemnestra’s story. Before you read on, ask yourself, what do you know–or think you know–of Queen Clytemnestra, vengeful wife of Agamemnon, king of the Greeks during the Trojan War?
Throughout history and in the most popular stories and myths, Clytemnestra is vilified and portrayed as evil and merciless.
But what makes her this way? Well, what does the mighty King Agamemnon do in order to successfully set sail for Troy to wage war? He sacrifices his own daughter, Clytemnestra’s beautiful, beloved child, Iphigenia.
Mother and daughter are tricked, thinking they have been summoned for Iphigenia’s wedding. What plays out is cruel and heart-wrenching, the ending of an innocent life in exchange for a puff of wind.
For ten years, while her husband is away at war, Clytemnestra plots her revenge.
But in this book, she also rules a kingdom, looking after her household, remaining children, and subjects. She is a fierce and powerful ruler, yet she must deal with those who oppose her, snuffing them out.
She is ruthless but rewards loyalty. Clytemnestra must be in order to survive.
This all takes place during the last third of the book, with the rest of it just as rich and emotional.
One of the standout characteristics of Clytemnestra is that it follows her entire life, starting from her childhood in Sparta as a princess training for battle. Daily, she, her sisters, and indeed all the girls of Sparta train and fight, learning to win or die. As a result, Clytemnestra is strong and powerful, inside and out, traits she carries her whole life.
Most retellings only focus on major events. However, this author makes Clytemnestra’s entire life full of important moments worth reading and caring about, not just her revenge on her husband for his heinous crime against their daughter.
Those more familiar with our heroine will recall this is not the first child of hers that Agamemnon has killed, either.
Something else this book explores is that Clytemnestra was married once before. Her first husband, Tantalus, was a foreign king. After the birth of their first child, the couple had planned to depart Sparta to live in his home kingdom across the sea.
But thanks to Agamemnon and Menelaus, the two sons of cursed King Atreus of the neighboring kingdom of Mycenae, this did not happen. A tragedy unfolds, the first of Clytmenestra’s life. Even though I knew what was coming, it still sank in my heart like a blade.
This is a character who experiences pain and loss. But grief cannot knock her down for long, and you find yourself rooting for her, no matter her actions.
This novel is deeply layered, but you don’t want to slow down to really grasp it all. This is a book to read more than once, to treasure, to savor because, on your first read-through, you want to devour it.
This is a novel I can picture future English teachers assigning to their students, having them comb through it searching for its symbolism, imagery, foreshadowing, and different themes.
Casati explores aspects of Clytemnestra’s story not often written about; this is the first retelling I can recall that has her happily married before Agamemnon.
My favorite part of this book is her upbringing in Sparta. It all feels new and unfamiliar and drew me in from the start.
You cannot mention one daughter of Tyndareus, king of Sparta, without mentioning another, and both Clytemnestra and her sister Helen are heavily featured in this book, along with their other siblings. I enjoyed reading about their dynamics and about everyone’s shared history and trauma of growing up in Sparta.
This book pulls no punches. Through flashbacks, Clytemnestra also gives insight into Theseus’ abduction of Helen. Unlike in some other retellings I’ve read and written about, this was an extremely painful time for Helen.
By the end of the novel, the reader is left with a few questions, such as what happened to Theseus and his successor, the new king of Athens, after the abduction of Helen.
A few years later, by the time of Helen’s wedding, there is a new ruler of Athens and there is no mention of what happened to Theseus, which was surprising because I would think Clytemnestra and her siblings would be invested in this.
The timeline is confusing as well. The Trojan War begins about 15 years after Helen’s marriage to Menelaus; most retellings speed up this timeframe.
Additionally, Clytemnestra’s brothers, Castor and Polydeuces, join Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece. It’s never stated how long they are gone or when exactly they return–it’s my understanding they were gone for more than 15 years–but it would have been nice to have some concrete answers.
My final question and concern is for Clytemnestra’s younger sister Timandra. Her arc ends abruptly to the point where I don’t really understand why we spent so much time with Timandra, only to never see or hear from her again after her confusing actions about halfway through the book.
It’s also unfortunate that there is no map, as everything else is so thorough — the cast of characters and family tree set the stage and were very helpful as I read through, flipping back to reference them often. Many of the kingdoms included were unfamiliar to me, and I couldn’t pinpoint in my mind where exactly they were supposed to be in relation to Sparta and Mycenae.
I greatly appreciated all the time spent building up Clytemnestra’s life and time in Sparta. We’ve seen so many retellings focusing on parts of her story that are much more familiar that this felt like an incredible breath of fresh air for the majority of the book. And her time in Mycaenue as queen was just as spellbinding.
Clytemnestra concludes with a bit of an ambiguous ending, but I find it’s fitting. You want her to have a happy ending, and the book allows you to imagine it. Those familiar with her story will know of her fate, but Casati wisely chooses not to delve into it.
The author definitely has a distinct voice and unique writing style, but once you finish reading, you miss her world and its dynamic characters. She includes historic detail and does a beautiful job describing Sparta and Mycenae and the intricacies of the palaces.
In my opinion, the first two-thirds here were the best, because they covered ground I have hardly read about before; maybe it’s because I was already familiar with Clytmensta’s story. The final third is still incredibly strong, too.
There is so much content covered. I loved all of it.
Overall, this book was fascinating and beautiful, regardless of my personal questions and concerns. Five stars for a wonderful mythological heroine and queen in this story that finally does her justice.
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Amanda Larch
Amanda Larch works as a writer and editor when she’s not in the middle of a good book. Learn more about her work and view her portfolio at www.amandalarchwriter.com/ and keep up with her on Goodreads @_groovyginger_.
