Book Review of House of Odysseus by Claire North

Name of Book: House of Odysseus 

Author: Claire North 

ISBN: 978-0-316-44400-2

Publisher: Redhook

Part of a Series: Songs of Penelope 

Type of book: Ancient Greece/Ithaca, post Trojan war, waiting, playing up to stereotypes, cleverness and shrewdness, Aphrodite, gods and goddesses, -1700s, Penelope, Helen of Troy, Menelaus, myths, legends, mysteries, detective, retelling of Odyssey, Electra myth 

Year it was published: 2023 

Summary:

House of Odysseus is the follow up to award-winning author Claire North's Ithaca "a powerful, fresh, and unflinching" reimagining (Jennifer Saint) that breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men.

In the palace of Odysseus, a queen lies dreaming . . .

On the isle of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never came home. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace—a peace that is shattered by the return of Orestes, King of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra.

Orestes' hands are stained with his mother's blood. Not so long ago, the son of Agamemnon took Queen Clytemnestra's life on Ithaca's sands. Now, wracked with guilt, he grows ever more unhinged. But a king cannot be seen to be weak, and Elektra has brought him to Ithaca to keep him safe from the ambitious men of Mycenae.

Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the furies circle him. His uncle Menelaus, the blood-soaked king of Sparta, hungers for Orestes' throne—and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims.

Trapped between two mad kings, Penelope must find a way to keep her home from being crushed by the machinations of a battle that stretches from Mycenae and Sparta to the summit of Mount Olympus itself. Her only allies are Elektra, desperate to protect her brother, and Helen of Troy, Menelaus' wife. And watching over them all is the goddess Aphrodite, who has plans of her own.

Each woman has a secret, and their secrets will shape the world . . .

Characters:

There are a lot of characters, but the main ones are definitely Penelope and Aphrodite. Penelope is the average looking yet shrew young lady who does the best she can to play up to the stories and stereotypes of her as a long-suffering and loyal wife of Odysseus. She is highly observant and has a high political acumen as it relates to her suitors and court. Aphrodite is best described as a feminist yet somewhat an elitist. Her sense of humor is also extremely cutting and wicked, which I liked. Menelaus reminded me of a certain blond former US President and Helen of Troy, well I will let the readers figure out for themselves. 

Theme:

Pay close attention to motives

Plot:

The story is in first person narrative but from Aphrodite's point of view, and the reader gets a whole lot of facts about the beautiful Helen of Troy. All I can say is that the novel does a good job of how nothing is what it seems. The novel starts off with a burning temple and introduces us to Aphrodite as well as other characters such as Menelaus.. and, eventually, Helen of Troy (I am of opinion that the characterization of HOUSE OF ODYSSEUS is highly superb) While introductions are going on, the reader is asked to pay close attention to the hints as well as to people surrounding Penelope. There definitely has to be familiarity with almost all the characters because a lot of them return from ITHACA. Also, Penelope/Kenamon shipper! 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Claire North is actually Catherine Webb, a Carnegie Medal-nominated young-adult novel author whose first book, Mirror Dreams, was written when she was just 14 years old. She went on to write seven more successful YA novels.

Claire North is a pseudonym for adult fantasy books written by Catherine Webb, who also writes under the pseudonym Kate Griffin.

Opinion:

I had definitely fallen in love with the previous book, ITHACA because its highly realistic, filled with a lot of drama and yeah, there was just something about it that I loved it. HOUSE OF ODYSSEUS, the sequel to ITHACA, doesn't disappoint because the story begins right where it left off, with a few reminders here and there. While in ITHACA the readers got hints on what is going on, in HOUSE OF ODYSSEUS it feels like a full plunge into politics, balancing and then attempts to figure out who to trust and not to trust. Unlike in previous book, Aphrodite narrates the story focusing on Penelope, and she definitely has to say a whole lot. Also, the author definitely has a difficult task of convincing me why Penelope should take Odysseus back. 

This was given to me for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)