As far as cursed families go, it would be hard to find one more cursed than that of the princess of Mycenae, Elektra. The curse began after her great-great-grandfather Tantalus killed, boiled and served up his son, Pelops to the gods, who then resurrected him. Pelops’ grandson Agamemnon revisited the familial sacrifice with his own daughter Iphigenia – Elektra’s eldest sister.
This is Saint’s second novel and follows the sensibility of her first, Ariadne, whereby Greek myths are retold from a female perspective. Three voices narrate this novel: Elektra, her mother, Clytemnestra, and Cassandra, the Trojan princess with her own curse from the gods. The Trojan War is the catalyst for the plot, but its action is secondary to the machinations behind the scenes. The war is fought over Helen – Clytemnestra’s sister and wife of Agamemnon’s brother, Menelaus. The ships cannot sail without wind and Agamemnon is told to sacrifice his daughter to gain the gods’ favour. Clytemnestra has been fooled, thinking Iphigenia was being prepared for marriage. Her grief festers for the 10 years Agamemnon is in Troy. When the son of the king Agamemnon murdered to obtain the Mycenaean crown returns, she hatches a plan to avenge Iphigenia’s death. Elektra loves her father and resents her mother’s duplicity.
The three voices have disparate perspectives. Clytemnestra narrates through the grief of losing her daughter and the rage directed towards her husband. Elektra’s love of her father outweighs that loss. Both believe their actions are justified; both are blinkered. Cassandra speaks from the Trojan side (and deserves her own narrative).
This retelling works extremely well. Long may the disruption of paternalistic mythology continue.
Reviewed by Bob Moore
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