Review: The Penelopiad
June 2nd, 2011 § 9 Comments
Title: The Penelopiad
Author: Margaret Atwood
Published: Canongate / 2005
Genre: Fiction, Mythology
Length: 224 pages
Source: borrowed
Rating: 8/10
i had never read anything by Margaret Atwood and was planning to remedy that by reading The Handmaid’s Tale later this year for the November book club selection over at Dreams and Speculation. but, hearing last minute about the readalong for The Penelopiad, hosted by Dolce Bellezza, i was intrigued. and considering the books bite-sized length and immediate availability at the library, i couldn’t resist.
the book is based on the epic tale of Odysseus, as told in Homer’s The Odyssey (which i have read, but it’s been a while). Atwood chooses to provide a fresh perspective by re-telling, and reinvigorating, the story through the narrative voice of Odysseus’ faithful wife Penelope and her twelve maidens. and to make things oddly interesting, it’s told from the grave.
Since being dead – since achieving this state of bonelessness, liplessness, breastlessness – I’ve learned some things I would rather not know, as one does when listening at windows or opening other people’s letters. You think you’d like to read minds? Think again.
the split narrative was interesting, with Penelope’s prose interspersed with songs from the twelve, often whiny, maidens. by hearing the voice of the women in a story that is so historically masculine, Atwood developed the alternative presence of female strength and wisdom, particularly in the years where Odysseus and his men were off slaying monsters and charming goddesses. the untold story of the women at home minding the empire was so unique and fresh that it was difficult to argue it’s brilliance. the feminine perspective was probably most apparent and comical in Penelope’s construction of the infamous Helen of Troy:
She tilted her face towards me, looking at me whimsically as if she were flirting. I suspect she used to flirt with her dog, with her mirror, with her comb, with her bedpost. She needed to keep in practice.
in her often-snarky voice, Penelope made me laugh out loud and i had a good time with her sections (which thankfully were the majority of the short book). i much preferred Penelope’s narrative voice and could have done without the disjointedness of the maiden’s ethereal songs. although the lyricism of the songs was nice and the maidens voice is arguably one that needs to be heard, i never really got the impression that the songs added to the overall rise and fall of the tale. but, it could just be my aversion towards poetry, too.
the thing that struck me the most about the book was the use of modern language. as old a tale as The Odyssey might be, Atwood manages to bring in a modern sense of perversity and humor without creating unnecessary distractions in the reading. in some books, the juxtaposition of old and new can seem uncomfortable, and yet there was nothing awkward in this presentation, which i found quite impressive. (and Atwood does this neat grammatical thing with serial commas that i really liked.) the language and flow of the tale were perfect, and even without an intimate recollection of the original telling, i found the book surprisingly easy to digest.
altogether, i found the book very clever and highly readable. Penelope (via Atwood) made for a cynical and often comical narrator, and the re-telling was refreshing. it takes a certain kind of author to pull off what Atwood manages here, taking a well-known, epic tale and giving readers something new and interesting. so, bravo Mrs. Atwood!
I love the Canongate myth series which is why I picked this up as I’m not an Atwood fan, really. But I loved this one — the language and tone, the imagery, and really the inventive way of making this story fresh. If you like poetic-ish retellings, I highly highly recommend Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red (I’m pretty sure that’s the title.)
i actually hadn’t heard of the series before, so i’m really happy to have found it. i’m definitely curious about a few of the titles i’ve seen already.
i’ve heard of the Carson book and have had it on my list of books to track down, but just haven’t managed to get hold of it yet. i’ll see if the library has it and add it to my queue. thanks!
I LOVE Atwood. The Handmaid’s Tale is really good, as is Oryx and Crake. I enjoyed The Penelopaid as well. I have Year of the Flood sitting on my shelf, begging to read.
i’m actually kind of glad that this was my first Atwood, since it was so short and sweet. i’m just getting into The Blind Assassin and am enjoying it, too, although it’s VERY different.
i can’t wait to read The Handmaid’s Tale later this year!
I loved the modern voice that Atwood gave Penelope, too. In fact, although I am so often adverse to poetry myself, I enjoyed the muses’ chants. They added a sense of humour for me, in what was actually a rather dire situation for poor Penelope. Being essentially abandoned by her husband, and mocked by her cousin Helen, I ended up feeling rather sorry for her. I liked this modern interpretation of a classic myth, and I marvel at Atwood’s capable hands.
i agree that the maids added humor. it was just their whining that put me off a bit. like you, though, i did love the dynamic between Helen and Penelope. it really did make the story something new and well worth reading.
thanks so much for hosting this and bringing this treasure to my attention!
I finished this just a few days before you posted this. I also really enjoyed it, although I’d read Atwood before. I loved Penelope’s modern voice/language. I think it was a great way to tell the story–it wouldn’t have been nearly as good had Atwood attempted to write it more to Homer’s style from Penelope’s perspective. I often laughed out loud too! I enjoyed the Maidens’ parts more than you’ve appeared to. I found them funny, and I didn’t mind the “whining” because, if Penelope was being honest, they were wrongfully murdered and had the right to whine. Here’s a link to my review of it, if you care to look at it
http://livethroughbooks.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/the-penelopiad-by-margaret-atwood/
I love Atwood, but I haven’t gotten around to reading this one. Maybe this should be the next Atwood book I read. It sounds really well written.
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