Dear all,
I got this arc from the publisher and wasn't sure about it but will share thoughts below:
WARNING THIS CONTAINS TRIGGERS FOR SEXUAL ABUSE SURVIVORS!
The Silence of The Girls
'A very good, very raw rendition of the Trojan war from the point of view of the women' Kate Atkinson
There was a woman at the heart of the Trojan war whose voice has been silent - till now.
Briseis was a queen until her city was destroyed. Now she is slave to Achilles, the man who butchered her husband and brothers. Trapped in a world defined by men, can she survive to become the author of her own story?
Discover the greatest Greek myth of all - retold by the witness history forgot.
'Make[s] you reflect on the cultural underpinnings of misogyny, the women throughout history who have been told by men to forget their trauma... You are in the hands of a writer at the height of her powers' Evening Standard
Praise for Pat Barker:
'Barker delves unflinchingly into the enduring mysteries of human motivation' Sunday Telegraph
'She is not only a fine chronicler of war but of human nature' Independent
'Barker is a writer of crispness and clarity and an unflinching seeker of the germ of what it means to be human' Herald
'You go to her for plain truths, a driving storyline and a clear eye, steadily facing the history of our world' Guardian
Rating: 4/5
What I thought: I thought this might be a great historical fiction with elements of Roman ideas, (later realising that its Troy and Greek).
What I expected: I expected more sort of romance to the story, I'm not sure why I thought that but I did. I thought it might be the alternative viewpoint.
What I got: Was very different and worth enduring to get to the gooey centre.
Review: What we get to meet Briesie through her eyes as she introduces us to Ritsa. Her marriage to the king and what she needs to do as the queen. She is being invaded in her city and she is scared witnessed. She is unable to conceive a child and she longs for one badly. There cities going to be raided by the Greeks on the warpath to Troy. During the fighting and waiting they get a little sleep. The cities breached by the greeks, where the King, men, male children and pregnant women are murdered. Most of the women have to witness the death of the children. Some jump from the citadel to ensure they aren't attacked.
The women have herded away, they set fire to the city, the fire engulfs the place. The women are forced into ships where they are taken away. They are fed and watered but treated like slaves. They are forced into two huts where they are going to be inspected in the morning. Briseis is the woman we are witnessing this through the eyes of.
Briseis is the queen and she is the one who's first inspected by the men and given to Achilles. She is his prize. He states that she will do to her face. She's taken to his hut where she is given food and wine. She can't eat so she drinks the wine. She is taken to Achilles bed. The first chance she gets she goes to the beach and washes him out of her. She feels very suicidal. She sees, hears odd behaviour from Achilles. Returns to the hut after finding a sharp piece of glass in order to protect herself with. She has cut her foot but doesn't care.
Irphis takes care of her, Briseis struggles with camp life and her place in it. Her new responsibilities. She goes for a swim nightly before her duties begin. The smell of salt water drives Achilles mad with passion. His nightly retire of forced sex becomes more hurtful and distasteful.
Briseis talks with other 'prize women' about what the normal is. They tell her to bear a son or become cast aside. They have their own horrors they are dealing with. This this is now their life. She continues to watch Achilles carefully. She longs for change, even prays for it. She can't understand how Iphris loves her captor.
Chrysis father comes for her, he's a priest and she was meant to be a priestess. He offers to pay her ransom to get her back. He's refused, on the beach, he prays for the plague and Briseis prays with him. She notices how Chrysis suffers. How the young had always dreamed of being a priestess, how she was struggling with how that is gone. Briseis can't tell the other women that she has noticed the rats dying, scared to give them hope.
At dinner one of the men discusses the ransom, how they are shocked it was denied. Briseis continues to pray for the plague while serving the men. She prays more after seeing her father's tunic on one of the men at the table. She hates this man deeply. Later on that night Patroclus talks with Briseis, explains how he ended up with Achilles. He killed his friend and that is how he ended up with Achilles as his friend, was sent to be with him. Patroclus uses the beach to be with Achilles. Through the conversation, he explains the reason Achilles is connected with the sea. Its where his mother lives and she is the goddess of the sea.
They share a private moment that raises questions. The situation with the rats getting worse until Myron who wears Briseis father's tunic takes ill. Patroclus tries to reassure the men that nothing bad is going to happen. Myron dies and Briseis is part of the group of women who attend to his body being washed and burned. There is a flicker of tenderness from Achilles that surprises her. The women have fun preparing Myron's body.
Briseis talks with Patroclus about Achilles trying to understand him more. How she reminded Achilles of his mother. He suggests that he can make Achilles marry her. The mixed emotions that are raised inside her.
There is a meeting called about the plague. Chrysis is going back to her father and she refuses to believe it. Says that Agemonnon tricks everyone and its a trap. Briseis is going to Agamemnon instead of her. Achilles doesn't fight for her, this hurts her in a way she doesn't understand. Promises she believes are forgotten at this moment. Nestor and Achilles talk deeply about this. Agamemnon sends his men. Patroclus comes to get her. She asks him 'if he'll still marry her?' Achilles cries openly when she leaves, this confuses her more.
We move into Achilles point of view. We watch him trying to be okay with Briseis being taken from him. He's got a wounded pride and something more that he doesn't understand. We learn more of the history with Patroclus and him. How he faired after his mother left.
Briere's first night with Agamemnon, where he spits into her mother. Briseis flees to the women's huts at the first chance she gets. She feels worse than when she was with Achilles, almost misses him. Knowing that Agamemnon hasn't picked her as his favourite raises fears inside her that she will be cast aside. The women try to reassure her.
Ritsa tries to help her best she can adapt to her new position in the camp. The fact she no longer gets to go down to the beach or really leave the loom room. Causlities from the war start to creep up and men start to pay her more attention when she is working in the hospital. She loses herself in her memories in an attempt to cope. She thinks of her time in Troy, a better time and place, Helen of Troy and how they were friends. Slowly she comes to accept her new life, yet finds herself missing Patroclus and Achilles.
Back in Achilles point of view, we see him inspecting the battlefield from his ships. His take on the mistakes they are making, dangers they are bound to face and the fact they are making this move on a floodplain. He worries what this might mean for him and his men. He refuses to help and makes it clear that this is over Briseis.
Briseis gets moved to work full time in the hospital and from the men coming in she knows they are losing the war. She has torn feelings about it. Achilles names whispered among the men as the reason why. Some of the men are pleading over and over again for him to fight. Briseis is struggling with how she is feeling yet knows that she loves her work. It masks her feel worth something in a time when she is treated as if she were nothing. There is another wave of injured that comes in, some of these higher up men boost morale. The patients and she can hear the battle is closer.
Agamemnon refuses to bow to the pressures of his men, this is causing unrest. Odysseus comes in injured and there is a lot of people who take notice. Agamemnon finally breaks and gives back Briesies back to Achilles. She is dressed up for her return and she is scared of what this means for her. She sits down on the stops outside of Achilles hut and waits to see what her fate will be. She allows her mind to distract her back to the times when her mother prepares for a feast. How pretty she was and how she shaped Briese.
We go back in Achilles point of view to see his meeting with Achille hears the offers from Agamemnon, Briseis is brought in. Achilles rejects her and the offer very crudely. Patroclus whisks Brieseis back to the room she was in her first night there. They share wine together. He tries to reassure her but is she is returned. Back in Agamemnon, she starts to mull over that she might be in love with Achilles. The intimate tone that is shared between her and Patroclus.
Patroclus reprimands Achilles over how he treated Briseis, he takes Achilles on a long walk trying to get him to see sense. He shows him the front lines like he hasn't been watching. When they are out there they see the doctor McMahon get hurt and Patroclus is sent to check on the man. Nestor catches a hold of Patroclus where he sparks some ideas in the young man. Patroclus runs into a cousin who has come in injured. He takes him to the hospital tent where he treats him because there is an overcrowding issue. He runs into Briesies where he promises her that things will change. They work together until Briseis sees him off.
Patroclus almost strangles Achilles when an argument gets out of hand. When the men are calmer Patroclus gets Achilles to agree to Nestor's plan. He hopes that this will change the way the battle is going. Achilles put terms and conditions on it. Achilles sees Patroclus off in his armour. He runs into Briseis where she flees him. Patroclus fights and dies. Achilles goes into the yard of his compound and lets out a war cry. He grieves openly.
Briese's wants to go to Achilles but can't. His mother shows up out of the ocean and everyone retreats from her. News of Troy and greeks fight over Patroclus body. Achillie's roars allow the greeks to recover Patroclus's body. Tetis delivers Achilles armour so he can kill Hector. The women prepare Patroclus for burial. Achilles receives all he is promised to rejoin the fight. Achilles blames Briesei's for the death of his friend and the reason it all happened. Briese's grieves and wars with herself over it. She tries to understand but can't.
She lost a dear friend.
Achilles gory and gruesome progress across the battlefield. The Troy loses and the women of the city suffer. The blood that is shed. Achilles continues to fight, he visits Patroclus every night and day. Achillie's finally kills Hector yet this doesn't help him at all. The celebration of the war being over. Briesies sneaks out and covers Hector's face as his body lays in the stable yard.
Achilles gets a visit from Patroclus wher he pleads with him to bury his body. Achilles discovers Hector's covered body and losing his mind. He's outraged and is heard all over the compound. Achillie's has the funeral, the games. He gives Iphris away and this Briesei's hurt by losing her friend. Achillie's calls for Briesei's who is tormented by what is happening around her. He fails to have sex. She leaves fearing that she is headed towards the slave traders.
Achilles continues to grieve. His desire to both fight and die. Briesei's view on Achillie's ever-growing grief. There intimate response and Priam appears leaving her worried about what this means. The king of Troy recognises her and it almost makes it worse for her.
Hector's body is taken to be washed and wrapped. Briesies and Achilles do it so as to keep Priam's suspicions away from it being disrespected. Hector is loaded into the cart with love. After cleaning the body she joins them for a drink, spends the rest of the night with Achilles and enjoys staying with him.
The book allows us to see Priam's point of view, how he walked into the camp without anyone stopping him or noticing. Its a really good edge to the book. During his time there we see his effects on Briesies. She thinkings of fleeing with Priam, he refuses to take her with him. She sneaks into his cart with Hector's body then decides she doesn't want to flee. Priam during his time trying to get his son back always insists to see him. He's taken care of well by her. She sneaks back to his hut and Achilles want to know why she came back and she has no answer for him.
Achilles has to be there for Ajax who is struggling with his own problems. Ghosts and demons of what he has done are tormenting him. Ajax's wife/slave tells Briesie how bad it has gotten. Catches Brieseis being sick and asks if she is carrying a baby and she is. She finally tells Achilles when he catches her. He makes preparation for when he dies. He finally finishes his song with her being there. He forces her to marry Alcimus. Achilles dies.
Pyrrhus (Achilles son) joins them. He has come to fight alongside his father and is angry when he learns she has died. He is also in a state of shock. He butches Priam for his father's death. Briesies has to help with Achillie's offering to get back to their home safely. She tries to bear witness to Pryzena end. It makes her ill. Alcum does a kind thing for her mother, the former queen Hecuba. Burries Hector's son in his shield by his father. Briesis finds a sliver of freedom and peace with Alcum.
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Thank you so much for stopping by and hoping you will be back to see what else I have been reading.
Kristal McKerrington
The women have herded away, they set fire to the city, the fire engulfs the place. The women are forced into ships where they are taken away. They are fed and watered but treated like slaves. They are forced into two huts where they are going to be inspected in the morning. Briseis is the woman we are witnessing this through the eyes of.
Briseis is the queen and she is the one who's first inspected by the men and given to Achilles. She is his prize. He states that she will do to her face. She's taken to his hut where she is given food and wine. She can't eat so she drinks the wine. She is taken to Achilles bed. The first chance she gets she goes to the beach and washes him out of her. She feels very suicidal. She sees, hears odd behaviour from Achilles. Returns to the hut after finding a sharp piece of glass in order to protect herself with. She has cut her foot but doesn't care.
Irphis takes care of her, Briseis struggles with camp life and her place in it. Her new responsibilities. She goes for a swim nightly before her duties begin. The smell of salt water drives Achilles mad with passion. His nightly retire of forced sex becomes more hurtful and distasteful.
Briseis talks with other 'prize women' about what the normal is. They tell her to bear a son or become cast aside. They have their own horrors they are dealing with. This this is now their life. She continues to watch Achilles carefully. She longs for change, even prays for it. She can't understand how Iphris loves her captor.
Chrysis father comes for her, he's a priest and she was meant to be a priestess. He offers to pay her ransom to get her back. He's refused, on the beach, he prays for the plague and Briseis prays with him. She notices how Chrysis suffers. How the young had always dreamed of being a priestess, how she was struggling with how that is gone. Briseis can't tell the other women that she has noticed the rats dying, scared to give them hope.
At dinner one of the men discusses the ransom, how they are shocked it was denied. Briseis continues to pray for the plague while serving the men. She prays more after seeing her father's tunic on one of the men at the table. She hates this man deeply. Later on that night Patroclus talks with Briseis, explains how he ended up with Achilles. He killed his friend and that is how he ended up with Achilles as his friend, was sent to be with him. Patroclus uses the beach to be with Achilles. Through the conversation, he explains the reason Achilles is connected with the sea. Its where his mother lives and she is the goddess of the sea.
They share a private moment that raises questions. The situation with the rats getting worse until Myron who wears Briseis father's tunic takes ill. Patroclus tries to reassure the men that nothing bad is going to happen. Myron dies and Briseis is part of the group of women who attend to his body being washed and burned. There is a flicker of tenderness from Achilles that surprises her. The women have fun preparing Myron's body.
Briseis talks with Patroclus about Achilles trying to understand him more. How she reminded Achilles of his mother. He suggests that he can make Achilles marry her. The mixed emotions that are raised inside her.
There is a meeting called about the plague. Chrysis is going back to her father and she refuses to believe it. Says that Agemonnon tricks everyone and its a trap. Briseis is going to Agamemnon instead of her. Achilles doesn't fight for her, this hurts her in a way she doesn't understand. Promises she believes are forgotten at this moment. Nestor and Achilles talk deeply about this. Agamemnon sends his men. Patroclus comes to get her. She asks him 'if he'll still marry her?' Achilles cries openly when she leaves, this confuses her more.
We move into Achilles point of view. We watch him trying to be okay with Briseis being taken from him. He's got a wounded pride and something more that he doesn't understand. We learn more of the history with Patroclus and him. How he faired after his mother left.
Briere's first night with Agamemnon, where he spits into her mother. Briseis flees to the women's huts at the first chance she gets. She feels worse than when she was with Achilles, almost misses him. Knowing that Agamemnon hasn't picked her as his favourite raises fears inside her that she will be cast aside. The women try to reassure her.
Ritsa tries to help her best she can adapt to her new position in the camp. The fact she no longer gets to go down to the beach or really leave the loom room. Causlities from the war start to creep up and men start to pay her more attention when she is working in the hospital. She loses herself in her memories in an attempt to cope. She thinks of her time in Troy, a better time and place, Helen of Troy and how they were friends. Slowly she comes to accept her new life, yet finds herself missing Patroclus and Achilles.
Back in Achilles point of view, we see him inspecting the battlefield from his ships. His take on the mistakes they are making, dangers they are bound to face and the fact they are making this move on a floodplain. He worries what this might mean for him and his men. He refuses to help and makes it clear that this is over Briseis.
Briseis gets moved to work full time in the hospital and from the men coming in she knows they are losing the war. She has torn feelings about it. Achilles names whispered among the men as the reason why. Some of the men are pleading over and over again for him to fight. Briseis is struggling with how she is feeling yet knows that she loves her work. It masks her feel worth something in a time when she is treated as if she were nothing. There is another wave of injured that comes in, some of these higher up men boost morale. The patients and she can hear the battle is closer.
Agamemnon refuses to bow to the pressures of his men, this is causing unrest. Odysseus comes in injured and there is a lot of people who take notice. Agamemnon finally breaks and gives back Briesies back to Achilles. She is dressed up for her return and she is scared of what this means for her. She sits down on the stops outside of Achilles hut and waits to see what her fate will be. She allows her mind to distract her back to the times when her mother prepares for a feast. How pretty she was and how she shaped Briese.
We go back in Achilles point of view to see his meeting with Achille hears the offers from Agamemnon, Briseis is brought in. Achilles rejects her and the offer very crudely. Patroclus whisks Brieseis back to the room she was in her first night there. They share wine together. He tries to reassure her but is she is returned. Back in Agamemnon, she starts to mull over that she might be in love with Achilles. The intimate tone that is shared between her and Patroclus.
Patroclus reprimands Achilles over how he treated Briseis, he takes Achilles on a long walk trying to get him to see sense. He shows him the front lines like he hasn't been watching. When they are out there they see the doctor McMahon get hurt and Patroclus is sent to check on the man. Nestor catches a hold of Patroclus where he sparks some ideas in the young man. Patroclus runs into a cousin who has come in injured. He takes him to the hospital tent where he treats him because there is an overcrowding issue. He runs into Briesies where he promises her that things will change. They work together until Briseis sees him off.
Patroclus almost strangles Achilles when an argument gets out of hand. When the men are calmer Patroclus gets Achilles to agree to Nestor's plan. He hopes that this will change the way the battle is going. Achilles put terms and conditions on it. Achilles sees Patroclus off in his armour. He runs into Briseis where she flees him. Patroclus fights and dies. Achilles goes into the yard of his compound and lets out a war cry. He grieves openly.
Briese's wants to go to Achilles but can't. His mother shows up out of the ocean and everyone retreats from her. News of Troy and greeks fight over Patroclus body. Achillie's roars allow the greeks to recover Patroclus's body. Tetis delivers Achilles armour so he can kill Hector. The women prepare Patroclus for burial. Achilles receives all he is promised to rejoin the fight. Achilles blames Briesei's for the death of his friend and the reason it all happened. Briese's grieves and wars with herself over it. She tries to understand but can't.
She lost a dear friend.
Achilles gory and gruesome progress across the battlefield. The Troy loses and the women of the city suffer. The blood that is shed. Achilles continues to fight, he visits Patroclus every night and day. Achillie's finally kills Hector yet this doesn't help him at all. The celebration of the war being over. Briesies sneaks out and covers Hector's face as his body lays in the stable yard.
Achilles gets a visit from Patroclus wher he pleads with him to bury his body. Achilles discovers Hector's covered body and losing his mind. He's outraged and is heard all over the compound. Achillie's has the funeral, the games. He gives Iphris away and this Briesei's hurt by losing her friend. Achillie's calls for Briesei's who is tormented by what is happening around her. He fails to have sex. She leaves fearing that she is headed towards the slave traders.
Achilles continues to grieve. His desire to both fight and die. Briesei's view on Achillie's ever-growing grief. There intimate response and Priam appears leaving her worried about what this means. The king of Troy recognises her and it almost makes it worse for her.
Hector's body is taken to be washed and wrapped. Briesies and Achilles do it so as to keep Priam's suspicions away from it being disrespected. Hector is loaded into the cart with love. After cleaning the body she joins them for a drink, spends the rest of the night with Achilles and enjoys staying with him.
The book allows us to see Priam's point of view, how he walked into the camp without anyone stopping him or noticing. Its a really good edge to the book. During his time there we see his effects on Briesies. She thinkings of fleeing with Priam, he refuses to take her with him. She sneaks into his cart with Hector's body then decides she doesn't want to flee. Priam during his time trying to get his son back always insists to see him. He's taken care of well by her. She sneaks back to his hut and Achilles want to know why she came back and she has no answer for him. Achilles has to be there for Ajax who is struggling with his own problems. Ghosts and demons of what he has done are tormenting him. Ajax's wife/slave tells Briesie how bad it has gotten. Catches Brieseis being sick and asks if she is carrying a baby and she is. She finally tells Achilles when he catches her. He makes preparation for when he dies. He finally finishes his song with her being there. He forces her to marry Alcimus. Achilles dies.
Pyrrhus (Achilles son) joins them. He has come to fight alongside his father and is angry when he learns she has died. He is also in a state of shock. He butches Priam for his father's death. Briesies has to help with Achillie's offering to get back to their home safely. She tries to bear witness to Pryzena end. It makes her ill. Alcum does a kind thing for her mother, the former queen Hecuba. Burries Hector's son in his shield by his father. Briesis finds a sliver of freedom and peace with Alcum.
CLICK HERE FOR AMAZON US
CLICK HERE FOR AMAZON UK
CLICK HERE FOR GOODREADS
Thank you so much for stopping by and hoping you will be back to see what else I have been reading.
Kristal McKerrington
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