Greek mythology as you’ve never read it before. A Thousand Ships tells the story of the Trojan War through the eyes of the women affected by it. From queens to sisters to princesses to wives, each woman has their own story to tell.
Welcome to my review of A Thousand Ships.
Author: Natalie Haynes
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Date: 2nd May 2019
Publisher: Mantle (Pan MacMillan)
Format: I read the hardcover book borrowed from the library and then finished the last 50 pages as an Audiobook.
Blurb:
In A Thousand Ships, broadcaster and classicist Natalie Haynes retells the story of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective.
This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of all of them…
In the middle of the night, Creusa wakes to find her beloved Troy engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of brutal conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over, and the Greeks are victorious. Over the next few hours, the only life she has ever known will turn to ash . . .
The devastating consequences of the fall of Troy stretch from Mount Olympus to Mount Ida, from the citadel of Troy to the distant Greek islands, and across oceans and sky in between. These are the stories of the women embroiled in that legendary war and its terrible aftermath, as well as the feud and the fatal decisions that started it all…
Powerfully told from an all-female perspective, A Thousand Ships gives voices to the women, girls and goddesses who, for so long, have been silent.
My (no spoiler) thoughts…
After devouring Circe and The Song of Achilles earlier in the year, I was getting another greek mythology craving. It was between A Thousand Ships and The Silence of the Girls, and after some bookstagram research, I settled on the former. Silence… will have to wait a few months I think, there’s only so much I can take at one time! So I can only compare A Thousand Ships with the Madeline Miller books I have previously read, and I would say they were definitely of the same standard of writing!
A Thousand Ships takes the fascinating mythology from Circe and the human emotions of The Song of Achilles and brings them together to create an engaging and emotional read. This is the story of the women and I enjoyed this take on things, even if that meant the story was all the more tragic for it. Being a woman in these times was no fun. They either die right away or are kept in slavery, raped and then die. But somehow there is still a strong sense of strength and bravery among the women featured. All felt distinct and in charge of their stories.
The Trojans approached the horse warily, as though it might come to life and snap its teeth. Foolish to be fearful of a simulacrum, but how could this be all that was left behind of an invading army?
Page 15
The book opens with Creusa, a Trojan noblewoman, as she awakens to a city on fire. It’s a great opening, heightening the emotions and human cost of the Trojan War. If you’re not familiar, this was a war that lasted ten years and began because spartan Helen left ancient Greece to be with Paris the prince of Troy. Her husband King Menelaus called upon all his royal allies to bring her back to him, resulting in ten years of tragedy and destruction.
I liked that Helen herself rarely featured in the book. Her story has been told many times, it is the other women the wives, sisters, and daughters who are affected the most and so it is them that we follow. We especially focus on the Trojan women in the aftermath of the raiding of Troy. Husbands, fathers and sons slain in front of their eyes, they are immediately captured. From Queens and princesses to slaves, there fall in devastating, their lives destroyed in the blink of an eye.
We still have a strong sense of the men in the book of course, as it is them running around doing the killing and sailing across the oceans. For instance, I enjoyed the letters that Penelope wrote to her husband Odysseus, who left her and her infant son for the war. When it ended instead of returning immediately to Ithaca, he was waylaid by cyclops, cannibal giants and sirens among many things. Penelope’s frustration and disbelief in how much trouble Odysseus could find himself in were both heartbreaking and hilarious. Of course, Odysseus was also delayed home by Circe (as those who have read Miller’s novel will know), and I enjoyed hearing the story from the point of view of his wife.
I was glad to have had some experience with greek mythology before reading this as I got a little thrill whenever characters (like Achilles and Circe) were mentioned as part of the larger story. There is a list of characters at the start of the book and I did have to flick back to that occasionally, but generally, Haynes did a great job in establishing a strong sense of identity for each woman and their story.
While I generally enjoyed reading the book, it was heavy going at times and took me longer than usual to read. It isn’t a book you find yourself racing through, but instead needs time to be appreciated. If you like greek mythology already then I’d say this is a great addition to the genre. If you’re someone like me who has a little experience and is intrigued to find out more, I’d say A Thousand Ships did an excellent job of broadening my wider knowledge of mythology. If you’ve never read anything like this before, this could be a great way to start! Otherwise, I highly recommend The Song of Achilles as a more focused look into this world.
He was determined that the horse should be torched where it stood. It was the only way to placate the gods, he said, who had punished Troy for so many years. Anything else would be a catastrophic mistake.
Page 17
Thank you for reading my A Thousand Ships review. Have you read it? Do you plan on reading it soon?
