Cherry Gregory

This is an engaging take on the Trojan war from the point of view of Odysseus's sister, Neomene (not a character known to Homer). I enjoyed this rather more than the critically acclaimed Song of Achilles. Neomene is a sympathetic and quirky observer and her fictional status (to the extent that other characters in Homer are not fictional at one level, that is) gives the author flexibility to involve her in all sorts of escapades within the Greek camp, and sneaking into Troy, encountering show more Amazons and so on. Great fun, and I will read the sequel Walls of Troy quite soon. show less

An interesting and mostly entertaining piece of historical fiction. The Girl From Ithaca is a ground floor view of the lead up to, and the beginnings of, the Greek siege of Troy as perceived by a princess of Greece. Neomene, sister of King Odysseus of Ithaca, is the titular character and she has followed her brother to the Trojan battlefield. While there she has many adventures as she witnesses the political intrigues and military maneuverings that occur between the battles. She also makes show more friends - and enemies - among the Greek forces and interacts with many of the central figures from the legendary poem.

Gregory's use of first-person narrative is decently rendered and as a protagonist, Neomene has a clear and strong voice. Sometimes too strong and clear. At times, her dialog feels a bit beyond her 14 years - especially at the beginning of the book. By the time the Greeks have spent a couple of years on the Trojan plain, she will have matured, so her grown-up 'voice' becomes less jarring as the story progresses. For me, the bigger issue with Gregory choosing first-person for this story; by viewing the Trojan War through the eyes of one relatively minor character, the bigger picture often loses focus. The sweeping battles are, for us, spent with Neomene and the other women, waiting to hear about the results second-hand. Now, while I admit that that is certainly a realistic perspective, it still does not make for a very exciting rendition of the war!

I also rarely complain when a book is too short but, in this instance, I could have stood a few more pages to better develop some of the side stories and secondary characters. For instance, King Agamemnon and Prince Palamedes were just too one-dimensional for me. They are cast mostly in the role of villains here and I happen to prefer my bad guys with more shades of grey. Let's face it, a villain that conflicts you is a lot more interesting than one that is completely hissable, no? When writing historical fiction, I think it's ok to take a bit of poetic license and introduce smatterings of character complexity.

With those quibbles out of the way, I really did enjoy reading this book. It is a well-written first volume with an intriguing central character and I definitely plan to read the sequel, The Walls of Troy, soon. show less

This is a sequel to the author's The Girl from Ithaca, the two novels together telling the story of the Trojan war from the point of view of Neomene, a fictional (i.e. non-Homeric) sister of Odysseus. She is a useful and sympathetic creation, her status meaning that she can plausibly be at the centre of action, while her specific activities are not circumscribed by the destinies Homer set out for his characters. I enjoyed this, and it contained some dramatic scenes, dealing as it did with show more the conclusion to the war and the famous wooden horse, with some horrible events taking place as Agamemnon and Odysseus sack Troy after one of the most famous ruses in history bears fruit and they penetrate the city. However, for reasons I cannot adequately explain, it slightly lacked the enjoyment factor of its predecessor. It has made me want to read more about the Trojan war, though, and I may actually tackle the Iliad again. show less

While reading this book, I kept thinking to myself: “Wow, this really is quite bad” - yet I kept reading. The writing is not spectacular, but it’s not terrible either. There are whole stretches where nothing much happens, but at times the action does pick up, and so far I’m not bored of the retellings from a female point of view. There were a lot of women present, in the camp and in Troy, and it’s good to think about what their lives must have looked like.
All in all, if you like show more retellings of the classic Greek stories from different points of view, you might like this. I won’t be rereading it though. show less