A Memory of Wind

We all know the story of the Trojan fleet becalmed at Aulis, and of the terrible bargain that Agamemnon makes in order to ensure a favourable wind. This tells the story in the voice of his daughter Iphigenia, the unwitting sacrifice, who is brought to Aulis with the promise of a wedding to Achilles, only to find a bloodstained altar awaiting her. Swirsky sticks closely to the original and casually includes words like 'megaron' and 'hequetai' that left me running for the dictionary. But she adds a poignant twist in the way that, from the moment the sacrifice is decided, Iphigenia begins turning into wind. Fragment by fragment, scent by word by memory, her existence strips away. Beautifully conceived and just as beautifully written, it's show more a worthy addition to the canon of Troy stories. show less

A really beautiful and interesting retelling of the story of Agamemnon offering his daughter Iphigenia as a sacrifice to Artemis.

I particularly loved the the concept of Iphigenia losing parts of her memory as she drew closer to her fate. Wonderful imagery.

A Memory of Wind is a short story/novella that tells the story of Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon, who was sacrificed to Artemis in order to have wind to power the war ships to Troy. Swirsky tells a beautiful tale of a girl who was betrayed by her father for the sake of a war caused by her aunt's actions. The descriptions really brought Iphigenia's world to life. The relationships in the book were realistic and heartbreaking, especially the bond between Iphigenia and her toddler brother Orestes. I would definitely recommend this short story (it was a short 38 pages long) to anyone interested in the story of the Trojan war.

Tragedy written in a beautiful prose with an effective plotting. It is just 38 pages long and I don't think I would forget it any time soon.

I found this to be a somewhat disjointed short story, rambling and hard to hold my interest. Thankfully it wasn't longer. I hate not finishing what I start. While it obviously has an appeal to some readers, I was not one of them.

You would not expect much meat to this story but the author does a steller job of fooling the mind into thinking the story is longer. A do not miss read.

An alright short story. I am not a fan of Greek mythology, so I think that is why this story does not rate higher. Overall not bad, just not my tastes. A recommendation to anyone who is into Greek mythology though.